Persistence on subcutaneous tocilizumab as monotherapy or in combination with synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis patients in Greece (EMBRACE study): a multicenter, post-marketing, non-interventional, observational trial

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, inflammatory disease affecting multiple organs and causing physical disability over time. The primary objective was to evaluate treatment persistence to subcutaneous tocilizumab (TCZ-SC). Additionally, treatment effects on persistence and their associations with clinical and patient-reported outcomes were assessed. We performed a multicenter, non-interventional, 52-week observational study on 222 patients with moderate or severe RA. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by using disease activity score for 28 joints (DAS28) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response, and patients’ perceptions were evaluated by using Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, and patient global assessment (PtGA) of disease activity. Safety was assessed throughout the study. The mean age of the overall cohort was 62.2 ± 12.3 years, and 83.8