Kaitlyn D’Onofrio

DocwireNews

Some rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients may&nbsp;be able to taper to a lower dose of&nbsp;baricitinib&nbsp;and still manage the disease, according to new research.&nbsp;A new study was conducted using patients who received 4 mg of&nbsp;baricitinib&nbsp;for &ge;&nbsp;15 months and maintained&nbsp;Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI)&nbsp;low disease activity (LDA) or remission (REM). For 48 weeks, participants either continued receiving 4 mg or were tapered to 2 mg of&nbsp;baricitinib.&nbsp;Patients in the 4 mg group were more likely to maintain LDA (4 mg, 80%; 2 mg, 67%) and REM (4 mg, 40%; 2 mg, 33%). The tapered dose group had more disease activity at 12, 24, and 48 weeks, as well as earlier and more frequent relapse, than the 4 mg group (4 mg, 23%; 2 mg, 37%;&nbsp;p&nbsp;= 0.001).&nbsp;Dose reduction was also associated with greater rescue rates (4 mg, 10%; 2 mg, 18%). The rate of non-serious infections was lower in the 2 mg group (4 mg, 30.6; 2 mg, 24.9). Researchers did not observe differences in serious adverse events and adverse events linked to discontinuation of&nbsp;baricitinib&nbsp;between the groups.&nbsp;The researchers concluded, &ldquo;In a large&nbsp;randomised, blinded phase 3 study, maintenance of RA control following induction of sustained LDA/REM with&nbsp;baricitinib&nbsp;4 mg was greater with continued 4 mg than after taper to 2 mg. Nonetheless, most patients tapered to 2 mg could maintain LDA/REM or recapture with return to 4 mg if needed.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/rheumatoid-arthritis-something-else/">Is It Rheumatoid Arthritis &hellip; or Something Else?</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/inflammation-in-rheumatoid-arthritis-a-multi-modal-mri-study/">Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Multi-modal MRI Study</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/tnfi-cancer-recurrence-ra/">Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors and Cancer Recurrence in Patients&nbsp;With&nbsp;Rheumatoid Arthritis</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/rheumatoid-arthritis-mucosal-origins/">Rheumatoid Arthritis and the Mucosal Origins Hypothesis</a>&nbsp;Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://ard.bmj.com/content/early/2018/09/07/annrheumdis-2018-213271">The BMJ</a>

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Can RA Patients with Sustained Disease Control Taper Drug Doses?

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Some rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients may be able to taper to a lower dose of baricitinib and still manage the disease, according to new research.  ...

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