Table 2.
Information on prescribing disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs
| Total | DMARD prescribers a | DMARD non-prescribers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| n = 266 b | n = 217 | n = 49 | |
| Initial prescription, continuation, or both | |||
| First only | 20 (9%) | ||
| Continuation only | 98 (45%) | ||
| Both | 99 (46%) | ||
| Prescribed DMARDs | |||
| Methotrexate | 195 (90%) | ||
| Hydroxychloroquine | 171 (79%) | ||
| Sulfasalazine | 135 (62%) | ||
| Leflunomide | 43 (20%) | ||
| Gold | 35 (16%) | ||
| Azathioprine | 54 (25%) | ||
| Cyclosporine | 32 (15%) | ||
| Abatacept | 8 (4%) | ||
| Etanercept | 64 (29%) | ||
| Infliximab | 56 (26%) | ||
| Rituximab | 20 (9%) | ||
| Adalimumab | 43 (20%) | ||
| Certolizumab pegol | 2 (1%) | ||
| Golimumab | 1 (0%) | ||
| Type of DMARDs prescribeda | |||
| Biologic and non-biologic DMARDs | 96 (44%) | ||
| Non-biologic DMARDs only | 118 (54%) | ||
| Biologic DMARDs only | 2 (1%) | ||
| Factors that make patients inappropriate candidates for DMARDs | |||
| No need (well controlled without DMARDs) | 131 (49%) | 110 (51%) | 21 (43%) |
| Too sick to take a DMARD | 92 (35%) | 78 (36%) | 14 (29%) |
| Side effects of DMARDs too problematic | 148 (56%) | 128 (59%) | 20 (41%) |
| Drug interactions | 83 (31%) | 74 (34%) | 9 (18%) |
| Drug cost and monitoring are too high | 142 (55%) | 115 (53%) | 27 (55%) |
| Cannot get laboratory monitoring | 20 (8%) | 17 (8%) | 3 (6%) |
| Best time to initiate DMARDs | |||
| After a trial of NSAIDs or steroids | 92 (35%) | 75 (35%) | 17 (35%) |
| Within the first 6 months of diagnosis | 159 (60%) | 132 (61%) | 27 (55%) |
| At least 6 months after diagnosis | 13 (5%) | 9 (4%) | 4 (8%) |
| Comfort level starting a DMARDc | |||
| Very comfortable | 23 (9%) | 23 (11%) | 0 (0%) |
| Somewhat comfortable | 79 (30%) | 73 (34%) | 6 (12%) |
| Somewhat uncomfortable | 112 (42%) | 89 (41%) | 23 (47%) |
| Very uncomfortable | 50 (19%) | 30 (14%) | 20 (41%) |
| Comfort level continuing a DMARDd | |||
| Very comfortable | 75 (28%) | 71 (33%) | 4 (8%) |
| Somewhat comfortable | 130 (49%) | 107 (50%) | 23 (47%) |
| Somewhat uncomfortable | 54 (20%) | 37 (17%) | 17 (35%) |
| Very uncomfortable | 6 (2%) | 1 (0%) | 5 (10%) |
aOne prescriber did not fill in types of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). bOne missing response. cThree missing responses. dTwo missing responses. NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.