Table 4.
Clinical features and use of treatments at the beginning of a second biologic (second-line treatment) by time period.
| Variable | 2007–2009 | 2010–2013 | 2014–2017 | 2018–2020 | p | Homogeneous subsets** | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical features | |||||||
| Disease evolution time when second biologic was used in years, median (P25;P75) | 9.2 (4.8; 15.5) | 9.1 (4.3; 15.9) | 8.3 (3.8; 15.0) | 7.2 (3.4; 12.5) | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 8.5 (4.1; 14.8) |
| RA | 9.3 (4.8; 15.5) | 8.9 (4.3; 15.7) | 9.4 (4.8; 15.7) | 8.8 (4.1; 13.5) | 0.184 | 1 2 3 4 | 9.1 (4.5; 15.1) |
| PsA | 8.4 (4.6; 13.6) | 8.7 (4.0; 15.0) | 6.8 (2.5; 12.7) | 6.5 (3.3; 11.3) | 0.006 | 1 2 3 4 | 7.3 (3.4; 13.4) |
| AS | 10.9 (5.1; 19.8) | 9.7 (4.7; 17.4) | 8.5 (3.8; 17.0) | 6.5 (2.5; 12.0) | 0.002 | 1 2 3 4 | 8.4 (3.9; 16.4) |
| DAS28 at baseline, mean ± SD | |||||||
| RA | 4.9 ± 1.6 | 4.6 ± 1.5 | 4.6 ± 1.4 | 4.3 ± 1.5 | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 4.6 ± 1.5 |
| PsA | 4.6 ± 1.9 | 4.6 ± 1.5 | 4.2 ± 1.4 | 3.8 ± 1.4 | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 4.2 ± 1.5 |
| Use of treatments | |||||||
| Change of therapeutic target between 1st and 2nd biologic, n (%) | 141 (17.1) | 174 (19.7) | 225 (30.7) | 232 (38.2) | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 863 (26.2) |
| Use of TNF inhibitors as a second-line treatment, n (%) | 660 (79.8) | 621 (70.8) | 471 (64.3) | 514 (60.8) | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 2266 (68.9) |
| RA | 386 (70.3) | 287 (52.4) | 176 (47.6) | 185 (52.0) | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 1034 (56.7) |
| PsA | 152 (98.7) | 150 (98.7) | 142 (78.0) | 169 (58.5) | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 613 (78.9) |
| AS | 122 (98.4) | 184 (100.0) | 153 (84.5) | 160 (80.0) | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 619 (89.8) |
| Monotherapy | 340 (41.1) | 496 (56.1) | 340 (46.4) | 444 (52.5) | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 1620 (49.3) |
| Concomitant therapy, n (%) | |||||||
| Methotrexate | 354 (42.8) | 289 (32.7) | 246 (33.6) | 263 (31.1) | < 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 1152 (35.0) |
| Leflunomide | 141 (17.0) | 100 (11.3) | 110 (15.0) | 114 (13.5) | 0.006 | 1 2 3 4 | 465 (14.1) |
| Others | 84 (10.2) | 51 (5.8) | 73 (10.0) | 57 (6.7) | 0.001 | 1 2 3 4 | 265 (8.1) |
| Use of corticosteroids | 329 (39.8) | 264 (29.9) | 285 (38.9) | 285 (33.7) | 0.214 | 1 2 3 4 | 1163 (35.4) |
*Centers that included at least one patient in this analysis.
**The homogeneous subsets are represented by lines joining the time periods in which differences were not statistically significant.