A survey on therapy strategies for rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese rheumatologists
10.3760/cma.j.cn112138-20190910-00620
- VernacularTitle:中国风湿科医生类风湿关节炎治疗策略调查
- Author:
Man WANG
1
;
Lei ZHANG
;
Zhao PENG
;
Yan WANG
;
Shengyun LIU
Author Information
1. 郑州大学第一附属医院风湿免疫科 450052
- From:
Chinese Journal of Internal Medicine
2020;59(5):375-379
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
To investigate how Chinese rheumatologists treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We performed a survey on the choices of first-line and second-line anti-RA therapies, prescription of methotrexate and glucocorticoids, assessment of disease activity and frequencies of follow-up at the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology meeting 2016 in Shanghai. The majority (85.1%) of rheumatologists preferred methotrexate as first-line treatment. As alternative agents, 71.0% rheumatologists chose leflunomide or sulfasalazine. If methotrexate was not tolerable, only 8.6% rheumatologists would switch to parenteral administration. After failure of responding to methotrexate, 62.0% rheumatologists recommended to change or combine other conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Etanercept was the most popular biological option in 65.2% rheumatologists. Almost all (97.3%) rheumatologists prescribed methotrexate at an initial dose of 7.5 to 15 mg/week and 73.8% rheumatologists at a maximum of 10 to 15 mg/week. There were 49.3% rheumatologists prescribing oral glucocorticoids at first-line therapy. Surprisingly, 42.6% rheumatologists never or rarely assessed disease activity in daily work. For patients having achieved remission, 74.2% rheumatologists would follow up them every 1 to 3 months. This study suggests that most Chinese rheumatologists treat RA patients consistent with international guidelines, while the maximum dose of methotrexate, glucocorticoid as first-line treatment, assessment of disease activity and follow-up frequency are locally modified.
