Drug consumption in the first years of rheumatoid arthritis in France, the Netherlands, and Norway:A longitudinal study in the early nineties

Objective: To analyse drug consumption in the first years of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in France, the Netherlands, and Norway, in a longitudinal study between 1991 and 1993.Patients and Methods: The EURIDISS cohort followed up over three years included 695 RA subjects with less than 5 years disease duration. Clinical and biological parameters, drug consumption according to ATC classification, and use of local treatment were recorded.Results: In the Netherlands consumption of second-line treatment occurred early on, and remained constant over time. Tn France, it was consumed by half of the subjects and decreased during follow-up (p <0.001). In Norway, 50% of the subjects were on second-line treatment at the outset. NSAIDs rather than corticoids were the most widely consumed. Patients underwent frequently local treatments with decrease frequency of infiltrations over time (pConclusion: Second-line treatments were used in the first years of disease development, following varying sequences in the different countries.