Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and debilitating autoimmune disease characterized by systemic inflammation, persistent synovitis, and joint destruction. 1 Patients and physicians rate RA disease differently — while physicians focus on RA-specific clinical and radiographic outcomes, patients focus on how their general health is affected by RA, which may lead to discordance.

Aim and Objectives: The present study plans to compare the patient reported outcomes (PRO) in RA patients treated with Methotrexate or Tofacitinib. This study was done to compare the PRO in patients taking Tofacitinib or Methotrexate. Data from a 6-month analysis are reported here.

Material and Methods: Patients presenting to outpatient department of department of orthopedics were included in this study. Patients above 18 years of age who have been previously or newly diagnosed with RA according to American College of Rheumatology criteria were included in this study. Patients were randomized into two groups who received either Tofacitinib 5 mg twice a day or Methotrexate 10 mg/week which was increased by 2.5 mg/week every 15 days to a maximum of 20 mg/week. Patient assessment was
done by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain and health assessment questionnaire-disability index (HAQ-DI). This will be done at starting of treatment and then at months 1, 2, 3, and 6.

Results: Seventy-five patients received tofacitinib and 77 patients received methotrexate. There was an improvement in the disease condition as seen by VAS scale and HAQ-DI score of patients taking tofacitinib compared to methotrexate at 2, 3, and 6 months, and this difference was statistically significant.

Conclusion: Tofacitinib has a safety and efficacy profile which is similar to or superior to methotrexate.

Key words: Rheumatoid Arthritis; Tofacitinib; Methotrexate