medwireNews: Researchers have observed a “remarkably high rate” of sustained clinical remission among patients with early peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA) treated with golimumab.
In an analysis of data from the placebo-controlled CRESPA trial, Filip Van den Bosch (Ghent University Hospital, Belgium) and colleagues found that 82% of all 60 participants achieved sustained remission – defined as the absence of clinical arthritis, enthesitis, and dactylitis at two consecutive visits – by the 48-week follow-up.
As reported in Arthritis & Rheumatology, the vast majority (92%) of patients in sustained remission were treated with golimumab, either from baseline or as a rescue treatment, with only four from the placebo group achieving this outcome, which the researchers say “ruled out the possibility of spontaneous remission.”
Following treatment withdrawal in patients with sustained remission, over half remained in drug-free remission after a maximum of 5 years of follow-up, whereas 47% relapsed after stopping golimumab. The study authors note that restarting golimumab “promptly restored clinical remission” in all of these patients.
And the team concludes that their findings “reiterate the importance of early recognition [of peripheral SpA] and referral from primary care to rheumatologists, in order to permit early remission induction.”
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