Updated EULAR recommendations for management of early arthritis, with LoE, GoR and LoA
| LoE* | GoR* | LoA* | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. | Shared decision | na | na | 9.87±0.46 |
| B. | Rheumatologists | na | na | 9.78±0.67 |
| C. | Diagnosis | na | na | 9.78±0.67 |
| 1. | Early referral | Ib | B | 9.43±1.16 |
| 2. | Clinical examination | IIb | C | 9.48±0.99 |
| 3. | Prognosis | IIb | C | 9.83±0.49 |
| 4. | Early treatment start | Ia | A | 9.35±1.07 |
| 5. | MTX, the anchor drug | Ia | A | 9.52±0.99 |
| 6. | NSAIDs | IV | D | 9.00±1.13 |
| 7. | Glucocorticoids | Ia | A | 9.00±1.28 |
| 8. | Remission and treatment strategies | Ib, IV† | A, D | 9.52±0.9 |
| 9. | Regular monitoring | Ia, IV | A, D‡ | 9.13±1.06 |
| 10. | Non-pharmaceutical interventions | Ia | B | 8.96±1.26 |
| 11. | Prevention | IIb, IV | C, D‡ | 8.96±1.19 |
| 12. | Patient information | Ia, Ib | B | 9.35±0.98 |
*LoE and GoR are based on the recommendations of the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. LoA was based on an anonymised email voting system with a 0–10 scale by all members of the expert committee (data are mean±SD; 100% of voters).
†The general statement is evidence-based.
‡The place in the treatment algorithm is based on expert consensus.
EULAR, European League Against Rheumatism; GoR, grade of recommendation; LoA, level of agreement; LoE, level of evidence; MTX, methotrexate; na, not applicable; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.