Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Rheumatoid Arthritis, including details on treatment, symptoms, causes, medication.

Joint surgery in the Utrecht Rheumatoid Arthritis Cohort: the effect of treatment strategy.

Verstappen SM, Hoes JN, Ter Borg EJ, Bijlsma JW, Blaauw AA, van Albada-Kuipers GA, van Booma-Frankfort C, Jacobs JW

Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, F02.127, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands. S.Verstappen@umcutrecht.nl

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and prognostic factors of joint surgery in a large cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, whose treatment, clinical and radiographic data have been assessed at predefined points in time since disease onset. METHODS: Data on surgical interventions were retrospectively obtained from 482 patients with rheumatoid arthritis whose follow-up data for at least 2 years were available, including treatment and response to treatment during the first 2 years. Survival time until the first surgical intervention and until the first major surgical intervention was determined for the total study population by Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Three separate Cox regression analyses were carried out to determine which variables measured at baseline, during the first year and during the first 2 years were predictors for joint surgery. RESULTS: 27% of the patients underwent surgical interventions. Mean survival time until the first surgical intervention was 10.4 years. The percentage of patients with a surgical intervention was 10% lower in the group with response to treatment when compared with the non-response group. Next to a delayed start with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, fast radiographic progression during the first year and first 2 years was a predictor of joint surgery in the multivariate regression analyses. CONCLUSION: Treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs immediately after diagnosis results in less joint surgery when compared with a delayed start. Furthermore, joint surgery is carried out more often in patients who do not respond to treatment.

Published 13 October 2006 in Ann Rheum Dis, 65(11): 1506-11.
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