Predictors of clinical improvement in rituximab-treated refractory adult and juvenile dermatomyositis and adult polymyositis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To identify the clinical and laboratory predictors of clinical improvement in a cohort of myositis patients treated with rituximab.

Methods

We analyzed data for 195 patients with myositis (75 with adult polymyositis [PM], 72 with adult dermatomyositis [DM], and 48 with juvenile DM) in the Rituximab in Myositis trial. Clinical improvement was defined as 20% improvement in at least 3 of the following 6 core set measures of disease activity: physician's and patient's/parent's global assessment of disease activity, manual muscle testing, physical function, muscle enzymes, and extramuscular disease activity. We analyzed the association of the following baseline variables with improvement: myositis clinical subgroup, demographics, myositis damage, clinical and laboratory

SUBMITTER: Aggarwal R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3987896 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature