AB0317 BIOLOGIC THERAPY OPTIMIZATION IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENTS IN COLOMBIA
Authors: W. G. Rojas Zuleta, O. J. Felipe Díaz, A. E. Pantoja Marquez, R. Giraldo, J. G. López Velandia, E. P. Navarro Mendoza, C. Orozco Gonzalez, J. Barbosa Camacho, N. Duque Zapata, J. Donado Gómez
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2020)

Background: The optimization of biological agents (bDMARD), is a strategy that has proven to be cost effective and its use can reduce the risk related to drug exposure (1–3). It is included in the EULAR management guidelines and in the consensus of the Colombian Rheumatology Association. Objectives: To analyze optimization success of bDMARD therapies in patients with RA. Methods: Cohort study of RA patients in a specialized multicenter institution in Colombia, followed from January 2015 to December 2019. Patients in remission or low activity for at least 6 months with bDMARD, and with at least two consecutive medical visits, were included. Optimization types were dose decrease, application interval increments, or both. Patients who had disease reactivation (DAS28- CPR &gt;3.2) and returned to standard dose, were considered a failure. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, the optimization failure was estimated according to bDMARD type Results: 92 patients were included, 78.26% were women, with a median age of 57 years (IQR 50-64), a disease evolution time of 15 years (IQR 10-21), a treatment of 5.6 years (IQR 2.7-8.0), and optimization of 7.75 months (IQR 3.25-15.75). The most commonly used bDMARD therapies were etanercept 36.96%, tocilizumab 30.43% and adalimumab 16.30%. 69.39% (34) were naive for biological treatment. The 53.26% (49) of patients had a follow-up time greater than 6 months. 95.92% remained under optimization scheme without disease activity changes, and 4.08% of patients underwent definitive discontinuation of bDMARD, for sustained therapeutic objective. 8.16% (4) had relapses in the first 6 months after onset, of which 2 patients returned to standard doses. In survival analysis it was observed that patients who were optimized for antiTNF failed faster than the non-antiTNF, although this difference was not statistically significant (Log Rank test 0.003 p value = 0.959). Of the total patients, 28 have been optimized for 12 months or more, of these, 96.43% (27) continue in sustained remission, and 55.56% (15) received combined therapy with s synthetic DMARD (sDMARD). Figure 1. Kaplan Meier Conclusion: During follow-up, most patients remain in optimization strategy. In those who continued in sustained remission, more than half received sDMARD, this suggests that their use may be a determining factor in preventing disease relapses. More studies are required to evaluate this hypothesis. References: [1]Niccoli L, Nannini C, Blandizzi C. Personalization of biologic therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Less frequently accounted choice-driving variables. Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2018;14:2097–111. [2]ASOREUMA. Asociación Colombiana de Reumatología. Consenso sobre recomendaciones para disminución y descontinuación de la terapia biológica en pacientes con artritis reumatoide, espondilitis anquilosante y artritis psoriásica. Rev Colomb Reumatol. 2019 Jan;26(1):11–23. [3]Cantini F, Niccoli L, Nannini C. Second-line biologic therapy optimization in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2017;47(2):183–92. Disclosure of Interests: None declared