Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| N=3448 | TCZ-IV n=2414 | n | TCZ-SC n=1034 | n | P values |
| Total no of visits (median (IQR)) | 4 (2–8) | 2 (1–4) | |||
| Total patient-years | 5606.0 | 1273.5 | |||
| Age, years (median (IQR)) | 56.6 (47.7–64.5) | 2414 | 57.3 (48.6–65.3) | 1034 | 0.17 |
| Female gender, n (%) | 1923 (79.7) | 2414 | 850 (82.2) | 1034 | 0.09 |
| Ever smoker | 456 (32.1) | 1420 | 202 (29.0) | 696 | 0.16 |
| BMI (median (IQR)) | 25.6 (22.6–29.1) | 1950 | 26.2 (23.1–29.6) | 719 | 0.02 |
| Disease duration, years (median (IQR)) | 6.2 (2.7–12.3) | 1950 | 6.7 (2.8–13.0) | 747 | 0.39 |
| Seropositivity (RF and/or ACPA), n (%) | 1572 (80.0) | 2139 | 663 (81.4) | 814 | 0.41 |
| Previous bDMARDs, n (%) | 2266 | 964 | 0.47 | ||
| None | 692 (30.5) | 319 (33.1) | |||
| 1 | 921 (40.6) | 387 (40.1) | |||
| 2 | 474 (20.9) | 185 (19.2) | |||
| ≥3 | 179 (7.9) | 73 (7.6) | |||
| Glucocorticoids | 1436 (61.6) | 2332 | 605 (60.9) | 993 | 0.75 |
| Glucocorticoid dose, mg/day (median, IQR) | 5.0 (5.0–10.0) | 1075 | 5.0 (5.0–10.0) | 361 | 0.67 |
| Concomitant csDMARD | 2372 | 1020 | <0.001 | ||
| None | 675 (28.5) | 284 (27.8) | |||
| MTX | 960 (40.5) | 317 (31.1) | |||
| MTX+other csDMARDs | 295 (12.4) | 175 (17.2) | |||
| Other than MTX | 442 (18.6) | 244 (23.9) | |||
| DAS28 (median (IQR)) | 4.4 (3.4–5.9) | 2414 | 4.1 (3.3–5.5) | 1034 | <0.001 |
| CDAI (median (IQR)) | 17.0 (13.5–28.4) | 2414 | 17.0 (15.0–24.7) | 1034 | 0.1 |
| HAQ (median (IQR)) | 1.1 (0.9–1.7) | 2414 | 1.0 (1.0–1.5) | 1034 | 0.02 |
| TJC (over 28 joints) (median (IQR)) | 8.0 (3.0–14.0) | 1933 | 6.0 (2.0–11.0) | 887 | <0.001 |
| SJC (over 28 joints) (median (IQR)) | 6.0 (2.0–10.0) | 1936 | 4.0 (2.0–8.0) | 890 | <0.001 |
| PGA (median (IQR)) | 57.0 (10.0–80.0) | 1653 | 60.0 (25.0–78.0) | 646 | 0.24 |
| PhGA (median (IQR)) | 40.0 (6.0–68.0) | 1540 | 40.0 (13.5–60.0) | 639 | 0.98 |
| ESR (mm/hour) (median (IQR)) | 27.0 (10.0–46.0) | 1770 | 22.0 (10.0–41.0) | 658 | 0.02 |
| CRP (mg/L) (median (IQR)) | 9.0 (3.0–25.8) | 1921 | 6.7 (2.0–19.3) | 863 | <0.001 |
| Education category | 1101 | 361 | 0.03 | ||
| 0–10 years | 394 (35.8) | 127 (35.2) | |||
| 11–13 years | 538 (48.9) | 158 (43.8) | |||
| >13 years | 169 (15.3) | 76 (21.1) | |||
| Comorbidities | 1310 (61.5) | 2129 | 524 (58.4) | 897 | 0.12 |
| No of patients for each route of delivery since 2014 by year of treatment initiation | |||||
| 2014 | 348 (80.9 %) | 82 (19.1%) | |||
| 2015 | 260 (41.9%) | 361 (58.1%) | |||
| 2016 | 183 (35.3%) | 336 (64.7%) | |||
| 2017–2018 | 91 (28.7%) | 226 (71.3%) | |||
ACPA, anti–citrullinated protein antibody; BMI, body mass index; CDAI, Clinical Disease Activity Index; DAS28, Disease Activity Score 28; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; IQR, interquartile range; MTX, methotrexate; PGA, patient global assessment; PhGA, Physician global assessment; RF, rheumatoid factor; SJC, swollen joint counts; TCZ-IV, intravenous tocilizumab; TCZ-SC, subcutaneous tocilizumab; TJC, tender joint counts; bDMARDs, biological disease-modifyingantirheumatic drugs; csDMARDs, conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs.