FRI0021 SHOULD WE USE GLUCOCORTICOID IN EARLY RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS?: RESULTS AT 5 YEARS FROM THE ERA LOUVAIN BRUSSELS COHORT

Background: The EULAR recommendations, updated in 2016, propose the initiation of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy in combination with cDMARDs background therapy for every patient with early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA).1 Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the proportion of patients with ERA who have been treated with GC in daily practice, to analyse the baseline characteristics of these patients, and to assess the clinical benefit and side effects of GC during 5 years of follow-up. Methods: We included patients with ERA from the UCLouvain Brussels cohort who met the ACR/EULAR 2010 classification criteria and were naïve to cDMARDs. Treatments were initiated based on the decision of a senior rheumatologist. We retrospectively collected patient characteristics prior to the introduction of cDMARDs with or without GC. Efficiency and serious adverse events were analysed at 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and 5 years. Results: Data from 474 eligible ERA patients were collected. The average age of the population is 48.9 years. 70.5% of the patients are women. 27.3% are smokers and 68.8% are positive for anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA).