Treatment strategies may be more important than specific drugs

Treatment strategies are more important than drugs in the management of rheumatoid arthritis suggests research in Clinical Rheumatology.

The treatment of inflammatory arthritis has changed dramatically for the better in the past two decades thanks to new drugs. “Treat to target” is the tight monitoring of disease activity and is the modern well-established approach to management of rheumatoid arthritis.

Plenty of research shows the most common treatment strategies rely on the combination of conventional synthetic disease modifying anti inflammatory drugs (mainly methotrexate, sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine).

Now a new review of the evidence shows that a tight control strategy appears to be more important than a specific drug to control rheumatoid arthritis. And the treat to target approach aiming for remission or low disease activity can be successfully achieved in people diagnosed early using less expensive drugs in comparison to newer drugs.

“Treatment decisions and strategies are more important than just the drugs,” the researchers conclude. “Treat to target and tight-control strategies are a less expensive option in comparison to newer drugs and may be recognised in the future recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis.”

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