More than half of rheumatoid arthritis patients who achieved remission during treatment with infliximab (Remicade) were able to discontinue the drug for more than a year without flaring, a multicenter study found.
Of 102 patients, 55% had disease activity scores below 3.2 one year after withdrawal of the tumor necrosis factor inhibitor, indicating low disease activity, according to Yoshiya Tanaka, MD, of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Kitakyushu, Japan.
In addition, 43% had scores below 2.6 after discontinuation, indicating that they were in remission, the researchers reported online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.