Data source
The study data were derived from the Hospital Information System (HIS) software. The system includes an electronic prescription system for physicians. All tocilizumab prescriptions were exported from the HIS software and saved in a Microsoft Excel file which contained patient characteristics (name, ID number, age, sex, diagnosis, follow-up date and visiting department), drug characteristics (generic name, trade name, dosage form, dose, frequency and route of administration) and physician characteristics (name and professional title). In our study, professional titles of physicians included resident physicians, attending physicians and chief physicians.
In order to acquire the scientific evidence of these off label indications, we make a comprehensive retrieval by searching Up-to-date, Micromedex database, Pubmed, Embase, and authoritative society guidelines.