The prescription and monitoring of conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs: British Society for Rheumatology guideline scope

Abstract This guideline will provide up-to-date, evidence-based recommendations on the safe use of non-biologic DMARDs, also called conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARD), across the full spectrum of autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The guideline will update the guideline published in 2017 and will be expanded to include people of all ages. Updated information on the monitoring of DMARDs and vaccinations will be included. The guideline will be developed using the methods and processes described in the British Society for Rheumatology’s ‘Creating clinical guidelines: our protocol’, updated 2023. Lay Summary What does this mean for patients? A revised guideline, produced by the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR), will provide up-to-date information about the safe prescribing and monitoring of the effects of non-biologic (or conventional synthetic) disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). This guideline will be used by healthcare professionals, people living with autoimmune rheumatic diseases and other interested parties, such as patient groups and charities. DMARDs are a group of drugs prescribed to people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases. The main aims of these drugs are to control symptoms and reduce or prevent long-term progression of the disease. Biologic drugs and Janus kinase inhibitors—sometimes referred to as biologic DMARDs and targeted synthetic DMARDs, respectively—are excluded from this guideline. This article outlines the scope of the revised guideline for DMARD safety, which will be updated to include new information and is being extended to include children and young people. Guideline revisions will be undertaken by a working group of adult and paediatric and adolescent rheumatologists, other healthcare professionals and people living with autoimmune rheumatic disease. The guideline will be developed using the methods and processes outlined in the BSR document ‘Creating clinical guidelines: our protocol’.