Good disease control , with therapeutic escalation to achieve low disease activity , was recommended .
OBJECTIVE To develop treatment recommendations for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis manifesting as non-systemic polyarthritis , sacroiliitis , or enthesitis .
Oral versus intramuscular methotrexate in juvenile chronic arthritis. Italian Pediatric Rheumatology Study Group.
OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy and safety of methotrexate ( MTX ) after oral and intramuscular administration in children with juvenile chronic arthritis ( JCA ) . METHODS Pediatric rheumatology centers in Italy participated in this short-term , prospect i ve , open trial . Each investigator was allowed to choose the oral or intramuscular route of administration according to his personal preference in everyday clinical practice . Patients enrolled by each center were given MTX through the same method of administration . All patients received 10 mg/m2 of MTX each week for six months . RESULTS A total of 257 patients with JCA ( 127 treated orally and 130 intramuscularly ) were enrolled in the trial by 11 Italian centers . The response rate after 6 months of MTX therapy was 58 % in the oral and 61 % in the intramuscular cohort . The frequency of adverse side effects did not differ significantly between the two treatment groups . CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that MTX at the conventional dose regimen is equally effective and has a similar safety profile in children with JCA when administered orally or by intramuscular injections
Good disease control , with therapeutic escalation to achieve low disease activity , was recommended .
OBJECTIVE To develop treatment recommendations for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis manifesting as non-systemic polyarthritis , sacroiliitis , or enthesitis .