Clinically meaningful improvement in health-related quality of life in a randomized controlled trial of certolizumab pegol maintenance therapy for Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVES: Moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with important impairment in health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The aim of this study was to assess the effects of certolizumab pegol (CZP) maintenance therapy on HRQOL.

METHODS: During an open-label induction phase, study participants with moderate-to-severe CD were treated with 400 mg CZP every other week. Responders were randomized to monthly maintenance therapy with CZP or placebo. Clinically meaningful improvement in HRQOL was evaluated with three patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were calculated from utility scores derived from the EuroQoL-5 dimensions (EQ-5D). Normal life rating was measured by combining clinical disease activity, HRQOL, and measures of professional work productivity and daily activity.

RESULTS: A total of 425 responders to induction therapy were randomized to CZP maintenance (n=215) or placebo (n=210). Participants assigned to CZP maintenance reported clinically meaningful improvements in HRQOL relative to baseline and to placebo-treated participants. More participants receiving treatment with CZP reported clinically meaningful improvement in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) score (60 vs. 43%, P<0.001) and in Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) physical (51 vs. 34%, P<0.001) and mental component summary responses (44 vs. 32%, P=0.016) than did those receiving placebo. The proportion of participants who achieved clinically meaningful improvement in the EQ-5D plus health status visual analogue scale (VAS) was significantly greater in those assigned to CZP maintenance than in those assigned placebo (57 vs. 38%, P<0.001). There was also a significantly greater gain in QALYs for the CZP group as compared with the placebo group (mean+/-s.d. 0.25+/-0.10 and 0.21+/-0.11; P=0.001). Significantly more participants receiving CZP maintenance reported living a normal life (21.4%) than did those receiving placebo (12.9%, P=0.019).

CONCLUSIONS: Maintenance therapy with CZP resulted in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in HRQOL, as assessed by multiple PRO instruments. CZP improved and maintained the quality and quantity of the remission and response, as measured by QALYs. Furthermore, a significant proportion of study participants who received CZP returned to a normal life compared with those who received placebo.