Background: Secukinumab is the only interleukin-17A inhibitor approved for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). There are limited real-world data about treatment experience and patient satisfaction with secukinumab among patients with AS. Objectives: To evaluate real-world treatment experience and satisfaction with secukinumab in US patients with AS.
Methods: Data on demographics, AS symptoms, treatment history, and treatment satisfaction were collected from a cross-sectional, web-based panel survey from July 10 to August 3, 2017. A random sample of US patients were invited to participate in the survey by Survey Sampling International via their patient panels. Eligibility criteria included patients aged ≥ 18 years with a self-reported diagnosis of AS who initiated secukinumab ≥ 3 months before participation and received secukinumab continuously since initiation. The outcomes evaluated were AS patient experience and satisfaction with effectiveness and symptom improvement with secukinumab, both overall and when compared to their previous treatment. Outcomes were summarized descriptively.
Results: Of 2755 patients screened, 200 patients with AS were eligible for the analysis. The mean (SD) age of survey participants was 34.4 (10.6) years; 60.0% were male and 66.0% were white. Equal proportions of patients (86.5%) had a history of biologic and nonbiologic use, and 98.5% of patients had previously received treatment for AS; the primary reason for discontinuation of their previous treatment was lack of efficacy (25.4%). Most patients (74.0%) reported overall improvement in AS symptoms compared with their previous treatment before secukinumab initiation (“a little better,” 34.5%; “moderately better,” 21.0%; “much better,” 18.5%). Overall, the majority of patients were satisfied with secukinumab treatment (Figure 1), and expressed better treatment experience with secukinumab compared with their previous treatment (Figure 2).
Conclusions: Overall, > 90% of patients with AS who were treated with secukinumab expressed overall satisfaction with their treatment experience, even when compared with their previous treatment. These data provide early insight into the secukinumab treatment experience and satisfaction of US patients with AS.
