@article{TonyBurmesterSchulzeKoopsetal.2011, author = {Tony, Hans-Peter and Burmester, Gerd and Schulze-Koops, Hendrik and Grunke, Mathias and Henes, Joerg and K{\"o}tter, Ina and Haas, Judith and Unger, Leonore and Lovric, Svjetlana and Haubitz, Marion and Fischer-Betz, Rebecca and Chehab, Gamal and Rubbert-Roth, Andrea and Specker, Christof and Weinerth, Jutta and Holle, Julia and M{\"u}ller-Ladner, Ulf and K{\"o}nig, Ramona and Fiehn, Christoph and Burgwinkel, Philip and Budde, Klemens and S{\"o}rensen, Helmut and Meurer, Michael and Aringer, Martin and Kieseier, Bernd and Erfurt-Berge, Cornelia and Sticherling, Michael and Veelken, Roland and Ziemann, Ulf and Strutz, Frank and von Wussow, Praxis and Meier, Florian MP and Hunzelmann, Nico and Schmidt, Enno and Bergner, Raoul and Schwarting, Andreas and Eming, R{\"u}diger and Schwarz-Eywill, Michael and Wassenberg, Siegfried and Fleck, Martin and Metzler, Claudia and Zettl, Uwe and Westphal, Jens and Heitmann, Stefan and Herzog, Anna L. and Wiendl, Heinz and Jakob, Waltraud and Schmidt, Elvira and Freivogel, Klaus and D{\"o}rner, Thomas and Hertl, Michael and Stadler, Rudolf}, title = {Safety and clinical outcomes of rituximab therapy in patients with different autoimmune diseases: experience from a national registry (GRAID)}, series = {Arthritis Research \& Therapy}, volume = {13}, journal = {Arthritis Research \& Therapy}, number = {R75}, doi = {10.1186/ar3337}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-142856}, pages = {1-14}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Introduction: Evidence from a number of open-label, uncontrolled studies has suggested that rituximab may benefit patients with autoimmune diseases who are refractory to standard-of-care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of rituximab in several standard-of-care-refractory autoimmune diseases (within rheumatology, nephrology, dermatology and neurology) other than rheumatoid arthritis or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a real-life clinical setting. Methods: Patients who received rituximab having shown an inadequate response to standard-of-care had their safety and clinical outcomes data retrospectively analysed as part of the German Registry of Autoimmune Diseases. The main outcome measures were safety and clinical response, as judged at the discretion of the investigators. Results: A total of 370 patients (299 patient-years) with various autoimmune diseases (23.0\% with systemic lupus erythematosus, 15.7\% antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated granulomatous vasculitides, 15.1\% multiple sclerosis and 10.0\% pemphigus) from 42 centres received a mean dose of 2,440 mg of rituximab over a median (range) of 194 (180 to 1,407) days. The overall rate of serious infections was 5.3 per 100 patient-years during rituximab therapy. Opportunistic infections were infrequent across the whole study population, and mostly occurred in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. There were 11 deaths (3.0\% of patients) after rituximab treatment (mean 11.6 months after first infusion, range 0.8 to 31.3 months), with most of the deaths caused by infections. Overall (n = 293), 13.3\% of patients showed no response, 45.1\% showed a partial response and 41.6\% showed a complete response. Responses were also reflected by reduced use of glucocorticoids and various immunosuppressives during rituximab therapy and follow-up compared with before rituximab. Rituximab generally had a positive effect on patient well-being (physician's visual analogue scale; mean improvement from baseline of 12.1 mm)}, language = {en} } @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} }