Table 1.
Demographic/Clinical Characteristics (6 month pre-period)
| Characteristic | Infliximab (N = 598) | Etanercept (N = 950) |
| Age (%) | ||
| < 18 | 0.2 | 4.1 |
| 18 – 34 | 7.0 | 8.7 |
| 35 – 44 | 19.9 | 23.3 |
| 45 – 54 | 35.8 | 37.2 |
| 55 – 64 | 32.4 | 25.1 |
| 65 + | 4.7 | 1.7 |
| Age | ||
| Mean | 50.5 | 46.6 |
| SE | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Min | 16 | 2 |
| Max | 80 | 88 |
| Gender (% female) | 76.4 | 72.1 |
| Plan Type (%) | ||
| HMO | 29.8 | 44.8 |
| PPO | 48.7 | 34.5 |
| POS | 12.5 | 16.3 |
| Indemnity | 7.5 | 2.6 |
| Other | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| Geographic Region (%) | ||
| East | 8.7 | 15.7 |
| South | 45.0 | 15.9 |
| Midwest | 38.8 | 57.4 |
| West | 7.5 | 11.1 |
| Physician Specialty (%) | ||
| FP/GP | 6.4 | 3.4 |
| Internal Medicine | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| Rheumatology | 52.7 | 64.1 |
| Other | 27.6 | 18.8 |
| Unknown | 9.9 | 9.9 |
| Infusions/Rxs (Infliximab/Etanercept) | ||
| Mean | 7.0 | 10.4 |
| Median | 7.5 | 11.0 |
| SD | 2.1 | 3.8 |
| Pre-index Therapies (%) | ||
| NSAID | 26.3 | 41.6 |
| Cox-II | 27.1 | 34.5 |
| Other Misc. Anti-inflammatory | 1.3 | 3.2 |
| Gold Compound | 2.7 | 3.3 |
| Methotrexate | 56.5 | 55.2 |
| Leflunomide | 19.4 | 25.9 |
| Other DMARD | 20.7 | 26.6 |
| Other RA related therapy | 74.9 | 78.8 |
| Pre-index Medical Diagnoses (%) | ||
| Osteoporosis | 9.2 | 7.5 |
| Depression | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| Selected Pre-index Procedures (%) | ||
| Joint Aspiration/Injection Procedures | 34.6 | 27.7 |
| Synovectomy | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Arthroplasty | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| Arthrodesis | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| Arthroscopy | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| Liver Function Tests | 42.5 | 54.5 |
| Urinalysis | 31.3 | 33.8 |
| Hematologic/Serologic Tests | 81.3 | 75.8 |
| Bone/Joint Imaging | 33.8 | 31.5 |
| Centesis Procedures | 24.1 | 20.9 |
| Upper Respiratory Infections | 5.7 | 5.8 |
| Chest X-ray | 21.4 | 17.3 |
| Pre-index Total Healthcare Costs ($) | ||
| Mean | 3,916.40 | 3,585.11 |
| SE | 225.46 | 252.39 |
| Min | 60.23 | 0.00 |
| Max | 47,306.12 | 178,388.26 |