EARLY ARTHRITIS THERAPY - RATIONALE AND CURRENT APPROACH

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease that seriously affects patients ' quality of life and may lead to disability or even premature death, despite the availability of effective treatments. Evidence suggests th at delay of treatment may be the main contributing factor for poor out come. Delay is caused primarily by the erroneous belief that the cours e of RA may be controlled in many cases by mild measures such as nonst eroidal antiinflammatory drugs, physiotherapy, and rest. While this ma y be true in a certain percentage of patients, many patients with RA p rogress to severe disability. To prevent progression of disease, early treatment of RA, particularly in patients at high risk, seems mandato ry. Therefore, early arthritis clinics (EAC) have been established in a number of countries. We discuss the rationale for early intervention and our experiences in Austrian EAC. (J Rheumatol 1998;25 Suppl 53:13 -19).