Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 344 patients with systemic autoimmune diseases treated with biological agents
| n = 344 | |
|---|---|
| Females | 270 (78%) |
| Mean age (years) | 42.74 ± 0.83 |
| Mean time of follow up (months) | 26.76 ± 1.14 (0.5-105) |
| Autoimmune diseases | |
| - Systemic lupus erythematosus | 140 (41%) |
| - Systemic vasculitis | 50 (14%) |
| - Inflammatory myopathies | 38 (11%) |
| - Behçet disease | 31 (9%) |
| - Sjögren syndrome | 23 (7%) |
| - Other diseases* | 62 (18%) |
| Previous therapies (ever exposed) | |
| - Oral corticosteroids | 332 (97%) |
| - Methylprednisolone pulses | 86 (25%) |
| - Immunosuppressants | 282 (82%) |
| - Intravenous immunoglobulins | 89 (26%) |
| - Plasma exchange | 10 (3%) |
| - Other therapies | 109 (32%) |
| Cumulated dose/length of previous therapies | |
| - Mean length of prednisone therapy (years) | 8.04 ± 0.65 |
| - Cumulated dose of cyclophosphamide (gr) | 7.18 ± 1.11 |
| - Mean length of mycophenolate (years) | 2.20 ± 0.39 |
| - Mean length of azathioprine (years) | 1.44 ± 0.35 |
| - Number of previous immunosuppressants | |
| > = 3 | 73 (21%) |
| > = 4 | 25 (7%) |
| Biological agent | |
| - Rituximab | 264 (77%) |
| - Infliximab | 37 (11%) |
| - Etanercept | 21 (6%) |
| - Adalimumab | 19 (5%) |
| - Other | 3 (1%) |
| Therapies administered concomitantly | |
| - Oral corticosteroids | 312 (91%) |
| - Immunosuppressants | 193 (56%) |
| - Intravenous immunoglobulins | 14 (4%) |
| - Plasma exchange | 11 (3%) |
| Time of exposure to biological (person-years) | |
| - Total time | 495 |
| - Exposure to rituximab | 328 |
| - Exposure to infliximab | 52 |
| - Exposure to etanercept | 66 |
| - Exposure to adalimumab | 30 |
| Retreatment | 55 (16%) |
| Switch | 33 (10%) |
See the complete list of diseases included in the Methods section.