Characteristics of patients stratified by the class of DMARD exposure at the time of SI
| TNFi | Other bDMARDs | csDMARDs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of SIs | 399 | 174 | 444 |
| No. of patients | 370 | 159 | 388 |
| Age at SI (mean (SD), years) | 60.7 (11.9) | 62.6 (11.0) | 64.7 (11.0) |
| Sex (female, n (%)) | 298 (74.7) | 123 (70.7) | 314 (70.7) |
| RF positive (n (%)) | 335 (84.0) | 139 (79.9) | 353 (79.5) |
| Disease duration at SI (mean (SD), years) | 14.5 (10.1) | 16.5 (10.7) | 14.5 (11.2) |
| CRP (mean (SD)) | 16.7 (27.5) | 22.3 (33.2) | 20.9 (29.3) |
| DAS28 (mean (SD)) | 4.4 (1.5) | 4.5 (1.6) | 4.4 (1.4) |
| % of physical function (SD) | 56.6 (25.5) | 51.0 (24.0) | 54.5 (25.9) |
| Follow-up (years, mean (SD)) | 5.2 (2.9) | 3.8 (2.1) | 4.3 (2.5) |
| Hospitalisations due to SI* (n (%)) | 283 (83.7) | 128 (83.1) | 275 (82.1) |
| Selected comorbidities: | |||
| Heart failure, n (%) | 36 (9.0) | 24 (13.8) | 44 (9.9) |
| Chronic renal disease, n (%) | 51 (12.8) | 23 (13.2) | 66 (14.9) |
| Events of interest | |||
| Death (≤90 days) w/o sepsis, n (%) | 15 (3.8) | 3 (1.7) | 35 (7.9) |
| Sepsis (≤30 days, n) | 46 (11.5) | 17 (9.8) | 74 (16.7) |
| Death after sepsis, n (%) | 20 (43.5) | 11 (64.7) | 54 (74.0) |
No. of patients in DMARD strata exceeds n=859 since patients with >1 SI may contribute to different treatment episodes (DMARD strata). The median time between the last study visit and the SI was 3.7 months (first quartile: 1.9 months, third quartile: 6.2 months). *Hospitalisation rates refer to SI which did not escalate to sepsis or death.
bDMARD, biologic DMARD; csDMARD, conventional synthetic DMARD; CRP, C reactive protein; DAS28, disease activity score (28 joint count); DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; RF, rheumatoid factor; SI, serious infection; TNFi, tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor (adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, golimumab, certolizumab), other bDMARD (tocilizumab, rituximab, abatacept); w/o, without.