Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in the USA: Premature use of tumor necrosis factor inhibition and underutilization of concomitant methotrexate

James R. O’dell, Stanley B. Cohen, J. Carter Thorne, Joel Kremer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the treatment for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the USA. Patients and methods: This study entailed analysis of claims data for patients with RA who initiated treatment with oral methotrexate (MTX) or a biologic in 2009 (n=48,910) or 2012 (n=107,636) and had follow-up for 4 years (2009 cohort) or 2 years (2012 cohort). Results: A biologic was initiated before MTX for 27% of the 2009 cohort and 36% of the 2012 cohort. Concomitant use of MTX and a biologic declined from 74.1% (2009 cohort) to 45.4% (2012 cohort). Conclusion: MTX is underused in the treatment of RA in the USA.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)97-101
Number of pages5
JournalOpen Access Rheumatology: Research and Reviews
Volume10
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018

Keywords

  • Biologic
  • Claims
  • Methotrexate
  • Tumor necrosis factor

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Rheumatology

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