Key clinical point: Tofacitinib vs. tocilizumab was more likely to induce and maintain improvement in clinical disease activity index (CDAI) and remission during the first 12 months of therapy in biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD)-naïve patients with methotrexate-refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Major finding: Likelihood of achieving and maintaining 85% or more (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.88; P less than .001), 70% or more (aOR, 2.89; P = .003) improvement in CDAI, and remission (aOR, 3.31; P less than .001) in the first 12 months was higher with tofacitinib vs. tocilizumab in bDMARD-naïve patients but not in patients with previous bDMARD failure.
Study details: This was a multicenter cohort study of 464 patients with methotrexate-refractory RA who had high to moderate CDAI and initiated treatment with tofacitinib (n=247) or tocilizumab (n=217).
Disclosures: This study was supported by research funds from the National Hospital Organization, Japan. The authors including the leading author reported receiving lecture fees from various sources.
Source: Mori S et al. RMD Open. 2021 May 6. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-001601 .