Short-term effectiveness of methotrexate in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis

ABSTRACT

To determine the effectiveness of 6-month treatment with methotrexate in a dose range of 5-15mg once weekly in 103 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. This descriptive study was conducted in outpatient department of Medical B unit Lady Reading Hospital from October 2008 to August 2009 and included 103 active rheumatoid arthritis patients who received methotrexate in a dose range of 5-15mg once weekly for 6 months. The primary efficacy endpoint was a >/= 20% response according to the American College of Rheumatology response criteria 20 and disease activity score 28 after 6 months. Female patients made up 51.5% of the study population while males were 48.5%. The mean age was 46.1 years and the mean disease duration was 10.90 +/- 3.42 years. According to the disease activity score 28, 30.1% of patients had good while 38.8% had a moderate response. 31.1% were non-responders. Mean improvement in tender joint count were -8.3 +/- 4.59 [from baseline of 15.54 +/- 5.85] and in swollen joint count were -7.37 +/- 3.98 [from baseline of 10.59 +/- 4.96]. ESR improved to 15.24 +/- 10.42 from baseline of 58.7 +/- 11.16 and physical global assessment improves to 34.42 +/- 20.43 from baseline of 66.21 +/- 10.58. At 6 months, the rate of American college of rheumatology response criteria 20 was 68.2%. Treatment related adverse events were reported in 27.2% of patients. The study showed a favorable effectiveness for methotrexate in a dose range of 7.5-15mg once weekly