Table 2.
Thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb) levels before and after treatment with tocilizumab according to thyroid-related baseline characteristics.
| Variable | No. of Patients | Pre-Treatment Mean U/L (SD) 1,5 |
Post-Treatment Mean U/L (SD) 2,5 |
Reduction U/L (%) 3 |
p-Value 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thyroid status 6 | |||||
| Hyperthyroidism | 46 | 58.3 (63.0) | 11.4 (10.9) | 46.9 (80.4) | <0.001 |
| Hypothyroidism | 7 | 146.4 (172.1) | 56.1 (106.1) | 90.3 (61.7) | 0.018 |
| Radioiodine 7 | |||||
| No | 42 | 71.2 (83.7) | 11.7 (11.2) | 59.5 (83.6) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 10 | 68.5 (112.9) | 41.9 (89.7) | 26.6 (38.6) | 0.005 |
| Thyroidectomy 6,8 | |||||
| No | 40 | 58.1 (74.0) | 17.4 (45.8) | 40.7 (70.0) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 13 | 106.3 (117.9) | 17.2 (16.2) | 89.1 (83.8) | 0.002 |
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation. 1 Baseline measurement. 2 Final measurement (one month after the last treatment dose). 3 Reductions in absolute value and percentage with respect to the pre-treatment value. 4 Mean values are shown to facilitate interpretation, while p-values were calculated with the Wilcoxon test (which compares sample medians from both groups). 5 The average baseline and final TRAb levels did not differ statistically significantly between the categories of each variable, according to the Mann–Whitney U test (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). 6 One patient with a missing value for at least one of the variables of interest. 7 Two patients with a missing value for at least one of the variables of interest. 8 One patient received both therapies (radioiodine and thyroidectomy), in which pre-treatment TRAb = 15.1 U/L and post-treatment TRAb = 7.0 U/L.