Biologics Use in Asian Indian Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Physician's Perspective

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapeutic failure is treated with biologics.

To compare the clinical outcomes of different biologics for Asian Indian patients with AS who have NSAID therapeutic failure.

Thirty-five AS patients with NSAID failure were administered Etanercept (n=15) (50mg SQ, weekly) or Infliximab (n=20) (5mg/kg IV every 2(nd) month) based on patient convenience or physician discretion as per 2015 ACR/SAA/SPARTAN recommendations. Baseline demographic details, time to diagnosis, disease duration, presence of low backache, early morning stiffness, peripheral joint and extraarticular involvement, ESR, CRP values and HLA-B27 score were obtained. Baseline values of scores of BASMI-3 and MASES were calculated. To monitor the disease activity, BASDAI and ASDAS-ESR scores were recorded at baseline, and after 6 months and 12 months of therapy initiation.

Comparison of means: independent samples t-test; comparison of parameters over time: repeated measures ANOVA.

Both groups were comparable in all parameters at therapy initiation except in the baseline BASMI-3 score which was significantly higher in patients who received Etanercept. Over 12 months of treatment, the reduction in disease activity, as evidenced by reduction in the mean BASDAI and ASDAS-ESR scores was statistically significant for all patients when considered together, as well as when Etanercept and Infliximab were considered separately (p<0.0001 in all cases). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the magnitude of reduction in the mean BASDAI and ASDAS-ESR scores between patients who received Etanercept and those who received infliximab (p=0.696 and 0.618 respectively).

Etanercept and Infliximab offer statistically similar reduction in disease severity in Asian Indian AS patients with NSAID failure. Further studies with larger sample size are warranted.