The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics
FROM
ISSUE 1552
ISSUE 1552
July 30, 2018
Drugs for Rheumatoid Arthritis
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July 30, 2018 (Issue: 1552)
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
are used for initial treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
(RA) to achieve clinical remission and prevent
irreversible joint damage (see Table 1). DMARDs
generally do not have an immediate analgesic effect,
but over time they can control symptoms and have
been shown to delay and possibly stop progression
of the disease. Methotrexate (Trexall, and others)
is generally the drug of choice; it can be used for
patients with low, moderate, or high disease activity.
For mild disease, some clinicians prefer to start with
hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil, and generics) and/or
sulfasalazine (Azulfidine, and others).
... more
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- MF Marmor et al. Recommendations on screening for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine retinopathy. Ophthalmology 2016; 123:1386.
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- Abatacept (Orencia) for rheumatoid arthritis. Med Lett Drugs Ther 2006; 48:17.
- Tofacitinib (Xeljanz) for rheumatoid arthritis. Med Lett Drugs Ther 2013; 55:1.
- EB Lee et al. Tofacitinib versus methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis. N Engl J Med 2014; 370:2377.
- RF van Vollenhoven et al. Tofacitinib or adalimumab versus placebo in rheumatoid arthritis. N Engl J Med 2012; 367:508.
- Baricitinib (Olumiant) for rheumatoid arthritis. Med Lett Drugs Ther 2018; 60:120.
- ML Krause and A Makol. Management of rheumatoid arthritis during pregnancy: challenges and solutions. Open Access Rheumatol 2016; 8:23.
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- Nonopioid drugs for pain. Med Lett Drugs Ther 2018; 60:24.
- Diclofenac gel for osteoarthritis. Med Lett Drugs Ther 2008; 50:31.

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