Etanercept therapy in JIA: impact on the need for intra-articular steroid injections

Background In the UK etanercept is licensed for use in children with JIA age 4–17 years with active polyarticular disease which has not fully responded to or the child has been intolerant to methotrexate [1]. Studies have shown that the annual cost of treatment with the addition of etanercept is only slightly higher than prior costs because of reduced inpatient and outpatient visits, reduction in need for other treatments and reduction in loss of parental earnings [2]. The aim of this pilot study is to confirm that the cost of etanercept in a UK cohort is off-set by the reduction in intra-articular steroid injections.