Paraguayan Society of Rheumatology guidelines on use of biologic therapies in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Objective: the aim of these recommendations is to be a reference for rheumatologists and other professionals involved in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, who are using or are about to use biologic therapy (Bt). Methods: for the search of bibliographic material a web search was performed using ebdatabases such as Pubmed and websites of various scientific societies of rheumatology and the data was classified according to quality of evidence. The document was approved by consensus between all the members of the Paraguayan Society of rheumatology (SPr). Results: recommendations were produced for use of biological therapy on patients with rheumatoid arthritis. these include: disease evolution, therapeutic objective, treatment plan, indication of Bt, risk management before the use of Bt, risk management during follow-up, attitude to adverse events, and attitude to special situations. Conclusions: the SPR recommendations for the use of biologic therapies are presented. these recommendations are not intended to serve as a therapeutic protocol but to improve the quality of care and help in making therapeutic decisions.