Demographic and disease characteristics
| Characteristic | ETN (N=98) | ETN+MTX (N=107) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Month 6 | Baseline | Month 6 | |
| Female, n (%) | 72.0 (73.5) | 84.0 (78.5) | ||
| White or Caucasian, n (%) | 96 (98.0) | 103 (96.3) | ||
| Mean age, years (SD) | 54.3 (11.9) | 54.4 (12.7) | ||
| Reimbursement type, n (%) | ||||
| Private | 48 (49.0) | 55 (51.4) | ||
| Public | 33 (33.7) | 37 (34.6) | ||
| Combination/other | 17 (17.3) | 15 (14.0) | ||
| Mean duration of RA, years (SD)* | 9.0 (8.2) | 9.3 (9.1) | ||
| Rheumatoid factor positive, n (%) | 67.0 (68.4) | 65.0 (60.7) | ||
| Mean CRP, mg/L (SD) | 12.7 (14.1) | 6.7 (9.1) | 12.1 (22.3) | 6.7 (10.2) |
| Mean ESR, mm/h (SD) | 23.0 (17.8) | 17.2 (14.9) | 21.8 (17.9) | 15.9 (13.3) |
| Mean tender 28 joint count (SD) | 12.2 (6.7) | 4.9 (6.2) | 12.1 (6.7) | 4.9 (6.5) |
| Mean swollen 28 joint count (SD) | 9.7 (4.6) | 3.4 (4.0) | 10.3 (5.1) | 3.6 (3.9) |
| Mean DAS28 (SD) | 5.4 (1.1) | 3.4 (1.4) | 5.4 (1.1) | 3.5 (1.5) |
| Mean HAQ (SD) | 1.3 (0.7) | 0.8 (0.7) | 1.5 (0.5) | 1.0 (0.7) |
| Prior medication | ||||
| Mean duration of MTX use prior to study start, years (SD)† | 5.00 (4.8) | 4.85 (4.2) | ||
| Mean average weekly dose of MTX in 12 weeks prior to study start, mg/wk (SD)‡ | 20.2 (4.2) | 21.1 (3.7) | ||
| Subcutaneous MTX 4 weeks prior to study start, n (%) | 41 (41.8) | 47 (43.9) | ||
| No. of other prior DMARDs, median [min, max] | 1 [0, 4] | 1 [0, 4] | ||
| Patients on ≥2 DMARDs, n (%) | 43 (43.9) | 50 (46.7) | ||
| Corticosteroids ever, n (%) | 76 (77.6) | 79 (73.8) | ||
| Prednisone or equivalent (intra-articular), n (%) | 44 (44.9) | 40 (37.4) | ||
| Prednisone or equivalent (oral), n (%) | 55 (56.1) | 51 (47.7) | ||
| Other, n (%)§ | 17 (17.3) | 13 (12.1) | ||
*Calculated based on enrolment date.
†Calculated from date of first MTX dose to enrolment date.
‡Average is calculated per subject first, then averaged across all subjects in the group.
§Includes betamethasone, methylprednisolone, methylprednisolone acetate, methylprednisolone sodium succinate, triamcinolone and triamcinolone acetonide.
¶Study excluded patients previously on etanercept, infliximab or adalimumab but included patients previously on anakinra, abatacept, rituximab and other biologics.
CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28, disease activity score 28; DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; ETN, etanercept; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; MTX, methotrexate; NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.