Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis Frequently Have Persisting Pain

THURSDAY, Oct. 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) undergoing standard-of-care treatment frequently have persisting pain, according to a study published online Sept. 30 in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Christoph Baerwald, M.D., Ph.D., from the University Hospital Leipzig in Germany, and colleagues conducted a prospective multicenter study including outpatients with RA scheduled for escalation of anti-inflammatory treatment due to active disease and severe pain. A total of 567 patients were stratified into a reference group, nonresponders group, and persisting pain group at week 24 (59.4, 18.0, and 22.6 percent, respectively). The former two subgroups ended the study at week 24, and the third continued until week 48.

At week 24, 8.8, 35.0, and 26.5 percent of responders, nonresponders, and those with persisting pain, respectively, tested positive for neuropathic pain (NeP). The researchers found a positive association between pain catastrophizing and number of tender joints with persisting pain at week 24. There was no association for baseline painDETECT Questionnaire scores with subsequent persisting pain.

“From the findings of our study, it is evident that persisting pain and NeP (as well as potential nociplastic pain) are frequently found in patients with RA undergoing standard-of-care treatment,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie, which funded the study.

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