Rituximab and concomitant leflunomide for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

被引：0
作者：
Joerg Christoph Henes
Joerg Schedel
Lothar Kanz
Ina Koetter
机构：
[1] University Hospital Tuebingen,Department of Internal Medicine II (Oncology, Haematology, Immunology, Rheumatology, Pulmology)
来源：
Rheumatology International | 2010年 / 30卷
关键词：
Rheumatoid arthritis; Rituximab; Leflunomide;
D O I：
暂无
中图分类号：
学科分类号：
摘要：
Rituximab has only been approved in combination with methotrexate for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. As some patients have intolerance to methotrexate, alternative co-therapies are needed. This method involved retrospective analysis of ten patients treated with a combination of rituximab and leflunomide. Primary outcome measures were the DAS28 response at month 6 and the time to relapse. The median initial DAS 28 of 5.7 (3.2–7.2) was reduced to 3.5 (1.9–6.1) at month 6. 70% of the patients achieved a good or moderate response, whereas 30% showed no response. Two patients had to stop leflunomide due to adverse effects. Two patients had to reduce the leflunomide dose to 10 mg/day. 5/8 patients experienced a relapse after a median of 10 (6–30) months and were successfully re-treated with rituximab. This small case series suggests that leflunomide might offer an alternative DMARD combination option for the treatment of RA with rituximab.
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页码：709 / 712
页数：3
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