Annual Evidence Update on Rheumatoid Arthritis: 27 April - 1 May 2009

An update of the evidence on this topic from the NLH Musculoskeletal Specialist Library.

The team responsible for the Musculoskeletal Specialist Library has searched the literature for high quality Rheumatoid Arthritis evidence that has accumulated within the last year. We have focused on guidance and systematic reviews published before March 2009. As in recent years the majority of publications relate to various aspects of treatment with biologics. Although this constitutes an increasing proportion of the clinical activity in relation to this disease, we should not lose sight of other important developments and various aspects of rheumatoid disease management feature prominently in our update. It might seem obvious that patients should be able to expect the same high standard of care from the NHS wherever they are located in the UK but the fact that their experience varies greatly has been highlighted in a report from the King's Fund. This would be justifiable if there was no evidence to guide practice but this is far from being the case. Perhaps the most important publication during the year has been the NICE Guideline on Rheumatoid Arthritis. The widespread implementation of this guidance has the potential to greatly improve the lives and outlook of very many patients with this devastating disease.

Find out more at http://www.library.nhs.uk/musculoskeletal.