Study: Many Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Reject Corticosteroid Treatment

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are likely to reject treatment with oral corticosteroids due to concerns about side effects, according to a study reported June 27 in the on-line issue of Rheumatology.

Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory drugs related to cortisol, a natural steroid hormone produced by the body. The drugs are usually prescribed at the lowest possible dosages and for the shortest possible time periods due to their side effects, whcih include osteoporosis, bruising, infections, diabetes, cataracts, glaucoma, high blood pressure, weight gain and a bone-damaging condition called osteonecrosis.

Researchers at Southern General Hospital in Scotland sought to determine the the attitudes of rheumatoid arthritis patients to oral corticosteroid treatment.

Their study involved 158 rheumatoid arthritis patients who were out-patients at two facilities over a two-week period. The researchers asked the patients whether they were willing to be treated with oral corticosteroids and to participate in a clinical trial involving the drug.

Only 32 percent of the patients were willing to be treated with oral corticosteroids. Such patients tended to be older with higher erythrocyte sedimentation rates, poorer function and greater previous exposure to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Ninety patients refused to participate in the trial, including 46 who voiced specific concerns about corticosteroids.

"This study shows a high level of concern about and refusal of corticosteroid treatment in rheumatoid arthritis, due mainly to patient concerns about adverse effects," the researchers concluded. "Rheumatologists need to be aware of these attitudes as they are likely to affect prescribing."

Other sources: Rheumatology