Question
Hello, My doc is recommending I switch from Humira to Remicade to better control my RA. Can I expect better results from Remicade? The RA recently ruptured four extension tendons in my right hand. I just had surgery on those and am being told that if the disease isn’t better controlled that my left hand will most likely follow suit. Is moving to Remicade a reasonable course of action? Thanks.
Answer
There is not a lot of good controlled information from studies on the effectiveness of switching from one TNF inhibitor to another versus trying a drug with a different mechanism of action such as Orencia or Rituxan. If there is lack of effectiveness, most rheumatologists will try 2 different TNF inhibitors before moving to Orencia or Rituxan. I think the chance that you will respond to the second anti-TNF drug is about 50%, and may be better if you initially responded to the first TNF inhibitor and then lost effectness versus never having responded at all to a TNF inhibitor.
