This study will enroll 200 cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) patients in China, who are naïve or shown insufficiency response or intolerance to DMARDs. The participants plan to be treated with iguratimod alone, or along with methotrexate (MTX)/ hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) / prednisone (Pred) step by step for 6 months if participants are in medium or high disease activity (DAS28≥3.2). Participants can choose to continue the study up to 24 months.The efficacy and safety of 6 months and 24 months Iguratimod treatment in RA and ERA patients will be evaluated with DAS28-ESR and other disease activity indices.
This study is designed to observed prospectively the efficacy and safety of 6 months treatment of iguratimod alone, or with methotrexate (MTX), hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and prednisone step by step on Chinese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) patients who were naïve or shown insufficiency response or intolerance to DMARDs. If volunteered, patients who completed the 6-month study can continue to follow our plans for 24 months.