Baricitinib received European Medicines Agency and Food and Drug Administration approval in February 2017 and in May 2018, respectively, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Comprehensive data on baricitinib survival, safety, effectiveness, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with RA are lacking.

This systematic review of literature provides real-world evidence in baricitinib-treated patients with moderate-to-severe active RA, specifically on patient characteristics, treatment patterns, clinical effectiveness, drug survival, PROs, and safety related to baricitinib therapy in RA.

Baricitinib demonstrated effectiveness in the real-world setting with a consistent safety profile observed in clinical studies.

Discontinuation rates of baricitinib were lower than for biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and similar between patients on baricitinib monotherapy and in combination with conventional synthetic DMARDs.