Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19825849›Full record

Trial reportAnnals of the rheumatic diseases2010

Beneficial effects of a 3-week course of intramuscular glucocorticoid injections in patients with very early inflammatory polyarthritis: results of the STIVEA trial.

S M M Verstappen, M J McCoy, C Roberts, N E Dale, A B Hassell, D P M Symmons, STIVEA investigators

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
54citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
9.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

54 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 120 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Pooled it
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  8. Observational
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  16. Pre-RA: Can early diagnosis lead to prevention?Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology · 2022
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

S M M Verstappenarc Epidemiology Unit, Stopford Building, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK. deborah.symmons@manchester.ac.uk
M J McCoy
C Roberts
N E Dale
A B Hassell
D P M Symmons
STIVEA investigators
University of Manchester · GBKeele University · GBManchester Academic Health Science Centre · GBMRC Epidemiology Unit · GB

Funding

Arthritis Research UK
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate whether treating patients with very early inflammatory polyarthritis (IP) with a 3-week course of intramuscular (IM) methylprednisolone acetate may postpone the need for disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and prevent IP from evolving into rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

methodsPatients with very early IP (4-10 weeks' duration) were randomised to receive three injections of either 80 mg IM methylprednisolone acetate or placebo, given at weekly intervals. Assessments were monthly until 6 months after the first injection, and then concluded at 12 months. The primary outcome was the need to start DMARDs by the 6-month assessment. Secondary outcomes included disease activity and final clinical diagnosis by the rheumatologist at 12 months.

resultsPatients in the placebo group (76%) were more likely to need DMARDs during the first 6 months of the trial than patients in the glucocorticoid group (61%) (adjusted OR = 2.11, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.85, p = 0.015). Disease activity did not differ between the two groups at 12 months, probably because many patients in the placebo group started DMARDs early in the study. After 12 months, the arthritis had resolved without the need for DMARDs in 9.9% (11/111) of the patients in the placebo group and in 19.8% (22/111) in the glucocorticoid-treated group (adjusted OR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.99, p = 0.048).

conclusionTreatment of patients with very early IP with IM methylprednisolone acetate appears to postpone the prescription of DMARDs and prevent one in 10 patients from progressing into RA.

Indexed as

Anti-Inflammatory AgentsAntirheumatic AgentsArthritisDrug Therapy, CombinationEpidemiologic MethodsFemaleHumansInjections, IntramuscularMaleMethylprednisoloneMethylprednisolone AcetateMiddle AgedAnti-Inflammatory AgentsAntirheumatic AgentsMethylprednisoloneMethylprednisolone Acetate

Identifiers

PMID19825849
OpenAlexW2113409788

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.