New EULAR Recommendations Advise Against Discontinuing DMARDs in Rheumatoid Arthritis Remission

New recommendations from the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) for the management of rheumatoid arthritis emphasize that disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) should not be discontinued, even when patients achieve sustained remission.

The updated guidance warns that patients who stop taking these medications may experience disease flares.

The current recommendations include few significant changes from the previous version released in 2022. Coauthors of the update noted that the revisions are intended to keep pace with an ever-evolving field.

The coauthors include Josef Smolen, MD, an emeritus professor of medicine at the Medical University of Vienna and Kevin Winthrop, MD, MPH, a professor of public health and associate professor of infectious diseases and ophthalmology at the Oregon Health and Science University.