Clinical outcomes of molecular-targeted therapies for rheumatoid arthritis: comparison between orthopaedic surgeons and rheumatologists in the multicenter retrospective ANSWER cohort

Despite differences in patient profiles and treatment patterns, molecular-targeted therapy managed by orthopaedic surgeons achieved comparable effectiveness and was associated with a lower risk of discontinuation due to adverse events compared with rheumatology care. Key Points • Patients managed by orthopaedic surgeons had longer disease duration, higher seropositivity, and more advanced structural and functional impairment than those managed by rheumatologists. • Despite these differences, treatment effectiveness and disease activity improvement with bDMARDs or JAK inhibitors were comparable between specialties after adjustment for confounders. • Treatment discontinuation due to adverse events was less frequent in patients managed by orthopaedic surgeons. • Guideline-based management may enable consistent clinical outcomes across different specialties in real-world rheumatoid arthritis care.