Chak Sing Lau, Faith Chia, Andrew Harrison, Tsu-Yi Hsieh, Rahul Jain, Seung Min Jung, Mitsumasa Kishimoto, Ashok Kumar, Khai Pang Leong, Zhanguo Li, Juan Javier Lichauco, Worawit Louthrenoo, Shue-Fen Luo, Peter Nash, Chin Teck Ng, Sung-Hwan Park, Bagus Putu Putra Suryana, Parawee Suwannalai, Linda Kurniaty Wijaya, Kazuhiko Yamamoto, Yue Yang, Swan Sim Yeap
Aims: Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects approximately 1% of the world's population. There are a wide number of guidelines and recommendations available to support the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis; however, the evidence used for these guidelines is predominantly based on studies in Caucasian subjects and may not be relevant for rheumatoid arthritis patients in the Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology established a Steering Committee in 2013 to address this issue. Materials and methods: The AGREE II instrument and the ADAPTE Collaboration framework were applied to systematically identify, appraise, synthesize, and adapt international rheumatoid arthritis guidelines for use in the Asia-Pacific region. Results: Forty rheumatoid arthritis treatment recommendations, based on evidence and expert opinion, were drafted and are presented in this report. Conclusion: The Asia Pacific of Associations for Rheumatology rheumatoid arthritis treatment recommendations are intended to serve as a reference for best practice management of rheumatoid arthritis in Asia-Pacific, focusing on local issues to ensure the delivery of basic care for these patients, and to improve their outcomes. In addition, the document will serve as a reference for national rheumatology associations in Asia-Pacific for developing guidelines in their respective countries. International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases © 2015 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore City, Singapore; Department of Medicine, University of Otago Wellington, Wellington South, New Zealand; Section of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, and Section of Clinical Skills Training, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; Narayana Hospital, Jaipur, India; Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul, South Korea; Immuno-Rheumatology Center, St Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Rheumatology, Fortis Flt. Lt Rajan Dhall Hospital, New Delhi, India; Department of Rheumatology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China; St. Luke's Medical Center, Quezon City, Philippines; Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand; Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore City, Singapore; Rheumatology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Brawijaya University, Saiful Anwar General Hospital, Malang, Indonesia; Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology Division, Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia; Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; Subang Jaya Medical Centre, Selangor, Malaysia
