Steps towards standard medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: A practical guide

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common inflammatory rheumatic disease, involving the longterm use of drugs that act by different mechanisms to treat this disease in an effective way. Current eligibility criteria enable early diagnosis of RA, which should result in early treatment. An important component of therapy is good cooperation with a patient, who has an impact on modifiable factors that affect the course of RA and the efficacy of treatment, such as treatment of periodontal infections, weight reduction and smoking cessation. RA treatment should follow the treat-to-target (T2T) strategy, according to which pa-

Patients within joint inflammation: Area of interest for a rheumatologist

“…In detail in the group of patients with swelling of at least one joint, with high parameters of inflammation (mainly high C-reactive protein or erythrocyte sedimentation rate) the treatment with methotrexate should be initiated as fast as possible even when the patient does not satisfy fully criteria for RA. In this issue, this problem was addressed by Kwiatkowska [1] who elegantly reviewed the up-to-date strategies to diagnose and treat RA. The complex approach to patients with RA is obviously not restricted to patients who potentially may have RA.…”