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 language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 97-101 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Open Access Rheumatology: Research and Reviews |
Volume | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- Biologic
- Claims
- Methotrexate
- Tumor necrosis factor
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Rheumatology