Contemporary disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) in patients with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis in a US private practice: methotrexate as the anchor drug in 90% and new DMARD in 30% of patients.
OBJECTIVE
To describe therapies with disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) and biological agents in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were receiving routine clinical care in 2001 in a private practice of 5 rheumatologists in Nashville, TN, USA.


METHODS
A cohort of 232 patients with initial symptoms of RA in 1998 or later were enrolled between February and October 2001 into a longterm observational study, designed to evaluate treatments and longterm outcomes of RA. The baseline evaluation included review of all DMARD that had been taken since disease onset, clinical measures on a multidimensional health assessment questionnaire, joint counts, and laboratory measures.


RESULTS
Among the 232 patients, methotrexate (MTX) was the first DMARD used in 192 patients (82.8%), including 3 in combinations. Since initiation of the first DMARD to the study visit, over a median interval of 12.1 months, 125 (66.1%) patients of the 189 whose initial DMARD was MTX as a single DMARD continued MTX as a single DMARD, 43 (22.8%) had another DMARD or biological agent added in combination with MTX, and 21 (11.1%) discontinued MTX. Since the onset of RA, 89.2% of the patients had taken MTX, 15.9% hydroxychloroquine, 3.9% sulfasalazine, 22.0% leflunomide, 9.5% etanercept, 4.3 infliximab, and 87.0% prednisone.


CONCLUSIONS
After a median duration of 12.1 months of DMARD therapy, almost 90% of patients with recent onset RA took MTX as the anchor drug. More than 60% took MTX as a single DMARD or in combination with traditional DMARD, while 30% took leflunomide, etanercept, or infliximab, usually in combination with MTX.
Sokka
Tuulikki
T
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232, USA. tuulikki.soka@vanderbilt.edu
Pincus
Theodore
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011331:Private Practice; D014481:United States
D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D008727:Methotrexate