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Objectives: To evaluate the impact of using Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI)-LDA (low disease activity) versus different definitions of remission as a treatment target in established rheumatoid arthritis., Methods: A meta-epidemiological study of individual patient data from eight randomised controlled trials was performed. Four definitions of the target were considered at 6 months: (1) SDAI-LDA: SDAI≤11; (2) SDAI-Remission: SDAI≤3.3; (3) 4V-Remission: Tender and swollen 28-joint counts and C reactive protein (mg/dL) all ≤1 and patient global assessment (PGA)≤2 and (4) 3-variable (3V)-Remission: as 4V, excluding PGA. The mean radiographic change in the modified total Sharp-van der Heijde score (mTSS) and the Good Radiographic Outcome rates (defined as a change of ≤0.5 units mTSS) over 2 years were compared among target definitions. Radiographic progression and the distribution of the individual criteria of the Boolean definition in the only LDA subgroup (3.32, reflecting relevant disease impact., Conclusion: SDAI-LDA is associated with more structural damage over 2 years than any of the definitions of remission. It also allows substantial disease impact to go unchecked and uncontrolled. Physicians should strive for remission whenever possible and safe while also taking into account the different individual disease activity parameters included in the adopted definition., Competing Interests: Competing interests: RJOF reports a research grant from Medac, Consulting fees from Sanofi Genzyme and support for attending meetings from Medac and speaker fees from Sanofi Genzyme, unrelated to this work LG has received grants or contracts from AbbVie, Biogen, Lilly, Novartis, UCB, consulting fees from AbbVie, BMS, Celltrion, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, honoraria for lectures from AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Celltrion, Janssen, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, has received support for attending meetings and/or travel from MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, has received medical writing support from AbbVie, Amgen, Galapagos, Janssen, Pfizer, UCB. PMM: reports consulting/speakers fees from Abbvie, BMS, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Orphazyme, Pfizer, Roche and UCB Pharma and is supported by NIHR, UCLH and BRC; unrelated to this work. DvdH is Director of Imaging Rheumatology BV and reports speaker fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Astellas, AstraZeneca, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Cyxone, Daiichi, Eisai, Eli-Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead, Glaxo-Smith Kline, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron, Roche, Sanofi, Takeda and UCB Pharma, unrelated to this work. JAPdS reports a research grant from Medac, Consulting fees from Amgen, MSD and Abbvie, speaker fees from Amgen, MSD and Abbvie and Support for attending meetings from Amgen, Abbvie and Pfizer, unrelated to this work., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The early identification of patients with inflammatory arthritis and their referral to rheumatologists in order to establish a diagnosis and to start treatment plays a crucial role in patient outcomes. However, it is recognized that a large proportion of patients with inflammatory arthritis are diagnosed very late, losing the opportunity to start treatment in the very early stages of disease, resulting in a worse prognosis. This delay depends on several factors related to the patient, the disease, socio-demographic and health system aspects. Over time, several strategies have been developed and implemented at different levels aiming to overcome such barriers and to reduce the time from the onset of the symptoms until the diagnosis and start of adequate treatment. In this non-systematic comprehensive review, we will describe the main barriers in the identification of patients with inflammatory arthritis at different levels. We will also discuss the different strategies that have been implemented with the objective to overcome the recognized barriers and their impact in the reduction of delays., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2023 Saraiva and Duarte.)