Desiree van der Heijde, MD, PhD, professor of rheumatology at Leiden University Medical Center, said it is simply not worth doing these indirect comparisons because it is nearly impossible to account for the differences.
“It’s not just that you can adjust for all the different things,” she said. “I think there are so many methodological issues that really you have to do your head-to-head trials and that’s the only thing you can rely on.”
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Thomas R. Collins is a freelance medical writer based in Florida.
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- Sepriano A, Ramiro S, van der Heijde D, et al. Effect of comedication with conventional synthetic dmards on tnf inhibitors-retention in patients with spondyloarthritis: A prospective cohort. Abstract OPO112. Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism. 2016 Jun 10.
- Maksymowych W, Strand V, Baeten D, et al. Secukinumab for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis: Comparative effectiveness results versus adalimumab using a matching-adjusted indirect comparison. Abstract OPO114. Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism. 2016 Jun 10.
- Betts KA, Mittal M, Song J, et al. Relative efficacy of adalimumab versus secukinumab in active ankylosing spondylitis: A matching-adjusted indirect comparison. Abstract OPO115. Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism. 2016 Jun 10.
