Polypharmacy: a rarely-discussed problem in rheumatoid arthritis. data from a large real-life study

Polypharmacy is concomitant use of five or more drugs and is usually associated with various comorbidities and advanced age. The already demonstrated consequences of polypharmacy are increased side effects, drug interactions, increased hospitalizations, drug handling difficulties, reduced adherence, and even increased mortality. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic disease with preferential involvement between the third and fifth decades. Owing to treatment of underlying disease and comorbidities, patients with RA frequently require combined use of several drugs. Despite the possible negative consequences of polypharmacy in RA, there is a shortage of studies in literature78684685Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR