Diagnosis and Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: an Introduction to Physicians

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammatory responses around joints, resulting in pain or restricted movement. In the last two decades, RA has received increasing attention with a better understanding of its pathogenesis and the development of innovative treatment methods. Currently, the management of RA focuses on early diagnosis and persistent treatment to control disease progression and alleviate symptoms. This review aims to summarize the diagnosis and treatment of RA with respect to published classification criteria and guidelines. The combined diagnosis based on biomarkers and clinical symptoms covers the preclinical phase of RA for higher sensitivity while maintaining high precision. In RA treatment, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids (GCs) are often used to rapidly alleviate symptoms in conjunction with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs, especially methotrexate) to inhibit the underlying disease mechanism. Future improvements in the diagnosis (new biomarkers) and treatment (better monitoring and drugs) can provide more effective management of RA.