Real-world retention rates of biologics in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Although biologics have their own characteristics, there are no clear criteria for selecting them to treat the patients with rheumatoid arthritis. To assist in selecting biologics, we investigated the retention rates of biologics at our institution. We examined retention rates, and reasons for dropout for biologics in 393 cases and 605 prescriptions (of which 378 prescriptions were as naive) at our hospital since October 2003. Throughout the entire course of the study, etanercept (ETN) was the most frequently used biologic, followed by adalimumab (ADA) and tocilizumab (TCZ). When narrowed down to the later period from 2010, ETN was still the most used, followed by TCZ and abatacept (ABT). When the retention rates were compared in biologic naive patients, the retention rates were TCZ, ABT, ETN, certolizumab pegol (CZP), golimumab (GLM), infliximab (IFX), and ADA, in that order. The retention rates were better with the first use of each biologic. The main reasons for dropout were primary ineffectiveness, secondary ineffectiveness, and infection. ETN was the most used biologic in our hospital, with an increasing trend toward the use of non-TNF inhibitors. Retention rates were higher in non-TNF inhibitors.