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Impact of tight control strategy on rheumatoid arthritis in Sarawak

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Abstract

The aim of our study is to describe the impact of tight control strategy on the care of RA patients in Sarawak General Hospital. We performed a prospective study of all patients with a diagnosis of RA who received treatment at the Rheumatology Clinic in Sarawak General Hospital over a 1-year period. Systematic DAS-driven treatment adjustments aimed to achieve low disease activity (DAS 28-ESR <2.6) were carried out in the clinic over the 1-year period. Disease activity and treatment regimes of all 142 patients were collected for at baseline and 1 year later for statistical analysis. Our patients have a significantly lower DAS 28 with a mean of 2.99 ± 0.95 compared with baseline of 4.31 ± 1.34 (p < 0.000). More patients were in remission 1 year later compared to baseline (36.6% vs 11.3%). Tight control strategy has a positive impact on the care of RA patients in our centre. By optimising the care of RA through tight control strategy, RA can be better controlled in our centre.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Health, Malaysia for technical support of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Sarawak General Hospital, Jalan Hospital, 93450, Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia

    Cheng Lay Teh & Jin Shyan Wong

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  1. Cheng Lay Teh
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  2. Jin Shyan Wong
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Correspondence to Cheng Lay Teh.

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Teh, C.L., Wong, J.S. Impact of tight control strategy on rheumatoid arthritis in Sarawak. Clin Rheumatol 30, 615–621 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-010-1583-3

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