A Clinical Study on the Use of Methotrexate in Rheumatoid Arthritis Based on CDAI Score

Abstract

Methotrexate (MTX) has been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis for more than 2 decades. It has proven its efficacy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in numerous randomized controlled trials. Compared with other second-line drugs, a higher percentage of patients can continue therapy with MTX over a prolonged period. However, its long-term effectiveness in RA remains unclear. Therefore, a retrospective observational study was performed from the period of 2016-21.
 Objectives: To evaluate the treatment plan and use of MTX in RA patients and to determine the efficacy of MTX therapy in Rheumatoid arthritis based on the CDAI score.
 Methodology: A retrospective multicentric observational study was performed for 5 years on patients who were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis & were on methotrexate therapy. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20.
 Results and Discussion: A total of 763 patients were enrolled in the study, out of which 84.53% were females and 15.46% were males. Among the subjects, 11.8 % presented with low disease activity, 50.2 % presented with moderate disease activity, and 37.7% presented with high disease activity. 14.15% of patients were put on methotrexate monotherapy while the remaining 85.85% of patients were given MTX in combination with other synthetic DMARDs. Out of the total patients that were given combination therapy, 87.94% were on MTX+HCQ treatment.
 Conclusion: Methotrexate has been proven to be efficacious in the treatment of the Rheumatoid Arthritis.
 Keywords: Methotrexate, Rheumatoid Arthritis, CDAI Score