Clinical remission in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis

Abstract

It is currently recognised that remission can be an achievable target for several rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients by a treat-to-target approach. For RA different remission criteria have been proposed, depending on the disease activity scores used, on the importance given to the inclusion of patients' perspective into the definition of remission, and on their applicability in clinical practice, that generate highly different remission rates. Conversely, for PsA, remission is still insufficiently defined and represents a partially unmet need. For both conditions, several first- and second-line treatment strategies are now available - disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) of synthetic and biologic origin - that make the achievement of remission or at least low/minimal disease activity a realistic goal. This paper is a narrative review of the different criteria of remission, in the light of the available treatment strategies for RA and PsA, and in the attempt to provide rheumatologists an opportunity to improve the outcome to the greatest extent possible in their clinical practice.