Table 3.
Treatment patterns among newly diagnosed patients during the 9-month post-index period
| Variables | cSLE (n=1017) | aSLE (n=48 415) | P value | |
| Initial treatment by class—use at any time in the first 90 days, n (%) | ||||
| Antimalarials only | 160 (15.7) | 11 466 (23.7) | <0.0001 | |
| Immunosuppressants/biologics* only | 16 (1.6) | 1362 (2.8) | ||
| Glucocorticoids only | 90 (8.8) | 5212 (10.8) | ||
| Antimalarials+immunosuppressants/biologics* | 21 (2.1) | 1168 (2.4) | ||
| Antimalarials+glucocorticoids | 221 (21.7) | 6077 (12.6) | ||
| Immunosuppressants/biologics*+glucocorticoids | 46 (4.5) | 2037 (4.2) | ||
| Antimalarials+glucocorticoids+immunosuppressants/biologics* | 179 (17.6) | 2266 (4.7) | ||
| No therapy within 90 days | 211 (20.7) | 12 685 (26.2) | ||
| Discontinuation† of initial treatment, n (%) | ||||
| Antimalarial | 145 (25.0) | 6946 (33.1) | <0.0001 | |
| Immunosuppressant therapies | ||||
| Azathioprine | 14 (35.0) | 637 (45.4) | 0.19 | |
| Methotrexate | 22 (39.3) | 1299 (43.1) | 0.57 | |
| Mycophenolate mofetil | 36 (24.5) | 623 (36.0) | 0.005 | |
| Oral glucocorticoids | 297 (56.6) | 10 877 (71.2) | <0.0001 | |
| Adherence †‡ to initial treatment, PDC | ||||
| Antimalarial | Mean (SD) | 0.8 (0.2) | 0.7 (0.3) | |
| Median (IQR) | 0.9 (0.6–1.0) | 0.8 (0.5–0.9) | <0.0001 | |
| N | 581 | 20 977 | ||
| Immunosuppressant therapies | ||||
| Azathioprine | Mean (SD) | 0.7 (0.3) | 0.6 (0.3) | |
| Median (IQR) | 0.8 (0.5–0.9) | 0.7 (0.3–0.9) | 0.75 | |
| N | 40 | 1402 | ||
| Methotrexate | Mean (SD) | 0.7 (0.3) | 0.6 (0.3) | |
| Median (IQR) | 0.8 (0.5–0.9) | 0.7 (0.4–0.9) | 0.21 | |
| N | 56 | 3015 | ||
| Mycophenolate mofetil | Mean (SD) | 0.8 (0.3) | 0.7 (0.3) | |
| Median (IQR) | 0.8 (0.7–0.9) | 0.8 (0.4–0.9) | 0.005 | |
| N | 147 | 1729 | ||
| Oral glucocorticoids | Mean (SD) | 0.5 (0.3) | 0.4 (0.3) | |
| Median (IQR) | 0.6 (0.3–0.8) | 0.3 (0.1–0.7) | <0.0001 | |
| N | 525 | 15 278 | ||
| Adherence† to initial treatment, PDC ≥80%, n (%) | ||||
| Antimalarial | 333 (57.3) | 10 376 (49.5) | 0.0002 | |
| Immunosuppressants therapies | ||||
| Azathioprine | 21 (52.5) | 582 (41.5) | 0.16 | |
| Methotrexate | 29 (51.8) | 1265 (42.0) | 0.14 | |
| Mycophenolate mofetil | 83 (56.5) | 833 (48.2) | 0.054 | |
| Oral glucocorticoids | 101 (19.2) | 2333 (15.3) | 0.01 | |
P values calculated using χ2 test (categorical variables) and Wilcoxon rank-sum (continuous and ordinal variables) test, unless specified otherwise.
*Biologics include belimumab and rituximab.
†Treatment discontinuation and adherence are not reported for biologics due to low sample size.
‡Adherence measured as PDC ranging from 0 to 1. Drug could be monotherapy or part of a combination therapy.
aSLE, adult-onset SLE; cSLE, childhood-onset SLE; PDC, proportion of days covered.