Management of psoriatic arthritis in 2016: a comparison of EULAR and GRAPPA recommendations

Abstract

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a heterogeneous, potentially severe disease. Many therapeutic agents are now available for PsA, but treatment decisions are not always straightforward. To assist in this decision making, two sets of recommendations for the management of PsA were published in 2016 by international organizations - the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). In both sets of recommendations, the heterogeneity of PsA is recognized and the place of various drugs in the therapeutic armamentarium is discussed. Such agents include conventional DMARDs, such as methotrexate, and targeted therapies including biologic agents, such as ustekinumab, secukinumab and TNF inhibitors, or the targeted synthetic drug apremilast. The proposed sequential use of these drugs, as well as some other aspects of PsA management, differ between the two sets of recommendations. This disparity is partly the result of a difference in the evaluation process; the focus of EULAR was primarily rheumatological, whereas that of GRAPPA was balanced between the rheumatological and dermatological aspects of disease. In this Perspectives article, we address the similarities and differences between these two sets of recommendations and the implications for patient management.