Medication use in tight-control (n=126) and usual-care (n=126) groups
| Week 0 | Week 12 | Week 24 | Week 36 | Week 52 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medication | UC | TC | UC | TC | UC | TC | UC | TC | UC | TC | |
| MTX mono | 71 (56%) | 118 (94%) | 75 (60%) | 120 (95%) | 73 (60%) | 66 (52%) | 67 (53%) | 59 (47%) | 66 (52%) | 66 (52%) | |
| SSZ mono | 44 (35%) | – | 34 (27%) | – | 32 (25%) | – | 30 (24%) | 1 (1%) | 29 (23%) | 1 (1%) | |
| MTX+SSZ | – | – | 4 (3%) | – | 9 (7%) | 48 (38%) | 12 (10%) | 38 (30%) | 12 (10%) | 31 (25%) | |
| MTX+anti-TNF | – | – | – | – | 2 (2%) | – | 6 (5%) | 11 (9%) | 7 (6%) | 14 (11%) | |
| Other DMARD mono | 8 (6%) | – | 7 (5%) | – | 4 (3%) | 3 (3%) | 5 (5%) | 3 (3%) | 5 (5%) | 3 (3%) | |
| Other DMARD combination | – | – | – | 1 (1%) | 2 (2%) | 4 (3%) | 6 (5%) | 5 (5%) | 7 (6%) | 4 (3%) | |
| Other DMARD anti-TNF | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 (2%) | – | 1 (1%) | |
| No DMARD | 3 (4%) | 8 (4%) | 6 (5%) | 5 (4%) | 4 (3%) | 5 (5%) | – | 7 (6%) | – | 6 (5%) | |
| Additional glucocorticosteroids | Orally | 6 (5%) | 0 | 10 (8%) | 25 (20%) | 16 (13%) | 19 (15%) | 15 (12%) | 15 (12%) | 15 (12%) | 15 (12%) |
| Intramuscular | 19 (15%) | – | 54 (43%) | – | 26 (21%) | – | 21 (17%) | – | 18 (14%) | – | |
| Intra-articular | – | NA | – | NA | – | NA | – | NA | – | NA | |
TNF, tumour necrosis factor; DMARDs, disease modifying antirheumatic drugs; MTX, methotrexate; NA, not available; SSZ, sulphasalazine; TC, tight control; UC, usual care.