So… are steroids being used more or less
in rheumatoid arthritis nowadays…
Steroid Use in RA More Common
Nancy Walsh writing in Medpage Today reported
that more patients with rheumatoid arthritis
today are initiating treatment with glucocorticoids
(GCs) early in the course of disease than
was the case 20 years ago, a retrospective
study found.
During the first year of disease, 68% of patients
diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis between
1995 and 2007 started GCs compared with 36%
of those diagnosed between 1980 and 1994 (P<0.001),
according to Ashima Makol, MD, and colleagues
from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
However, the doses have remained similar,
with mean starting doses of 8.7 mg/day and
10.3 mg/day in the later and earlier cohorts,
respectively.
These findings may reflect shifting patterns
of rheumatoid arthritis treatment, away from
a "step-up" approach toward an early, aggressive,
treat-to-target approach.
Comment: Personally, I think low dose prednisone
is a good bridge to use.
