Infliximab in ankylosing spondylitis: alone or in combination with methotrexate? A pharmacokinetic comparative study

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of 26 patients with ankylosing spondylitis and predominantly axial symptoms randomised to receive infliximab or infliximab + methotrexate^a

Characteristics	Infliximab (n = 12)	Infliximab + MTX (n = 14)	P value
Sex, men/women (n/%)	9/3 (75/25)	11/3 (79/21)	0.8
Median age, years	42.5 [27 to 59]	45.5 [29 to 55]	0.3
Median disease duration, years	4.0 [0 to 28]	4.5 [1 to 19]	0.9
Human leukocyte antigen B27⁺, n (%)	9 (75)	10 (71)	0.8
NSAIDs, n (%)	8 (67)	12 (86)	0.5
Previous TNF-α, n (%)	2 (17)	2 (14)	1.0
Median BASDAI score	5.8 [3.9 to 8.4]	7.0 [5.0 to 8.2]	0.2
Median C-reactive protein, mg/L	3.6 [0.5 to 18.0]	2.7 [0.5 to 31.2]	0.5

^a MTX: methotrexate; BASDAI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; NSAIDs: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Results are given as medians [range] unless otherwise indicated.

ISSN: 1478-6362