OBJECTIVES : Baricitinib (BARI) is a JAK1/2 inhibitor approved for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA-BE-REAL is a 3-year, prospective, observational study of adult RA patients (pts). The overall study objectives are to report the proportion of pts that discontinue treatment and to report the extent of healthcare resource use (HRU) by pts following 6-months (M) of either BARI, biologic (b)DMARDs or any other targeted synthetic (ts)DMARDs (b/tsDMARDs) after starting that treatment for the first time.

METHODS : Two pt cohorts are assessed: cohort A, started treatment with BARI (2mg/4mg), and cohort B, any biologic or any other tsDMARD. In this interim analysis we report HRU by pts enrolled in RA-BE-REAL over a 6M period. These data are descriptive and presented by participating country (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK).

RESULTS : At baseline pts in cohort A were more likely to be older, have had a longer disease duration, and have received prior b/tsDMARD treatment. At 6M the number of visits (total and RA-related) to general practitioners, outpatient doctors or emergency rooms was similar between cohort A and B across the 5 countries. At the 6M timepoint French and German pts in cohort B had visited (total and RA-related) other healthcare professionals (specialist nurses, dieticians, physical therapists, psychotherapists) more often than pts in cohort A. The number of total and RA-related hospitalization episodes was found to be similar between cohorts. Finally, no difference was observed between cohorts with respect to the duration of total and RA-related hospitalization episodes. Variations between countries may reflect a higher impact of missing data in countries with fewer participants.

CONCLUSIONS : Overall, the impact of treatment with BARI or b/tsDMARDs on HRU was similar despite differences between the two cohorts in age, disease duration and prior b/tsDMARD use at baseline.