ArticleRheumatology international2021
Methotrexate does not increase the risk of liver fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: assessment by ultrasound elastography (ARFI-MetRA study).
Article in Rheumatology international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Investigation of the effect of different intensity stabilization exercises on core muscle stiffness and pain in chronic low back pain: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial.Rheumatology international · 2025Trial
- The Liver-Heart Axis in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Associations of Liver Fibrosis, Organokines, Endothelin-1, and Cardiovascular Risk.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Increased thyroid stiffness without volume change in systemic sclerosis: a case-control study using two-dimensional shear wave elastography.Rheumatology international · 2026Article
- Development of EL/PLGA nanoparticles for oral delivery of methotrexate with enhanced bioavailability and reduced toxicity.Drug delivery and translational research · 2026Article
- Methotrexate and biological therapy are not associated with fatty liver in rheumatoid arthritis-a cross-sectional study.Rheumatology international · 2025Article
- Longitudinal assessment of liver stiffness using ARFI technique does not support increased risk of fibrosis in rheumatoid arthritis patients on methotrexate.Journal of ultrasound · 2025Article
- Article
- Correlation between Cumulative Methotrexate Dose, Metabolic Syndrome and Hepatic Fibrosis Detected by FibroScan in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
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5 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesOnly limited data are available on the risk of liver fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis on long-term methotrexate treatment. To assess the risk of liver fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate, non-invasive, ultrasound-based elastography [acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging] was applied.
methodsIn total, 119 patients were assessed using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging between July 2018 and April 2019. In a cross-sectional, single-centre study design, ARFI scores were compared between patient subgroups with (n = 65) and without (n = 54) methotrexate exposure. The main outcome variable was the mean fibrosis score as measured by the ARFI method. The mean shear wave velocity was calculated from 10 valid ARFI measurements for each patient. Inferential statistical analyses (between group) were performed using ANOVA for independent samples in the case of continuous outcome variables.
resultsSixty-five patients with and fifty-four patients without MTX exposure were assessed using the ARFI elastography method. Participating patients on MTX medication (1.113 m/s) showed ARFI scores that were comparable to those of participants without MTX exposure (1.062 m/s); P = 0.228. The mean cumulative dose in the group of MTX-exposed patients was 3602 mg.
conclusionThe mean value of the repeated determination of liver density using ARFI imaging did not differ significantly between the MTX-exposed and MTX-naive patients with RA. No increased rate of liver fibrosis was found among RA patients treated with MTX.
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