Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology
Volume 23, Issue 1 , Pages 93-102 , February 2009

Drug management of early rheumatoid arthritis – 2008

  • Tuulikki Sokka, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Jyväskylä Central Hospital, 40620 Jyväskylä, Finland
    • Medcare Oy, Äänekoski, Finland
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +358 40 735 2087; Fax: +358 14 2691 275.
  • ,
  • Heidi Mäkinen, MD

      Affiliations

    • Jyväskylä Central Hospital, 40620 Jyväskylä, Finland
    • Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland

References 

  1. Kelley WN, Harris ED, Ruddy S, Sledge CB. Textbook of rheumatology. 2nd edn.. Philadelphia: W.B.Saunders; 1985;
  2. Short CL, Bauer W. The course of rheumatoid arthritis in patients receiving simple medical and orthopedic measures. N Engl J Med. 1948;238:142–148
  3. Pincus T, Callahan LF, Sale WG, et al. Severe functional declines, work disability, and increased mortality in seventy-five rheumatoid arthritis patients studied over nine years. Arthritis Rheum. 1984;27:864–872
  4. Scott DL, Grindulis KA, Struthers GR, et al. Progression of radiological changes in rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 1984;43:8–17
  5. Yelin E, Meenan R, Nevitt M, Epstein W. Work disability in rheumatoid arthritis: effects of disease, social, and work factors. Ann Intern Med. 1980;93:551–556
  6. Luukkainen R, Kajander A, Isomäki H. Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (letter). Br Med J. 1978;2:1501
  7. Wilske KR, Healey LA. Remodeling the pyramid – a concept whose time has come. J Rheumatol. 1989;16:565–567
  8. Fries JF. Reevaluating the therapeutic approach to rheumatoid arthritis: the ‘sawtooth’ strategy. J Rheumatol. 1990;17(Suppl. 22):12–15
  9. Emery P, Salmon M. Early rheumatoid arthritis: time to aim for remission?. Ann Rheum Dis. 1995;54:944–947
  10. Sokka T, Pincus T. Eligibility of patients in routine care for major clinical trials of anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha agents in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2003;48(2):313–318
  11. Gogus F, Yazici Y, Yazici H. Inclusion criteria as widely used for rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials: patient eligibility in a Turkish cohort. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2005;23(5):681–684
  12. Pincus T, Sokka T. Quantitative measures for assessing rheumatoid arthritis in clinical trials and clinical care. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2003;17:753–781
  13. Bergstrom U, Book C, Lindroth Y, et al. Lower disease activity and disability in Swedish patients with rheumatoid arthritis in 1995 compared with 1978. Scand J Rheumatol. 1999;28:160–165
  14. Pincus T, Sokka T, Kautiainen H. Patients seen for standard rheumatoid arthritis care have significantly better articular, radiographic, laboratory, and functional status in 2000 than in 1985. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:1009–1019
  15. Sokka T, Möttönen T, Hannonen P. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug use according to the ‘sawtooth’ treatment strategy improves the functional outcome in rheumatoid arthritis: results of a long-term follow-up study with review of the literature. Rheumatology. 2000;39:34–42
  16. Krishnan E, Fries JF. Reduction in long-term functional disability in rheumatoid arthritis from 1977 to 1998: a longitudinal study of 3035 patients. Am J Med. 2003;115:371–376
  17. Heiberg T, Finset A, Uhlig T, Kvien TK. Seven year changes in health status and priorities for improvement of health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64:191–195
  18. Sokka TM, Kaarela K, Möttönen TT, Hannonen PJ. Conventional monotherapy compared to a ‘sawtooth’ treatment strategy in the radiographic procession of rheumatoid arthritis over the first eight years. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 1999;17:527–532
  19. Sokka T, Kautiainen H, Häkkinen K, Hannonen P. Radiographic progression is getting milder in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis. Results of 3 cohorts over 5 years. J Rheumatol. 2004;31:1073–1082
  20. Krause D, Schleusser B, Herborn G, Rau R. Response to methotrexate treatment is associated with reduced mortality in patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2000;43:14–21
