Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether publication of national treatment guidelines improved the management of early RA in the UK. METHODS: Incident diagnoses of RA in persons aged over 18 years from 1995 to 2010 were identified from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Using a natural experimental study design, interrupted time series analysis was used to assess whether trends in the proportion of patients receiving DMARDs, within 3 and 12 months of diagnosis, changed following publication of British Society for Rheumatology guidelines in 2006. RESULTS: Between 1995 and 2010, 11 772 incident cases of RA were identified. There was a progressive increase in the proportion of patients prescribed any DMARD within 12 months from 43.3% in 1995 to 78.5% in 2010. After publication of the British Society for Rheumatology guidelines, the proportion of patients prescribed any DMARD within 12 months increased by 4.2% (P = 0.053). Prior to the guidance, prescribing was increasing by 1.64% per year, compared with 3.55% per year after publication (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Guidelines published by a national body can improve the proportion of patients receiving DMARD treatment in the first year after diagnosis of RA.

Original publication

DOI

10.1093/rheumatology/kev268

Type

Journal article

Journal

Rheumatology (oxford)

Publication Date

12/2015

Volume

54

Pages

2244 - 2248

Keywords

DMARDs, epidemiology, guidelines, natural experiment, rheumatoid arthritis, Antirheumatic Agents, Arthritis, Rheumatoid, Databases, Factual, Disease Management, Drug Prescriptions, Drug Utilization, Guideline Adherence, Humans, Interrupted Time Series Analysis, Practice Guidelines as Topic, Practice Patterns, Physicians', United Kingdom