RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Efficacy of tocilizumab in patients with hand osteoarthritis: double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial
JF Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
JO Ann Rheum Dis
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and European League Against Rheumatism
SP 349
OP 355
DO 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218547
VO 80
IS 3
A1 Richette, Pascal
A1 Latourte, Augustin
A1 Sellam, Jérémie
A1 Wendling, Daniel
A1 Piperno, Muriel
A1 Goupille, Philippe
A1 Pers, Yves-Marie
A1 Eymard, Florent
A1 Ottaviani, Sébastien
A1 Ornetti, Paul
A1 Flipo, René-Marc
A1 Fautrel, Bruno
A1 Peyr, Olivier
A1 Bertola, Jean Pierre
A1 Vicaut, Eric
A1 Chevalier, Xavier
YR 2021
UL http://ard.bmj.com/content/80/3/349.abstract
AB Objective To evaluate the efficacy of tocilizumab, an antibody against IL-6 receptor, in patients with hand osteoarthritis.Methods This was a multicentre, 12-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study from November 2015 to October 2018. Patients with symptomatic hand osteoarthritis (pain ≥40 on a 0–100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) despite analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; at least three painful joints, Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥2) were randomised to receive two infusions 4 weeks apart (weeks 0 and 4) of tocilizumab (8 mg/kg intravenous) or placebo. The primary endpoint was changed in VAS pain at week 6. Secondary outcomes included the number of painful and swollen joints, duration of morning stiffness, patients’ and physicians’ global assessment and function scores.Results Of 104 patients screened, 91 (45 to tocilizumab and 46 to placebo; 82% women; mean age 64.4 (SD 8.7) years) were randomly assigned and 79 completed the 12-week study visit. The mean change between baseline and week 6 on the VAS for pain (primary outcome) was −7.9 (SD 19.4) and −9.9 (SD 20.1) in the tocilizumab and placebo groups (p=0.7). The groups did not differ for any secondary outcomes at weeks 4, 6, 8 or 12. Overall, adverse events were slightly more frequent in the tocilizumab than placebo group.Conclusion Tocilizumab was no more effective than placebo for pain relief in patients with hand osteoarthritis.