Patients With High Disease Activity Respond Well to PsA Treatment, Study Finds

Golimumab was effective for both articular and skin involvement in a multicenter observational study of patients with psoriatic arthritis with cutaneous manifestations of psoriasis. Researchers published their findings online ahead of print in Clinical Rheumatology.

“Indeed, golimumab was effective in reducing all clinical parameters analyzed at all the time points of evaluation until 48 months of observation, including inflammatory indexes and pain,” wrote corresponding author Maria Sole Chimenti, MD, PhD, of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, and coauthors.

To investigate golimumab efficacy and long-term treatment retention in real-world settings, researchers collected clinical and lab record data for 105 patients with psoriatic arthritis and associated psoriasis treated with golimumab.

After 48 months of golimumab, statistically significant improvements in articular and cutaneous psoriasis were observed on Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA) scores, Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) scores, and Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score-C-reactive protein scores, according to the study.

Furthermore, patients showed high golimumab treatment persistence, with 54.4% continuing treatment at 48 months. Analysis suggested patient comorbidities and other characteristics affected neither efficacy nor persistence.

“Our results were consistent, with no differences in terms of clinical response and efficacy between males and females, smokers and no-smokers, obese and normal-weight patients, and lines of treatment,” researchers reported, “confirming golimumab efficacy and safety in a long-term real-life setting.”

Reference:
Chimenti MS, Conigliaro P, Caso F, et al. Long-term effectiveness and drug survival of golimumab in patients affected by psoriatic arthritis with cutaneous involvement [published online ahead of print, 2021 Aug 19]. Clin Rheumatol. 2021;10.1007/s10067-021-05874-6. doi:10.1007/s10067-021-05874-6