Cost-utility analysis of treatment strategies in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To evaluate societal costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) of treatment strategies for patients with recent-onset active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Patients (n = 508) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment strategy groups: sequential monotherapy, step-up combination therapy, initial combination therapy with prednisone, or initial combination therapy with infliximab. For 2 years, patients reported cost and utility measures.

Comparison of treatment strategies in early rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized trial.

Background: In patients with early rheumatoid arthritis, initial combination therapies provide earlier clinical improvement and less progression of joint damage after 1 year compared with initial monotherapies (as demonstrated in the BeSt study).

Objective: To evaluate whether the initial clinical and radiographic efficacy of combination therapies could be maintained during the second year of follow-up in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis.

Design: Randomized, controlled clinical trial with blinded assessors.