Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

THERAPY

Could a methotrexate blood assay improve adherence?

Nature Reviews Rheumatology volume 15, pages 577–578 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

In patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, non-adherence to methotrexate therapy could lead to lower drug efficacy, unnecessary adjustments of medication, and avoidable health-care costs. Use of a novel blood assay to measure methotrexate could help prevent or reduce non-adherence in clinical practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Smolen, J. S. et al. EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: 2016 update. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 76, 960–977 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Gossec, L. et al. Recommendations for the assessment and optimization of adherence to disease-modifying drugs in chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases: A process based on literature reviews and expert consensus. Joint Bone Spine 86, 13–19 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Bluett, J. et al. Development and validation of a methotrexate adherence assay. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 78, 1192–1197 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. van den Bemt, B. J., Zwikker, H. E. & van den Ende, C. H. M. Medication adherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a critical appraisal of the existing literature. Expert Rev. Clin. Immunol. 8, 337–351 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Scheiman-Elazary, A. et al. The rate of adherence to antiarthritis medications and associated factors among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic literature review and metaanalysis. J. Rheumatol. 43, 512–523 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Curtis, J. et al. Adherence and persistence with methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review. J. Rheumatol. 43, 1997–2009 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Pasma, A. et al. Does non-adherence to DMARDs influence hospital-related healthcare costs for early arthritis in the first year of treatment? PLOS ONE 12, e0171070 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Sokol, M. C. et al. Impact of medication adherence on hospitalization risk and healthcare cost. Med. Care 43, 521–530 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Lavielle, M. et al. Methods to improve medication adherence in patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a systematic literature review. RMD Open 4, e000684 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Costedoat-Chalumeau, N. et al. Hydroxychloroquine in systemic lupus erythematosus: results of a French multicentre controlled trial (PLUS Study). Ann. Rheum. Dis. 72, 1786–1792 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rheumatology Department, Paris Descartes University, Cochin Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France

    Maxime Dougados

  2. INSERM (U1153), Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, PRES Sorbonne Paris-Cité, Paris, France

    Maxime Dougados

Authors
  1. Maxime Dougados
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maxime Dougados.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dougados, M. Could a methotrexate blood assay improve adherence?. Nat Rev Rheumatol 15, 577–578 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-019-0291-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41584-019-0291-x

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing