Key clinical point: For rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients on both conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors preparing to taper, tapering either medication first is similarly cost-effective regardless of willingness to pay levels.

Major finding: Total costs were similar for 95 patients on strategies tapering csDMARDs first and for 94 patients on strategies tapering TNF inhibitors first (38,833 euros vs. 39,442 euros; P = 0.88).

Study details: The data come from an evaluation of the 2-year Tapering strategies in Rheumatoid Arthritis (TARA) trial including 189 adults with RA who used both a csDMARD and a TNF inhibitor and had well-controlled disease for at least 3 months.

Disclosures: The study was supported by ZonMw. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.