Long term structural effects of combination therapy in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: five year follow up of a prospective double blind controlled study

Objective: To evaluate whether early combined therapy with methotrexate (MTX) and sulfasalazine (SSZ) during the first year in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) induces long term beneficial effects, compared with monotherapy, when the further treatment strategy is a free choice. Methods: Study design: five year multicentre prospective longitudinal trial. Participants: 146/205 patients with RA previously included in a one year prospective randomised trial comparing the effects of treatment with MTX, SSZ, or a combination of both. Criteria for inclusion: patients with early RA (⩽1 year duration). Follow up: between the end of years 1 and 5, patients were followed up and treated by their own rhe…