title: Comparative effectiveness of current treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: An optimal treatment approach to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is guided by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2012 recommendations. RA should be diagnosed early in the disease process and treatment should be commensurate with the degree of disease activity and the presence or absence of predictors of poor prognosis. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has recently provided a comparative review of medication for RA. The treatment of RA with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologic agents, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors and non-TNF biologics (abatacept, rituximab, tocilizumab) will be discussed in the context of the ACR recommendations and the AHRQ review.
authors: Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA. gibofskya@hss.edu
authors: Allan
authors: A
authors: Gibofsky
mesh_terms: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use; D057186:Comparative Effectiveness Research / Q000379:methods*; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D001688:Biological Products