Key clinical point: Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) showed comparable efficacy in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with either low joint count (LJC) or high joint count (HJC), which highlights the feasibility of treatment escalation to bDMARD in symptomatic patients with LJC as well as in those with HJC.
Major finding: Patients with LJC (<3 tender or swollen joints) vs HJC (≥3 tender or swollen joints) showed similar treatment efficacy in terms of bDMARD retention (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.09; P = .63). Treatment discontinuation was unaffected by swollen or tender joint count status (aHR 1.12; P = .47).
Study details: Findings are from an observational cohort study that included 387 patients with PsA who had either LJC (n = 197) or HJC (n = 190) and received bDMARD.
Disclosures: This study was supported by Celgene International Sarl, Boudry, Switzerland. Five authors declared ties with various sources, whereas the other authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Möller B et al for the Swiss Clinical Quality Management (SCQM) physicians, researchers and patients. Biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs are equally effective in psoriatic arthritis patients with low and high joint counts. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2023 (Sep 7). doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead455