Infliximab as Induction Therapy in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (IDEA)
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-02-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
This is a placebo controlled randomised clinical trial.Patients attending Yorkshire Early
Arthritis Clinics and diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis with symptom duration of 3-12
months will be recruited. They will be randomised to blinded therapy with either methotrexate
and intravenous corticosteroid at baseline, or methotrexate and intravenous infliximab
according to the standard treatment regime. Patients will be followed regularly, and at each
visit, if the patients are not in remission, they will be given an intramuscular injection of
corticosteroid. After 26 weeks, all patients will be unblinded and those with an inadequate
treatment response will be treated according to a dose escalation algorithm until they
achieve remission. Those in remission will continue on blinded therapy and if 6 months of
remission is achieved the intravenous agent (infliximab or placebo) will be withdrawn.