Table 1 Evolution of patients with DM or PM on anti‐TNF treatment.
| Patient number | Sex | Age (years) | DM/PM | Duration of DM/PM (years) | Drugs tried before anti‐TNF treatment | Pre‐treatment CK (U/l) | Anti‐TNF agent | Concurrent drugs | Post‐treatment CK (U/l) | Clinical response | Follow‐up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | 33 | PM | 10 | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA, MTX | 9959 | Etanercept 25 mg biw | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA, MTX | 7905 | Improved | At 9 months still on etanercept |
| 2 | F | 44 | DM | 3 | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA, MTX | 4380 | Etanercept 25 mg biw | PDN, IVM, IVIG, MTX | 69 | Improved | D/C etanercept after 8 months because she felt better. |
| 3 | F | 41 | PM | 7 | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA, MTX, MMF | 1996 | Etanercept 25 mg biw | PDN, IVIG, AZA | 1164 | Improved | D/C etanercept after 2 months because of candida esophagitis. |
| 5489 | 4584 | At 12 months still on etanercept; recurrent esophagitis treated with fluconazole. | |||||||||
| 4 | F | 41 | DM | 2 | PDN, IVM, IVIG, MTX | 3198 | Infliximab 3 mg/kg | PDN, IVIG, MTX | 5311 | Partial response | Worsened after 3 infusions. |
| 5311 | Etanercept 25 mg biw | 2214 | Improved after 3 months treatment. Self D/C because of sinus problems. | ||||||||
| 8772 | Infliximab 3 mg/kg | 4508 | Restarted on remicade and improved; D/C after 14 months→ lost efficacy. | ||||||||
| 5 | M | 73 | DM | 13 | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA, MTX, LEF | 132 | Infliximab 3 mg/kg | PDN, IVM, IVIG, MTX | 77 | No benefit | D/C infliximab after 4 infusions. |
| 6 | M | 68 | PM | 11 | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA, MTX | 105 | Etanercept 25 mg biw | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA, MTX | 31 | No benefit | D/C etanercept after 5 months; complications: nasal congestion, cardiac irregularity. |
| 7 | M | 60 | PM | 14 | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA | 1224 | Etanercept 25 mg biw | PDN, IVM, IVIG | 700 | Improved | At 24 months still on etanercept. |
| 8 | F | 70 | PM | 8 | PDN, IVM, IVIG, AZA, CY | 450 | Etanercept 25 mg biw | PDN, IVM, IVIG | 270 | Improved | D/C etanercept s/p 20 months when splenic tumour/ascites were diagnosed. |
AZA, azathioprine; biw, twice weekly; CK, creatine kinase; CY, cyclophosphamide; D/C, discontinued; DM, dermatomyositis; F, female; IVIG, intravenous immunoglobulin G; IVM, intravenous methylprednisolone; LEF, leflunomide; M, male; MMF, mycophenolate mofetil; MTX, methotrexate; PDN, prednisone; PM, polymyositis; TNF, tumour necrosis factor