Decrease of Tocilizumab Dose in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Pilot Study

The efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are well demonstrated. Doses of 4 and 8 mg/kg are used intravenously. The objective of our study was to report the efficacy and safety for a set of patients who had an 8 mg/kg doze of TCZ and for another set who had this treatment first at a dose of 8 followed by 4 mg/kg.

All RA patients treated with TCZ in a University Hospital Centre Department of Rheumatology between January 2010 and December 2014 were included. Sixty-three patients received TCZ at a dose of 8 mg/kg and 19 patients received this treatment first receiving a dose of 8 mg/kg decreased to 4 mg/kg. The demographic characteristics, the clinical response and adverse events were reported.

At the end of follow-up, 48% of patients were in clinical remission defined by disease activity score based on 28 joints with an erythrocyte sedimentation rate <2.6 in the 8 mg/kg group and 74% of patients in the 8-4 mg/kg. The rates of severe infections were 4.8 per 100 patients-years (PY) in the 8 mg/kg group and 2.9 per 100 PY in the 8 then 4 mg/kg. The infections were mainly pulmonary, ENT and skin infections.

Our study reported the efficacy and safety of the TCZ in patients with RA in 'real life' with the dose of 8 mg/kg or 8 then 4 mg/kg.