Steroid-Sparing Effect of Tocilizumab and Methotrexate in Patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT: Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is an inflammatory disorder characterized by pain and stiffness in the shoulders, hips, and proximal limbs; it usually affects elderly patients. The effectiveness of methotrexate and tocilizumab in PMR treatment has not been extensively studied. Thus, we aimed to assess the steroid-sparing effect of tocilizumab and methotrexate in PMR in clinical practice. Consecutive patients with PMR in our hospitals, who were included in our retrospective cohort, were reviewed between 2005 and 2015 and divided into the following groups according to their treatments: prednisolone or none (prednisolone group), methotrexate ± prednisolone (methotrexate group), or tocilizumab ± prednisolone (tocilizumab group). The prednisolone dose at the last follow-up was compared. A total of

SUBMITTER: Izumi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8267957 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature