medwireNews: The American College of Rheumatology has released updated guidelines for the pharmacologic treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
The guidelines – published simultaneously in Arthritis & Rheumatology and Arthritis Care & Research – form an update to the 2015 guidelines and comprise 44 recommendations (seven strong and 37 conditional) related to the initiation and adjustment of DMARD therapy.
“Several new topics are included in this update, including recommendations for administration of methotrexate, use of methotrexate in patients with subcutaneous nodules, pulmonary disease, and [nonalcoholic fatty liver disease], use of rituximab in patients with hypogammaglobulinemia, and treatment of RA in patients with [nontuberculous mycobacterial] lung disease,” say Liana Fraenkel, from Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA, and co-authors.
They note that the guidelines are “not prescriptive,” but “intended to serve as a tool to support clinician and patient decision-making.”
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Arthritis Rheumatol 2021; doi:10.1002/art.41752
Arthritis Care Res 2021; doi:10.1002/acr.24596