Ten recommendations for psoriatic arthritis medication

  Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a refractory disease with complex and diverse clinical manifestations. In 2009, the Group for the Evaluation of Psoriasis and PsA Research (GRAPPA) developed recommendations for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis. Based on this, the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) organized a working group consisting of several experts in rheumatology, infectious diseases, and dermatology to develop 10 new recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of PsA, based on a systematic literature review and expert opinion. This recommendation is concise and easy for clinicians to use in their daily practice. The full article is published online in Ann Rheum Dis.  EULAR’s 10 recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of PsA: ① Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used to relieve the skeletal muscle signs and symptoms of PsA; ② Patients with active PsA [especially in combination with polyarticular swelling, structural destruction, high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) IC-reactive protein (CRP) and/or clinically relevant extra-articular manifestations] should be considered for early use to improve the condition (3) Patients with active PsA combined with clinically relevant psoriatic rash should be given priority to DMARDs that improve the psoriatic rash, such as methotrexate; (4) Local injections of glucocorticoids can be used as adjunctive therapy for PsA, and systemic glucocorticoids should be used at the lowest effective dose and with caution (5) Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors may be initiated in patients with active joint lesions and poor response to treatment with at least 1 DMARDs (e.g., methotrexate); (6) TNF inhibitors may be considered in patients with active attachment site inflammation and/or finger (toe) inflammation who respond poorly to treatment with NSAIDs or locally injected hormones; (7) Patients with predominantly active mid-axis joint lesions and poor response to TNF inhibitors should be considered in patients with predominantly active mid-axis joint lesions that respond poorly to treatment with NSAIDs; ⑧ Patients with high disease activity who have not used conventional DMARDs [especially in combination with polyarticular swelling, structural destruction, and/or clinically relevant extra-articular manifestations, especially extensive skin involvement] may be considered for TNF inhibitors first; ⑨ Patients who have failed treatment with one TNF inhibitor may be considered for Switching to other TNF inhibitors; ⑩ The treatment plan should be adjusted according to the disease activity, concomitant diseases and safety factors.