What's new in rheumatoid arthritis? An evidenced based review.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory arthritis and has been associated with significant functional impairment and a shortened life expectancy. Fortunately, over the past 10 years, there has been a significant change in its management, which has resulted in improved outcomes for RA patients. OBJECTIVE: To critically appraise the recent evidence which affects the contemporary management of RA. DISCUSSION: The bulk of recent evidence suggests that disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) should be commenced early and continued indefinitely in RA patients. Single DMARD therapy may be sufficient in some patients but combinations, particularly those which in..