Rheumatoid Arthritis eJournal Club
   

The Difficult RA Case: Inadequate Response to One or More Biologics
 
Release Date: February 1, 2010 Expiration Date: February 1, 2011

Technical Requirements
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Estimated Time of Completion 1 hour
Description / Overview The purpose of this activity is to discuss the difficult-to-treat patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who has had a poor or inadequate response to one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
Objectives On completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
  1. Assess treatment options for achieving low disease activity or remission in a patient with RA.
  2. Discuss the effect of nonbiologic and biologic DMARDs on radiographic progression and functional ability in RA.
  3. Evaluate evidence for switching to an alternate biologic DMARD with another mechanism of action for a patient with RA who exhibits an inadequate response.
Target Audience This activity is directed to rheumatologists and primary care physicians who treat patients with RA.
Accreditation The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Center for Continuing Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Center for Continuing Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Participants claiming CME credit from this activity may submit the credit hours to the American Osteopathic Association Council on Continuing Medical Education for Category 2 credit.
Activity Director Leonard H. Calabrese, DO
Professor of Medicine
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University
Vice Chairman
Department of Rheumatic & Immunologic Diseases
R.J. Fasenmyer Chair of Clinical Immunology
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
Author / Faculty

Michael H. Schiff, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Denver, Colorado

Faculty Disclosure In accordance with the Standards for Commercial Support issued by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Center for Continuing Education requires resolution of all faculty conflicts of interest to ensure CME activities are free of commercial bias.

The following faculty members have indicated that they may have a relationship which, in the context of their presentations, could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest:
Leonard Calabrese, DO
  Consulting: Abbott Laboratories; Amgen Inc.; Centocor, Inc.; Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Genentech, Inc.; Roche Laboratories, Inc.
 
  Research: Centocor, Inc.
 
  Teaching and Speaking: Amgen Inc.; Genentech, Inc.
 
Michael H. Schiff, MD
  Consulting: Abbott Laboratories; Amgen Inc.; Array BioPharma; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; GlaxoSmithKline; Roche Laboratories, Inc.; UCB

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Center for Continuing Education acknowledges:

This activity is supported by an educational donation provided by Amgen.
This activity is supported by an educational grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
This activity is supported by an educational grant from Centocor Ortho Biotech Services.
This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from Roche Laboratories, Inc.

This CME activity was produced by The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Center for Continuing Education,
the RJ Fasenmyer Center for Clinical Immunology and DIME.

CME Disclaimer