METHOTREXATE FOR RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

摘要

Treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) conventionally starts-with an analgesic plus a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Slow-acting antirheumatic drugs are being added at an increasingly early stage of the disease. When we reviewed slow-acting antirheumatics two years ago methotrexate had only recently been licensed in the UK for the treatment of RA. In the USA methotrexate is often preferred to traditional slow-acting antirheumatics such as gold, sulphasalazine and penicillamine. We examine the evidence.