title: [Disease-modifying drugs in rheumatoid arthritis. Duration of treatment and reasons for withdrawal].
abstract: Duration of treatment and the reasons for discontinuing medication were studied in 360 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who had received in all 710 prescriptions for disease modifying antirheumatic drugs. The most frequently prescribed drugs were methotrexate, gold thiomalate, auranofin and sulphasalazine. Median duration of treatment ranged from 165 days (chlorambucil) to 341 days (methotrexate). The most common reason for discontinuing treatment with hydroxychloroquine was insufficient effect. The other drugs were most often discontinued because of adverse reactions. The probability of continued therapy with methotrexate after two years was 23% (Kaplan-Meier survival analysis), which is low compared with results from similar studies performed in other countries. This discrepancy may be due to differences both in local practices as regards monitoring of drug therapy and guidelines for conducting checks.
authors.affiliation: Revmatologisk avdeling, Diakonhjemmets sykehus, Oslo.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grefslie
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Kvien
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Toverud
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000075202:Contraindications; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents
vernacular_title: Sykdomsmodifiserende legemidler ved reumatoid artritt. Behandlingsvarighet og seponeringsårsaker.