Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Winter;2(1):161-70.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Early diagnosis and treatment outcomes

Behzad Heidari  1
Affiliations

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Early diagnosis and treatment outcomes

Behzad Heidari. Caspian J Intern Med. 2011 Winter.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory progressive disease which in the absence of appropriate treatment can lead to joint destruction and disability. Prognosis of RA may be predicted based on the presence of some clinical and laboratory evidences. New criteria for classification of RA provide opportunity for earlier treatment. Initiation of treatment particularly by combination of DMARDs concurrent with short duration of corticosteroid is expected to prevent progressive course and even change the natural course of RA. At present any patients with clinical synovitis in at least one joint may have definite RA, requiring agressive treatment.

Keywords: Rheumatod arthritis; new criteria; early treatment; outcome.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Birch JT Jr, Bhattacharya S. Emerging trends in diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Prim Care. 2010;37:779–92. - PubMed
    1. El Miedany Y, Youssef S, Mehanna AN, El Gaafary M. Development of a scoring system for assessment of outcome of early undifferentiated inflammatory synovitis. Joint Bone Spine. 2008;75:155–62. - PubMed
    1. Combe B. Progression in early rheumatoid arthritis. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2009;23:59–69. - PubMed
    1. Gossec L, Combescure C, Rincheval N, et al. Relative Clinical influence of Clinical, Laboratory, and Radiological Investigations in Early Arthritis on the Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Data from the French Early Arthritis Cohort ESPOIR. J Rheumatol. 2010;37:2486–92. - PubMed
    1. Finckh A, Liang MH, van Herckenrode CM, de Pablo P. Long-term impact of early treatment on radiographic progression in rheumatoid arthritis: A meta-analysis. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;55:864–72. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources