METHOTREXATE AND HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE COMBINATION THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS BASED ON CLINICAL DISEASE ACTIVITY INDEX SCORE

Abstract

In the Indian population, the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is found to be 0.75%. Methotrexate (MTX) is a folate antagonist which is approved as a first-line drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of RA. MTX monotherapy has its limitations. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) belongs to the category of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Thus, the present work aims to study the effectiveness of
MTX and HCQ combination therapy in the management of RA based on the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) Score. A Bicentric Retrospective Observational Study was conducted on RA patients managed with the combination therapy of MTX and HCQ in the tertiary care hospitals of Ahmedabad city. Demographic information, CDAI score, RA factor, comprehensive therapy plan, and treatment results (remission) were all obtained using devised data input forms. The baseline CDAI score and CDAI score after one year and two years were noted. A total of a 576 RA patients on combination therapy of MTX and HCQ were enrolled to participate in the research study, of which 84% i.e. n=484 were female and 16% (n=92) were male. Data indicated that out of a total 576 patients, 26.2% (n=151) belonged to the age group of 40-49 years and 26.04% (n=150) were identified to be
of age between 50-59 years. Interpretation of the results revealed that all groups significantly improved after receiving the combination therapy. However, remission was achieved in 56 patients (9.7%) with combination therapy. Thus, treating active RA with the combination of MTX and HCQ is efficacious.