Rheumatoid Arthritis Musculoskeletal Diseases Rheumatoid arthritis, unspecified
Conditions
Interventions
The patients were recruited from the 6 centres involved in the BARFOT (Better Anti-Rheumatic FarmacOTherapy) Study Group in southern Sweden. The randomization was done as block randomization for each
Sponsors
Karolinska Institute (Karolinska Institutet) (Sweden)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Diagnosis of RA according to the 1987 revised criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2. Age 18-80 years 3. Disease duration of = 1 year 4. Active disease defined as a Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) of >3.0 5. Started by the treating rheumatologist on the first DMARD
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Earlier treatment with glucocorticoids for RA or other diseases 2. Previous treatment with DMARDs 3. Contraindication for glucocorticoid therapy 4. Previous fragility fractures 5. Patients aged < 65 years with a T-score lower than -2.5 on bone densitometry; and patients aged = 65 years with a Z-score of less than -1
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The difference in changes in radiographic damage scores after 2 years Timepoint(s): Pre- and post-intervention. Clinical assessment at the start of the study and at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Radiographic evaluation at baseline and after 1 and 2 years | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Remission rates and differences in disease activity and function 2. Adverse events | — |
Countries
Sweden
Outcome results
None listed