The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of etanercept treatment and to identify predictors of response to therapy within 12 months in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) without systemic manifestations.
A total of 197 juvenile patients were enrolled in this study. Response to therapy was assessed using the ACRPedi 30/50/70/90 criteria, the Wallace criteria, and the Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score 71 (JADAS-71). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify potential baseline factors associated with treatment response in different JIA categories.
One year after treatment initiation, 179 (90.9%) patients achieved ACRPedi30; 177 (89.8%) patients achieved ACRPedi50; 168 (85.3%) patients achieved ACRPedi70; and 135 (68.5%) patients achieved ACRPedi90 response. A total of 132 (67.0%) and 92 (46.7%) patients achieved inactive disease according to the Wallace criteria and the JADAS-71 cut-off point, respectively. Excellent response (achieving ACRPedi90 and clinically inactive disease according both to the Wallace criteria and the JADAS71 cut-off point) was associated with persistent oligoarticular JIA category, shorter disease duration before the start of etanercept, a lower number of DMARDs used before the introduction of etanercept, a lower number of joints with limited motion, and lower C-reactive protein at baseline. Poor response (failure to achieve ACR 70 or active disease according to both the Wallace criteria and JADAS71 even when ACR 70 was achieved) was associated with the polyarticular or enthesitis-related JIA categories, higher disease duration before the start of etanercept, and older age at disease onset.
Almost half (45.7%) of the patients who initiated etanercept treatment achieved an excellent response (inactive disease and ACRPedi90) after 1 year. What may be novel is our finding that the response to etanercept therapy was strongly associated with the JIA category. The response to etanercept therapy was also associated with the disease duration before the start of etanercept treatment.