  21. Choi HK, Hernán MA, Seeger JD, et al. Methotrexate and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective study. Lancet. 2002;359:1173–1177
  22. Jacobsson LTH, Turesson C, Nilsson JA, et al. Treatment with TNF blockers and mortality risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2007;66(5):670–675
  23. Sokka T, Kautiainen H, Hannonen P. Stable occurrence of knee and hip total joint replacement in Central Finland between 1986 and 2003: an indication of improved long-term outcomes of rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2007;66(3):341–344
  24. da Silva E, Doran MF, Crowson CS, et al. Declining use of orthopedic surgery in patients with rheumatoid arthritis? Results of a long-term, population-based assessment. Arthritis Rheum. 2003;49(2):216–220
  25. Ward MM. Decreases in rates of hospitalizations for manifestations of severe rheumatoid arthritis, 1983–2001. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;50:1122–1131
  26. Weiss RJ, Stark A, Wick MC, et al. Orthopaedic surgery of the lower limbs in 49,802 rheumatoid arthritis patients: results from the Swedish National Inpatient Registry during 1987 to 2001. Ann Rheum Dis. 2006;65(3):335–341
  27. Fevang B, Lie S, Havelin L, et al. Reduction in orthopedic surgery among patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease in Norway 1994-2004. Arthritis Care Res. 2007;57(3):529–532
  28. Kobelt G, Eberhardt K, Geborek P. TNF inhibitors in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in clinical practice: costs and outcomes in a follow up study of patients with RA treated with etanercept or infliximab in southern Sweden. Ann Rheum Dis. 2004;63(1):4–10
  29. Puolakka K, Kautiainen H, Mottonen T, et al. Early suppression of disease activity is essential for maintenance of work capacity in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis: five-year experience from the FIN-RACo trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52(1):36–41
  30. Sokka T, Kautiainen H, Toloza S, et al. QUEST-RA: quantitative clinical assessment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis seen in standard rheumatology care in 15 countries. Ann Rheum Dis. 2007;66:1491–1496
  31. Symmons DPM, Hazes JMW, Silman AJ. Cases of early inflammatory polyarthritis should not be classified as having rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol. 2003;30:902–904
  32. Allbutt T, Rolleston H. A system of medicine. London: Macmillan; 1907;
  33. Arnett FC, Edworthy SM, Bloch DA, et al. The American Rheumatism Association 1987 revised criteria for the classification of rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1988;31:315–324
  34. Harrison BJ, Symmons DPM, Barrett EM, Silman AJ. The performance of the 1987 ARA classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis in a population based cohort of patients with early inflammatory polyarthritis. J Rheumatol. 1998;25:2324–2330
  35. Saraux A, Berthelot JM, Chalès G, et al. Ability of the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria to predict rheumatoid arthritis in patients with early arthritis and classification of these patients two years later. Arthritis Rheum. 2001;44(11):2485–2491
  36. Helliwell PS. The semeiology of arthritis: discriminating between patients on the basis of their symptoms. Ann Rheum Dis. 1995;54:924–926
  37. Kaarela K. Prognostic factors and diagnostic criteria in early rheumatoid arthritis. Scand J Rheumatol Supplement. 1985;57:1–54
  38. Möttönen TT. Prediction of erosiveness and rate of development of new erosions in early rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 1988;47:648–653
  39. Hannonen P, Möttönen T, Hakola M, Oka M. Sulfasalazine in early rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1993;36:1501–1509
  40. Machold KP, Stamm TA, Eberl GJ, et al. Very recent onset arthritis–clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings during the first year of disease. J Rheumatol. 2002;29(11):2278–2287
  41. Buckland-Wright JC, Clarke GS, Chikanza IC, Grahame R. Quantitative microfocal radiography defects changes in erosion area in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis treated with myocrisine. J Rheumatol. 1993;20:243–247
  42. Egsmose C, Lund B, Borg G, et al. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis benefit from early 2nd line therapy: 5 year followup of a prospective double blind placebo controlled study. J Rheumatol. 1995;22:2208–2213
