@article{WendlerBurmesterSoerensenetal.2014,
  author    = {Wendler, J{\"o}rg and Burmester, Gerd R. and S{\"o}rensen, Helmut and Krause, Andreas and Richter, Constanze and Tony, Hans-Peter and Rubbert-Roth, Andrea and Bartz-Bazzanella, Peter and Wassenberg, Siegfried and Haug-Rost, Iris and D{\"o}rner, Thomas},
  title     = {Rituximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in routine practice (GERINIS): six-year results from a prospective, multicentre, non-interventional study in 2,484 patients},
  series = {Arthritis Research \& Therapy},
  volume    = {16},
  journal   = {Arthritis Research \& Therapy},
  number    = {2},
  doi       = {10.1186/ar4521},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-121184},
  pages     = {R80},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of rituximab (RTX) in a large cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in routine care, and to monitor changes in daily practice since the introduction of RTX therapy. METHODS: This was a multicentre, prospective, non-interventional study conducted under routine practice conditions in Germany. Efficacy was evaluated using Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI). Safety was assessed by recording adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Physician and patient global efficacy and tolerability assessments were also evaluated. RESULTS: Overall, 2,484 patients (76.7\% female, mean age 56.4 years, mean disease duration 11.7 years) received RTX treatment (22.7\% monotherapy). The total observation period was approximately six-years (median follow-up 14.7 months). RTX treatment led to improvements in DAS28 and HAQ-DI that were sustained over multiple courses. DAS28 improvements positively correlated with higher rheumatoid factor levels up to 50 IU/ml. Response and tolerability were rated good/very good by the majority of physicians and patients. Mean treatment intervals were 10.5 and 6.8 months for the first and last 400 enrolled patients, respectively. Infections were the most frequently reported ADRs (9.1\%; 11.39/100 patient-years); approximately 1\% of patients per course discontinued therapy due to ADRs. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged RTX treatment in routine care is associated with good efficacy and tolerability, as measured by conventional parameters and by physicians' and patients' global assessments. Rheumatoid factor status served as a distinct and quantitative biomarker of RTX responsiveness. With growing experience, physicians repeated treatments earlier in patients with less severe disease activity.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{StephanTascilarYalcinMutluetal.2023,
  author    = {Stephan, Marlene and Tascilar, Koray and Yalcin-Mutlu, Melek and Hagen, Melanie and Haschka, Judith and Reiser, Michaela and Hartmann, Fabian and Kleyer, Arnd and Hueber, Axel J. and Manger, Bernhard and Figueiredo, Camille and Cobra, Jayme Fogagnolo and Tony, Hans-Peter and Finzel, Stephanie and Kleinert, Stefan and Wendler, J{\"o}rg and Schuch, Florian and Ronneberger, Monika and Feuchtenberger, Martin and Fleck, Martin and Manger, Karin and Ochs, Wolfgang and Schmitt-Haendle, Matthias and Lorenz, Hannes Martin and N{\"u}sslein, Hubert and Alten, Rieke and Henes, Joerg and Kr{\"u}ger, Klaus and Schett, Georg and Rech, J{\"u}rgen},
  title     = {Physical function of RA patients tapering treatment — a post hoc analysis of the randomized controlled RETRO trial},
  series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
  volume    = {12},
  journal   = {Journal of Clinical Medicine},
  number    = {11},
  issn      = {2077-0383},
  doi       = {10.3390/jcm12113723},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319349},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Several studies have shown that tapering or stopping disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in sustained remission is feasible. However, tapering/stopping bears the risk of decline in physical function as some patients may relapse and face increased disease activity. Here, we analyzed the impact of tapering or stopping DMARD treatment on the physical function of RA patients. The study was a post hoc analysis of physical functional worsening for 282 patients with RA in sustained remission tapering and stopping DMARD treatment in the prospective randomized RETRO study. HAQ and DAS-28 scores were determined in baseline samples of patients continuing DMARD (arm 1), tapering their dose by 50\% (arm 2), or stopping after tapering (arm 3). Patients were followed over 1 year, and HAQ and DAS-28 scores were evaluated every 3 months. The effect of treatment reduction strategy on functional worsening was assessed in a recurrent-event Cox regression model with a study-group (control, taper, and taper/stop) as the predictor. Two-hundred and eighty-two patients were analyzed. In 58 patients, functional worsening was observed. The incidences suggest a higher probability of functional worsening in patients tapering and/or stopping DMARDs, which is likely due to higher relapse rates in these individuals. At the end of the study, however, functional worsening was similar among the groups. Point estimates and survival curves show that the decline in functionality according to HAQ after tapering or discontinuation of DMARDs in RA patients with stable remission is associated with recurrence, but not with an overall functional decline.},
  language  = {en}
}