November 2022

Efficacy and Safety of Non-Pharmacological and Non-Biological Interventions: A Systematic Literature Review Informing the 2022 Update of the ASAS/EULAR Recommendations for the Management of AxSpA

Ann Rheum Dis 2022; online ahead of print doi:10.1136/ard-2022-223297

Non-pharmacological interventions are important for any rheumatic disease, but especially axSpA, where they represent the cornerstone of treatment. The aim of this study was to produce a systematic literature review on efficacy and safety of non-pharmacological and non-biological pharmacological treatments was performed.

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Efficacy and Safety of Filgotinib in Patients with High Risk of Poor Prognosis Who Showed Inadequate Response to MTX: A Post Hoc Analysis of the FINCH 1 Study

Rheumatol Ther. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1007/s40744-022-00498-x

Post hoc analysis from the FINCH 1 study highlights filgotinib as a potential beneficial treatment option for patients with RA who have had inadequate response to MTX and have high risk of disease progression and poor prognosis.

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September 2021

Efficacy and safety of filgotinib in methotrexate-naive patients with rheumatoid arthritis with poor prognostic factors: post hoc analysis of FINCH 3

RMD Open. 2021;7(2):e001621.

Post hoc analysis of the phase III FINCH study shows that filgotinib may be an alternative treatment option for patients with RA who have poor prognostic factors (PPFs), especially those not responding to standard treatment such as methotrexate (MTX).PPFs are associated with severe disease and risk for disease progression in patients with RA. Consequently, the 2019 EULAR management guidelines for RA recommend early treatment escalation for patients with PPFs who have inadequate response to first...

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Real‑world evaluation of effectiveness, persistence, and usage patterns of monotherapy and combination therapy tofacitinib in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Australia

Clin Rheumatol. 2021. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1007/s10067-021-05853-x

Real-world evidence suggests that monotherapy and combination therapy tofacitinib is an effective intervention in RA with persistence and effectiveness comparable to bDMARDs. Despite recommendations from EULAR that bDMARDs and tsDMARDs be used in combination with csDMARDs for the treatment of RA, it is estimated that up to a third of patients take their medication as monotherapy.This post hoc analysis of data from the Australian OPAL study by Bird, et al. aimed to describe the real-world effecti...

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January 2021

EULAR Definition of Difficult-to-Treat Rheumatoid Arthritis

Ann Rheum Dis 2021;80:31–35.

A significant proportion of people with RA remain symptomatic despite treatment according to current management recommendations. Different terms have traditionally been used to describe this subpopulation, including severe, refractory, resistant to multiple drugs or treatments, established and difficult-to-treat. A recent survey indicated that – in addition to new drugs – new management approaches are needed for optimal treatment in these patients.A EULAR Task Force agreed the uniform terminolog...

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Points to Consider for the Treatment of Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases With Janus Kinase Inhibitors: A Consensus Statement

2021 Jan;80(1):71-87. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218398. Epub 2020 Nov 6.

JAKi are approved in various immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. With five JAKi now licensed, this paper reviews key points to consider in their use to assist clinicians, patients, and other stakeholders once the decision is made to commence JAKi.The consensus was developed by a Steering Committee and an expanded Task Force using EULAR standard operating procedures. The committee included patients as well as experts in rheumatology, gastroenterology, haematology, dermatology, and infectious d...

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December 2020

Highlights of 2020

Please click the links below to go to the CSF review of each paper

2020 unfolded apace, dominated by COVID-19 - we have all had to adapt in our practice and in our knowledge base. Amid this there have continued to be a constant flow of publications and science in cytokine signaling, and as in previous years as we come the end of 2020, I will highlight some of the notable papers of the year. You can find the most notable papers, as selected by CSF Steering Committee Chair Professor Iain McInnes, with links to their respective detailed summaries below:

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Points to consider for the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases with Janus kinase inhibitors: a systematic literature research

RMD Open 2020;6:e001374 doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2020-001374

Trials of JAKi have been conducted in many therapy areas, including rheumatology, dermatology and gastroenterology. In 2019, a task force was set up to create a consensus to guide clinicians on how to use JAKi in clinical practice. This systematic literature review conducted in 2019 support this consensusIn line with EULAR’s standardised operating procedures for recommendations, a literature search was conducted in EMBASE, Medline and the Cochrane Library databases. To evaluate the efficacy of t...

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Switching between Janus kinase inhibitor upadacitinib and adalimumab following insufficient response: efficacy and safety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Ann Rheum Dis 2020; doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-21841220

Both ACR and EULAR recommend adding a biologic or targeted synthetic DMARD in patients who do not achieve treatment goals at follow-up. Findings indicated that an immediate switch in mechanism of action (from JAKi to TNFi and vice versa) following treat-to-target principles is feasible with minimal risk of flare regardless of whether patients are switched due to non-response or incomplete-response.SELECT-COMPARE followed treat-to-target principles to examine the efficacy of switching in two pati...

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July 2020

Safety of synthetic and biological DMARDs: a systematic literature review informing the 2019 update of the EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2020;79:760-770

This SLR informed the 2019 EULAR taskforce updating recommendations for RA management. Overall, no new safety signals were reported. The known safety profile of bDMARDs was confirmed and extended to tsDMARDS. IL-6i associated lower intestinal perforation has been further confirmed, while VTE and PE concerns in JAKi treatment need further evaluation.Previous updates for the EULAR recommendations on RA pharmacological management were conducted in 2016. In this SLR safety of csDMARDs, tsDMARDs, and...

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