Dr. Buchfuhrer discussed SELECT-SWITCH trial findings showing that patients switched to upadacitinib after failing a non-adalimumab TNF inhibitor reached low disease activity and remission at roughly double the rate of those switched to adalimumab instead, along with reassuring five-year post hoc safety data showing no new safety signals.
Dr. Buchfuhrer examined the importance of drawing on the full range of available RA therapies rather than defaulting to familiar options, since patient factors such as anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) and rheumatoid factor (RF) status can influence which therapy is likely to work best.
Dr. Buchfuhrer examined the persistence of TNF cycling in clinical practice despite observational data, including a large-scale study of more than 15,000 patients, showing that most patients who fail one TNF inhibitor are kept on the same drug class rather than switched.
Dr. Buchfuhrer discussed defining remission, rather than low disease activity, as the treatment target for RA, describing it as the point where a patient no longer needs to consciously check in with their joints day to day.
In this episode, 'Bridging the Gap Between ACR Guidelines and Real-World RA Management,' the expert rheumatologist explored the following questions: • The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) guidelines provide a framework for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) management, but there's often a gap between what guidelines recommend and what happens in practice for RA. Where do you see the biggest disconnect, and what's driving it?
In this episode titled, 'Practical Disease Activity Scoring for Rheumatoid Arthritis Follow-Up Visits', Dr. Julia Buchfuhrer led the conversation about the following questions: • Let's start with how you're assessing disease activity in RA patients in routine practice. Which scoring tools are you using most consistently, and how are you building reassessment into the care cycle? • How frequently are you bringing patients back to formally reevaluate disease activity after a treatment change and what is your clinical rationale for this decision?