  43. van der Heide A, Jacobs JW, Bijlsma JW, et al. The effectiveness of early treatment with ‘second-line’ antirheumatic drugs: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 1996;124:699–707
  44. Choy EH, Scott DL, Kingsley GH, et al. Treating rheumatoid arthritis early with disease modifying drugs reduces joint damage: a randomised double blind trial of sulphasalazine vs diclofenac sodium. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2002;20(3):351–358
  45. Tsakonas E, Fitzgerald AA, Fitzcharles MA, et al. Consequences of delayed therapy with second-line agents in rheumatoid arthritis: a 3 year followup on the Hydroxychloroquine in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (HERA) Study. J Rheumatol. 2000;27(3):623–629
  46. Anderson JJ, Wells G, Verhoeven AC, Felson DT. Factors predicting response to treatment in rheumatoid arthritis: the importance of disease duration. Arthritis Rheum. 2000;43(1):22–29
  47. van Dongen H, van Aken J, Lard LR, et al. Efficacy of methotrexate treatment in patients with probable rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2007;56:1424–1432
  48. Möttönen T, Hannonen P, Leirisalo-Repo M, et al. Comparison of combination therapy with single-drug therapy in early rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised trial. FIN-RACo trial group. Lancet. 1999;353:1568–1573
  49. Pinals RS, Masi AT, Larsen RA, et al. Preliminary criteria for clinical remission in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1981;24:1308–1315
  50. Puolakka K, Kautiainen H, Mottonen T, et al. Impact of initial aggressive drug treatment with a combination of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs on the development of work disability in early rheumatoid arthritis. A five-year randomized followup trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;50:55–62
  51. Puolakka K, Kautiainen H, Mottonen T, et al. Predictors of productivity loss in early rheumatoid arthritis: a 5 year follow up study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64:130–133
  52. Soubrier M, Puechal X, Sibilia J, et al. Evaluation of two strategies (initial methotrexate monotherapy versus its combination with adalimumab) in management of early active rheumatoid arthritis during the first year of evolution: Data from the GUEPARD trial. EULAR. 2008;[abstract]
  53. Leirisalo-Repo M, Kautiainen H, Laasonen L, et al. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on addition of infliximab to the FIN-RACo DMARD combination therapy for initial six months in patients with early active rheumatoid arthritis. The NEO-RACo study. EULAR. 2008;[abstract]
  54. Luukkainen R, Kajander A, Isomäki H. Effect of gold on progression of erosions in rheumatoid arthritis: better results with early treatment. Scand J Rheumatol. 1977;6:189–192
  55. Lard LR, Visser H, Speyer I, et al. Early versus delayed treatment in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis: comparison of two cohorts who received different treatment strategies. Am J Med. 2001;111:446–451
  56. Wiles NJ, Lunt M, Barrett EM, et al. Reduced disability at five years with early treatment of inflammatory polyarthritis: results from a large observational cohort, using propensity models to adjust for disease severity. Arthritis Rheum. 2001;44:1033–1042
  57. Nell VP, Machold KP, Eberl G, et al. Benefit of very early referral and very early therapy with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology. 2004;43:906–914
  58. Verstappen SMM, Jacobs J, Bijlsma JWJ, et al. Five-year followup of rheumatoid arthritis patients after early treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs versus treatment according to the pyramid approach in the first year. Arthritis Rheum. 2003;48:1797–1807
  59. Sokka T. Early rheumatoid arthritis in Finland. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2003;21:S133–S137
  60. Jantti JK, Kaarela K, Belt EA, Kautiainen HJ. Incidence of severe outcome in rheumatoid arthritis during 20 years. J Rheumatol. 2002;29(4):688–692
  61. Kaarela K, Kautiainen H. Continuous progression of radiological destruction in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol. 1997;24:1285–1287
