Good disease control , with therapeutic escalation to achieve low disease activity , was recommended .
OBJECTIVE To develop treatment recommendations for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis manifesting as non-systemic polyarthritis , sacroiliitis , or enthesitis .
Safety and efficacy of once weekly etanercept 0.8 mg/kg in a multicentre 12 week trial in active polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
OBJECTIVES Etanercept , a recombinant TNF receptor fusion protein , has been approved for the treatment of resistant polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis at a dosage of 0.4 mg/kg twice weekly in children older than 4 years . In adult patients , efficacy and safety of etanercept 25 mg twice weekly was comparable with 50 mg once weekly . Therefore , safety and efficacy of etanercept once weekly 0.8 mg/kg up to 50 mg s.c . was evaluated in a 3 month open label trial . METHODS Twenty patients 4 to 17 years old received 0.8 mg of etanercept per kilogram of body weight subcutaneously once weekly for 3 months in an open multicentre trial . Active polyarticular disease was defined by the presence of five or more active joints with swelling , alternatively with pain or tenderness combined with limitation of motion . Safety assessment s were based on adverse events ( AEs ) reports . Efficacy was assessed using the PedACR30/50/70 criteria . RESULTS At the start of treatment the patients showed high disease activity . A rapid reduction of all disease activity parameters was observed . A PedACR30/50/70 response was reached by 75%/35%/10 % of patients after 4 weeks , 90%/75%/35 % after 8 weeks and 95%/75%/75 % after 12 weeks of treatment . There were 37 AEs , none of them serious , with injection site reactions and minor infections being the most frequent . There was no drop out . Long-term follow-up of the patients will be carried out in the German JIA Registry . CONCLUSION Treatment with etanercept once weekly using a double dosage leads to a significant improvement of disease activity in patients with active polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis and is well tolerated
Good disease control , with therapeutic escalation to achieve low disease activity , was recommended .
OBJECTIVE To develop treatment recommendations for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis manifesting as non-systemic polyarthritis , sacroiliitis , or enthesitis .