Treat-to-target Strategy in Ankylosing Spondylitis Using Etanercept and Conventional Synthetic DMARDs

This study evaluates clinical responses and cost-effectiveness of using etanercept (ETN) and conventional synthetic Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) with treat-to-target strategy in ankylosing spondylitis patients. Half of participants will be used treat-to-target strategy with ETN and csDMARDs, while the others will be used conventional therapy scheme with ETN only.

The tumor necrosis factor inhibitors(TNFi) like etanercept(ETN) has been always recommended as the primary treatment option for active AS. But when sustained applied in daily clinical practices, it is unaffordable for patients in developing countries in most cases due to the high expense of TNFi. On this ground, this study proposes a new scheme dividing AS treatment into relatively active phase and relatively stable phase, and sequentially introducing TNFi and conventional synthetic Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) in each phase respectively. Taking full advantages of the rapid and precise efficacy of TNFi when short-term application in active AS and then csDMARDs combination was prescribed to maintain the remission cause by TNFi. Drug regimes are adjusted according to the different responses of individual patient based on treat-to-target strategy. TNFi is reintroduced if there is a reactive tendency and then switching to csDMARDs again when patients are in remission. Thus, the continuous low activity or remission of AS may be promising through this treating management and the treatment cost will reduce for csDMARDs partially replace TNFi in the management of relatively stable phase.

This study is designed as a prospective randomized, positive controlled, 48-week clinical trial, involving 100 patients with active ankylosing spondylitis. All enrolled patients will randomly assign to 2 groups for the comparison of the clinical responses and cost-effectiveness of our treatment scheme with that of the conventional therapy scheme of TNFi (etanercept). Multiple clinical indexes will be measured to evaluate the therapeutic effect, including Patient's Global Assessment, BASDAI and ASDAS-CRP for disease activity, BASFI for functional state, EQ-5D and SF-36 for quality-of-life assessment, SPARCC and SPARCC Sacroiliac Joint Structural Score (SSS) for sacroiliac joint invasion. We expect to assess the feasibility of our new treatment scheme in AS disease controlling and cost-effectiveness improving through this one-year follow-up study.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Capability to understand and voluntarily give written informed consent that is signed and dated, before any specific procedure of the protocol is performed.
* Patients 18 to 45 years of age.
* Proven AS according to the modified New York criteria.
* Acute phase of disease with ASDAS score ≥1.3.
* Ability to reconstitute the drug and self-inject it or have a person who can do so.
* Ability to store injectable test article at 2º to 8º C.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with a history of active tuberculosis, hepatitis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, tumors, infectious diseases or combined with other rheumaimmune systemic diseases or osteoarthritis diseases.
* Pregnancy/lactation.
* Receipt of any live (attenuated) vaccines within 4 weeks before the screening visit.
* Significant concurrent medical diseases including uncompensated congestive heart failure (NYHA III-IV), myocardial infarction within 12 months, stable or unstable angina pectoris, uncontrolled hypertension, severe pulmonary disease, history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
* Participation in trials of other investigational medications within 30 days of entering the study.
* Clinical examination showing significant abnormalities of clinical relevance.