A preliminary study of etanercept in the treatment of severe, resistant psoriatic arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
To survey the effectiveness of etanercept in the treatment of severe, resistant psoriatic arthritis.


METHODS
Ten patients coming from the clinical practice of 5 different rheumatologists and already using etanercept (25 mg subcutaneously twice weekly) were formally assessed at 3 and 12 months after etanercept use.


RESULTS
All patients had improvement in their arthritis. Five of the 10 patients had no arthritis, 4 required only etanercept for disease control at 3 months. At 12 months, 8 of 10 patients were still on etanercept with continued good response. One patient had to discontinue etanercept due to osteomyelitis, and one due to increased disease activity. Of 4 patients with active skin disease, 3 had complete clearing. There were no side effects related to etanercept in this small, heterogeneously collected group of patients.


CONCLUSIONS
This preliminary and rather favorable experience with etanercept suggests that properly controlled trials of this agent in psoriatic arthritis are needed.
Yazici
Y
Y
Division of Rheumatology, Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, USA.
Erkan
D
D
Lockshin
M D
MD
D000328:Adult; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015535:Arthritis, Psoriatic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004351:Drug Resistance; D000068800:Etanercept; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019233:Retreatment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D000068800:Etanercept