  62. Häkkinen A, Sokka T, Kotaniemi A, Hannonen P. A randomized two-year study of the effects of dynamic strength training on muscle strength, disease activity, functional capacity, and bone mineral density in early rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2001;44:515–522
  63. Möttönen T, Paimela L, Ahonen J, et al. Outcome in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis treated according to the ‘sawtooth’ strategy. Arthritis Rheum. 1996;39:996–1005
  64. Möttönen T, Paimela L, Leirisalo-Repo M, et al. Only high disease activity and positive rheumatoid factor indicate poor prognosis in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis treated with ‘sawtooth’ strategy. Ann Rheum Dis. 1998;57:533–539
  65. Sokka T, Möttönen T, Hannonen P. Mortality in early ‘sawtooth’ treated rheumatoid arthritis patients during the first 8–14 years. Scand J Rheumatol. 1999;28:282–287
  66. Sokka T, Kautiainen H, Möttönen T, Hannonen P. Work disability in rheumatoid arthritis 10 years after the diagnosis. J Rheumatol. 1999;26:1681–1685
  67. Sokka T, Hannonen P. Utility of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs in ‘sawtooth’ strategy. A prospective study of early rheumatoid arthritis patients up to 15 years. Ann Rheum Dis. 1999;58:618–622
  68. Pincus T, Ferraccioli G, Sokka T, et al. Evidence from clinical trials and long-term observational studies that disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs slow radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis: updating a 1983 review. Rheumatology. 2002;41:1346–1356
  69. Walji S, Bykerk VP. Rheumatoid arthritis: is the disease becoming milder or is treatment improving?. J Rheumatol. 2004;31:1023–1025
  70. Hakkinen A, Sokka T, Kautiainen H, et al. Sustained maintenance of exercise induced muscle strength gains and normal bone mineral density in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: a 5 year follow up. Ann Rheum Dis. 2004;63:910–916
  71. Hakkinen A, Sokka T, Lietsalmi AM, et al. Effects of dynamic strength training on physical function, Valpar 9 work sample test, and working capacity in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis 3. Arthritis Rheum. 2003;49(1):71–77
  72. Scott DL, Symmons DP, Coulton BL, Popert AJ. Long-term outcome of treating rheumatoid arthritis: Results after 20 years. Lancet. 1987;16:1108–1111
  73. Combe B, Landewe R, Lukas C, et al. EULAR recommendations for the management of early arthritis: report of a task force of the European Standing Committee for International Clinical Studies Including Therapeutics (ESCISIT). Ann Rheum Dis. 2007;66(1):34–45
  74. Pincus T, Yazici Y, Sokka T, et al. Methotrexate as the ‘anchor drug’ for the treatment of early rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2003;21:S179–S185
  75. Wolfe F, Michaud K. The clinical and research significance of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. J Rheumatol. 1994;21:1227–1237
  76. Pincus T, Sokka T. Prevalence of normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) on presentation of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at two rheumatology settings, one in the US and the other in Finland: Is a patient questionnaire a better quantitative measure of clinical severity?. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52(9):S127;[abstract]
  77. Mikkelsen WM, Dodge H. A four year follow-up of suspected rheumatoid arthritis: the Tecumseh, Michigan, community health study. Arthritis Rheum. 1969;12:87–91
  78. O'Sullivan JB, Cathcart ES. The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis: follow-up evaluation of the effect of criteria on rates in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Ann Intern Med. 1972;76:573–577
  79. Pincus T, Callahan LF. The ‘side effects’ of rheumatoid arthritis: joint destruction, disability and early mortality. Br J Rheumatol. 1993;32(Suppl.1):28–37
  80. Möttönen T, Hannonen P, Korpela M, et al. Delay to institution of therapy and induction of remission using single-drug or combination-disease-modifying antirheumatic drug therapy in early rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2002;46(4):894–898
  81. Grigor C, Capell H, Stirling A, et al. Effect of a treatment strategy of tight control for rheumatoid arthritis (the TICORA study): a single-blind randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2004;364:263–269
