Study: Decreased need for joint surgery in RA patients may be related to increased use of biologics

Researchers from Malmö University in Sweden found that a decrease in the need for joint surgery among patients with rheumatoid arthritis seen at a later time period in their study may be related to the increased use of pharmacological agents, such as biologics, according to results presented at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego.

“Our study suggests that the rate of orthopedic surgery was reduced by early intensive treatment in patients with severe [rheumatoid arthritis] RA,” Korosh Hekmat, MD, a specialist in internal medicine rheumatology and PhD fellow at Malmö University, stated in a press release.

Hekmat and colleagues analyzed 2,342 patients from an RA registry in 1997, 2002, 2005 and 2009 and sent them questionnaires that asked about their VAS general health and pain. Results from 1998 to 2001, 2002 to 2006 and 2007 to 2011 were compared.

The risk factors for joint surgery included female gender and a high rate of disability, according to the abstract.

The overall incidence of joint surgery for all time periods was 82.3 out of 1,000 people. There was an incidence rate of 94.6 per 1,000 people from 1998 to 2001, but that declined in later time periods to 71.8 per 1,000 in 2007 to 2011, for example, according to the abstract.

Hip surgery and small joint surgery showed similar decreases in later time periods, but not knee surgery and large joint surgery, the researchers noted. They concluded that the decrease in rates of joint surgery coincided with an increase in use of pharmacologic agents, such as biologic drugs, during the same time period.

Reference:
Hekmat K. Abstract #2682. Presented at: American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting; Oct. 26-30, 2013. San Diego.

Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.