Drug-free inactive disease in juvenile idiopathic arthritis can be achieved for 40% of patients

Abstract

Study design : randomised, single-blind trial. Setting: The Netherlands.1 Patients: 94 patients with new-onset (symptom duration <18 months) juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) who had not been exposed to previous disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy. Interventions: conventional systemic DMARD monotherapy (methotrexate (MTX) or sulfasalazine) versus MTX plus 6-week tapered course of prednisolone vs MTX plus etarnercept. Outcomes: time to inactive disease; time to flare after the first episode of drug-free inactive disease (DFID). Main results: …