Some of the countries in the region, such as South Africa, have created their own guidelines to take local public health issues into account. For example, high tuberculosis rates make biologic use risky for patients with those two comorbidities, he said. Arab countries have also developed local recommendations for RA treatment, and DMARDs and corticosteroids are mainstays of therapy, he said.
New efforts to create registries, including registries on biologic use and risks in Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, are signs of hope, Dr. Hammoudeh said. “There is an urgent need for biologics registries in this area. This can serve to help clinicians better serve the population with RA in this area,” he concluded.
Susan Bernstein is a writer based in Atlanta.
