PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alain Saraux
AU  - Valérie Devauchelle-Pensec
AU  - Luc Engerran
AU  - René Marc Flipo
TI  - Most rheumatologists are conservative in active rheumatoid arthritis despite methotrexate therapy: results of the PRISME survey.
DP  - 2006 Jul 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 1258--1265
VI  - 33
IP  - 7
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/33/7/1258.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/33/7/1258.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2006 Jul 01; 33
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the proportion of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) visiting office-based rheumatologists for persistently active RA despite past or current methotrexate (MTX) treatment, and to describe the management of these patients in France in 2003. METHODS: All French rheumatologists were invited to participate in a cross-sectional postal survey. During a predetermined week, they were to include the first 2 patients seen for RA with a history of past or current MTX treatment. Adequacy of current treatment was assessed based on the 28-joint Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) and on current MTX and corticosteroid regimens. RESULTS: Of the 1800 French rheumatologists, 492 returned 838 assessable patient questionnaires. Mean patient age was 58 years and mean time since RA diagnosis was 10 years; 77% of patients were currently taking MTX, and 51% a corticosteroid. High dosages were noted for MTX (> 15 mg/week) in 20% of patients and for corticosteroid therapy (> 10 mg/day) in 5%. Nevertheless, 41% of patients had active RA (DAS28 score 3.2 to 5.1) and 7% had very active RA (DAS28 score > 5.1). The treatment was left unchanged in 78% of patients, and biological therapy was contemplated in only 16% of patients. CONCLUSION: Although half of MTX-treated patients with RA visiting office-based rheumatologists had active or very active disease, a change in treatment was rarely considered.