Abstract
A multicenter, national, retrospective, and cross-sectional study of 219 hospital-based Venezuelan patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was aimed to evaluate the probability of continuity of treatment with oral methotrexate (MTX). Treatment survival decreased from 92% at 12 months to 42% at 180 months, as assessed by life table analysis and the Kaplan-Meier method. Forty-seven patients stopped treatment and adverse effects (29.7%) and lack of continuous access to medication (19.1%) were the most common causes for withdrawal. MTX survival was decreased in the group with combined MTX plus leflunomide therapy, as shown by the log-rank test. Venezuelan patients with RA have a probability of continuing treatment with oral MTX comparable to non-Hispanic patient populations. However, concomitant use of leflunomide may increase the risk of interruption of MTX treatment in this RA population.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 531-536 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Rheumatology International |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2007 |
Keywords
- Latin America
- Methotrexate
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Tolerability
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Rheumatology
- Immunology