  82. Fransen J, Moens HB, Speyer I, van Riel PLCM. Effectiveness of systematic monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis disease activity in daily practice: a multicentre, cluster randomised contolled trial. Ann Rheum Dis. 2005;64:1294–1298
  83. Verstappen SM, Jacobs JW, van der Veen MJ, et al. Intensive treatment with methotrexate in early rheumatoid arthritis: aiming for remission. Computer Assisted Management in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (CAMERA, an open-label strategy trial). Ann Rheum Dis. 2007;66(11):1443–1449
  84. Goekoop-Ruiterman YPM, de Vries-Bouwstra JK, Allaart CF, et al. Clinical and radiographic outcomes of four different treatment strategies in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (the BeSt study): a randomized, controlled trial. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52:3381–3390
  85. Paulus HE. Defining remission in rheumatoid arthritis: what is it? Does it matter?. J Rheumatol. 2004;31(1):1–4
  86. Sokka T, Hetland M, Makinen H, et al. Remission and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Data from 24 Countries in the QUEST-RA Study. Arthritis Rheum. 2008;58(9):2642–2651
  87. Kremer JM. Toward a better understanding of methotrexate. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;50(5):1370–1382
  88. Pincus T, Marcum SB, Callahan LF. Long-term drug therapy for rheumatoid arthritis in seven rheumatology private practices: II. Second-line drugs and prednisone. J Rheumatol. 1992;19:1885–1894
  89. Wolfe F, Hawley DJ, Cathey MA. Termination of slow acting anti-rheumatic therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: a 14-year prospective evaluation of 1017 consecutive starts. J Rheumatol. 1990;17:994–1002
  90. Maetzel A, Wong A, Strand P, et al. Meta-analysis of treatment termination rates among rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Rheumatology. 2000;39:975–981
  91. Chan ESL, Cronstein BN. Molecular action of methotrexate in inflammatory diseases. Arthritis Res. 2002;4:266–273
  92. Donahue KE, Gartlehner G, Jonas DE, et al. Systematic review: comparative effectiveness and harms of disease-modifying medications for rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148(2):124–134
  93. Pincus T, Yazici Y, Sokka T. Are excellent systematic reviews of clinical trials useful for patient care?. Nat Clin Pract Rheumatol. 2008;4(6):294–295
  94. Bathon JM, Martin RW, Fleischmann RM, et al. A comparison of etanercept and methotrexate in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis. N Engl J Med. 2000;343:1586–1593
  95. Breedveld FC, Weisman MH, Kavanaugh AF, et al. The PREMIER study: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind clinical trial of combination therapy with adalimumab plus methotrexate versus methotrexate alone or adalimumab alone in patients with early, aggressive rheumatoid arthritis who had not had previous methotrexate treatment. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54:26–37
  96. Miyasaka N, Koike R. Treatment guidelines for the use of biologics in rheumatoid arthritis; present and future, Nippon Rinsho. 2007;65(7):1169–1178
  97. Hench PS, Kendall EC, Slocumb CH, Polley HF. The effect of a hormone of the adrenal cortex (17-hydroxy-11-dehydrocorticosterone; compound E) and of the pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone on rheumatoid arthritis. Proc Staff Meet Mayo Clin. 1949;24:181
  98. Pincus T, Sokka T, Stein CM. Are long-term very low doses of prednisone for patients with rheumatoid arthritis as helpful as high doses are harmful?. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136(1):76–78
  99. Boers M, Verhoeven AC, Markusse HM, et al. Randomised comparison of combined step-down prednisolone, methotrexate and sulphasalazine with sulphasalazine alone in early rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet. 1997;350:309–318

 Modified and updated from: 1. Sokka T, Envalds M, Pincus T. Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: a global perspective on the use of antirheumatic drugs. Mod Rheumatol. 2008 Apr 25. 2. Sokka T, Hannonen P, Möttönen T. Conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in early arthritis. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2005 Nov;31(4):729-44. Review.

PII: S1521-6942(08)00091-0

doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2008.08.003

Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology
Volume 23, Issue 1 , Pages 93-102 , February 2009