Comparative Study to Assess the Safety and Effectiveness of Methotrexate and Tofacitinib in Patients Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Introduction: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints resulting in pain and disability. The prevalence of RA is estimated to be 1% to 2% globally and does not have any ethnic or racial differences. Elevated C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels in the blood indicate the presence of inflammation and can be used to detect and monitor the disease. Patients with RA tend to have a significant load in association with pain, disability and activity limitation which in turn affects the Health-Related Quality of Life. With a growing rate of RA globally there is a need to assess the safety and effectiveness of drugs and provide a suitable treatment to improve the quality of life of the patients. OBJECTIVES: The goal of the study was to compare the safety and effectiveness of Tofacitinib and Methotrexate in patients diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. The study also aimed to assess the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of patients. Methodology: This was an observational study conducted in selected Orthopaedic clinics in T. Dasarahalli Bengaluru. All the subjects (n=40) meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were briefed about the purpose of the study and the informed consent was obtained. The subject’s demographic details and responses were collected. Standard questionnaires, 36-Item Short Form survey (SF-36) to assess the HRQOL and Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disease Index (HAQ-DI) to assess the effectiveness of the drugs were used in all patients. The collected data were entered in Microsoft Excel and appropriate descriptive and statistical analysis was performed. Results: A total of 40 samples were enrolled in the study based on Inclusion and Exclusion criteria. Out of which 50% of the participants were on Methotrexate (MTX) and the other 50% were on Tofacitinib. Majority of the subjects in the study were women (90%) and men (10%) with mean age 51 and 54 respectively. On comparing the effectiveness of both