Pharmacotherapy Pearls for the Geriatrician : Focus on Oral Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Including Newer Agents

Providing safe and effective pharmacotherapyto the geriatric patients with rheumatologicaldisorders is an ongoing struggle for the rheumatologist and geriatrician alike. Cohesive communication and partnership can improve the care of these patients and subvert adverse outcomes. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, including methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, sulfasalazine, and leflunomide, and the newest oral agent for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, tofacitinib, have distinctive monitoring and adverse effect profiles. This article provides the general practitioner or geriatrician with clinically relevant pearls regarding the use of these interventions in older patients.