Fig. 1.

Study design and recruitment. 78 patients attended a baseline visit, of whom 44 stopped disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy. Patients then attended routine study visits at 1, 3 and 6 months following DMARD cessation, with additional unscheduled visits at the request of the patient in the event of suspected arthritis flare. Flare was confirmed if disease activity score in 28 joints with CRP (DAS28-CRP) ≥ 2.4, at which point the patient exited the study to restart DMARD therapy via their referring rheumatology team. Patients who maintained drug-free remission at 6 months remained without DMARDs and exited the study. PD: power Doppler.