Safety and Clinical Response in Ankylosing Spondylitis after Three Months of Etanercept Therapy

Abstract Objective: To look for safety and clinical response in ankylosing spondylitis after three months of Etanercept therapy and factors associated with response. Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Rheumatology and Medicine, Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Apr 2021 to Jun 2022. Methodology: Patients with ankylosing spondylitis diagnosed based on Modified New York criteria in the rheumatology department of our hospital were recruited. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index was calculated for all the patients included in the study at baseline and 12 weeks after the treatment. Relevant socio-demographic factors were associated with significant clinical improvement using Etanercept in patients included in our analysis. Results: Out of 102 patients of ankylosing spondylitis treated with a biological agent (Etanercept), 94(92.2%) had adequate clinical response. In contrast, 8(7.8%) patients did not have adequate clinical response on the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index. The mean age of the study participants was 38.61±7.88 years. The presence of comorbid illnesses and raised levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate were significantly associated with poor response to treatment with Etanercept in our study participants (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: More than 90% of the patients had adequate clinical response at the end of three months of treatment with Etanercept. Patients with comorbid medical conditions or raised ESR levels were more at risk of inadequate treatment response with this newer biological agent than other patients.