Objectives: To establish a nationwide overview on drug treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which is the most frequent form of chronic arthritis (JA) in children and adolescents. The emphasis is on the first 12 months after diagnosis, and any changes in medication practices during the early years of the present millennium are registered.
Methods: The Social Insurance Institution (SII) in Finland keeps a national register on individuals granted with a special reimbursement for medication of defined chronic diseases. From that register, we identified by the ICD-code of M08 all JA patients aged 16 years or under with an index day from 2000 through 2007. The prescription register of the SII showed the medication purchased for the patients. The register does not cover infused medications given in hospitals. We evaluated the first disease year's medication and the treatment strategy of the very first three months.
Results: Within our study period 2000-2007, the proportion of patients using methotrexate during the first year of treatment increased from 54 to 72% (p<0.001). The combination of two or more DMARDs became more popular (increased from 16 to 21%) as the initial treatment strategy. These changes parallel a decrease in per oral glucocorticoids. The proportion of JA patients receiving TNFα-blockers during the first year after diagnose reached the level of about 5% during the years 2004 to 007.
Conclusions: The drug treatment of patients with recent onset JA has become more intensive during the course of the new millennium in Finland, a fact expected to improve the disease outcome.