Effects of Concomitant Conventional and Previous Biological Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs Treatment on the Efficacy of Tocilizumab to Induce Remission in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis An Observational Real-Life Study

Jörg Wendler⁶, Juergen Rech^1*, Axel J Hueber¹, Georg Schett¹, Bernhard Manger¹, Karin Manger¹¹, Jochen Zwerina¹⁰, Martin Fleck⁹, Matthias Witt⁸, Mathias Grünke⁸, Hendrik Schulze- Koops⁸, Kathrin Standfest¹, Florian Schuch⁶, Martin Feuchtenberger^5,7, Stefan Kleinert^5,6, Hans-Peter Tony⁵, Herbert Kellner⁴, Matthias Schmitt- Haendle³, Wolfgang Ochs³, Klaus Krueger² and Matthias Englbrecht¹

¹Department of Internal Medicine 3 and Institute for Clinical Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany

²Medical Practice for Rheumatology St. Bonifatius, Munich, Germany

³Medical Practice for Rheumatology, Bayreuth, Germany

⁴Medical Practice for Rheumatology, Neuwittelsbach, Germany

⁵Department for Internal Medicine 2-Rheumatology/Immunology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany

⁶Medical Practice for Rheumatology, Erlangen, Germany

⁷Medical Practice for Rheumatology, Burghausen, Germany

⁸Department for Internal Medicine 4-Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Ludwig-Maximilian-University, Munich, Germany

⁹Department for Rheumatology, Asklepios Clinic, Bad Abbach, Germany

¹⁰1st Medical Department-Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Osteology, Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, Austria

¹¹Medical Practice for Rheumatology, Bamberg, Germany

^*Corresponding Author: Juergen Rech, Department of Internal Medicine 3, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany, Tel: 49-9131-8543014 Email: