Table 3 The use of disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in the QUEST‐RA countries; the highest percentage for each drug is indicated in bold, and the lowest in bold italics.
| Country | Delay to start DMARDs, months, median | DMARD exposure years, mean | Selected DMARDs ever taken; percentage of patients in the QUEST‐RA study per country | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pred | MTX | HCQ | SSZ | LEF | Any biological agent | |||
| Denmark | 10 | 7.9 | 43% | 85% | 39% | 64% | 11% | 23% |
| Finland | 7 | 14.4 | 74% | 85% | 74% | 84% | 21% | 17% |
| France | 8 | 9.9 | 83% | 86% | 55% | 49% | 42% | 53% |
| Germany | 15 | 8.4 | 54% | 78% | 30% | 36% | 25% | 29% |
| Ireland | 11 | 6.3 | 71% | 92% | 15% | 33% | 24% | 41% |
| Italy | 9 | 7.1 | 69% | 79% | 42% | 14% | 31% | 26% |
| The Netherlands | 5 | 8.1 | 26% | 91% | 28% | 35% | 6% | 19% |
| Poland | 4 | 7.2 | 69% | 87% | 34% | 60% | 18% | 8% |
| Spain | 14 | 7.3 | 67% | 82% | 43% | 29% | 34% | 27% |
| Sweden | 12 | 8.8 | 66% | 83% | 34% | 62% | 9% | 31% |
| UK | 12 | 7.9 | 51% | 67% | 39% | 46% | 4% | 16% |
| Turkey | 12 | 8.9 | 69% | 88% | 27% | 61% | 22% | 7% |
| Serbia | 11 | 6.6 | 88% | 69% | 55% | 17% | 7% | 2% |
| USA | 9 | 7.9 | 77% | 85% | 49% | 12% | 19% | 33% |
| Argentina | 13 | 3.7 | 83% | 68% | 49% | 6% | 16% | 3% |
| Total | 9 | 8.1 | 66% | 83% | 41% | 43% | 21% | 23% |
HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; LEF, leflunomide; MTX, methotrexate; Pred, prednisone; QUEST‐RA, Quantitative Patient Questionnaires in Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis; SSZ, sulfasalazine.
A file including the standard deviation of DMARD exposure and the interquartile range of the delay to starting DMARDs is provided in the supplementary material.