Most children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) need to take medication to reduce inflammation and control pain and to help prevent increasing damage to the joints. When inflammation and pain are controlled, a child is more willing and able to do joint exercises to improve joint strength and prevent loss of movement.

Many different medications are used to treat JRA. No single medication works for every child. It may take some time to find the right medication or combination of medications that best controls your child's symptoms. Treatment is individualized for each child by his or her doctor and parents while considering effectiveness, side effects, cost, and the type and severity of the disease.

Medication Choices

Although treatment varies depending on the needs of the individual child, certain medications are often tried first (first-line medications), while others are often saved to try later if they are needed (second-line medications).

First-line medication. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are usually the first medications tried to control JRA inflammation and symptoms. Naproxen sodium is the most frequently used NSAID treatment for JRA. Doctors choose naproxen based on its low incidence of side effects compared to its effectiveness.¹⁰ Ibuprofen is an effective alternative. But in general, less than one-third of children will have significant relief from NSAIDs.⁵

NSAIDs and corticosteroids are most often used to control the initial stages of systemic JRA and may be used in children who have pauciarticular (oligoarthritis) with shortening of the muscles around the joints (contractures) or polyarticular disease with joint pain and swelling.^{10, 5}

Second-line medication. If symptoms are not well-controlled with NSAIDs or corticosteroids, stronger medications such as methotrexate are often used successfully.^{10, 5} Methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and other second-line medications are sometimes referred to as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Some experts prefer to call them slow-acting antirheumatic drugs (SAARDs).

Some children with JRA gain significant benefit from early methotrexate treatment. Although there is no definitive way of knowing which children are the best candidates for early methotrexate treatment, this practice is becoming more common in an effort to prevent joint and eye damage. Early treatment with methotrexate is often used for polyarticular JRA.⁵

Biological therapy is a newer option to treat JRA, particularly polyarticular JRA, that does not respond to other treatments. The biological agent etanercept, which is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor, has had some success in relieving symptoms and decreasing the number of flare-ups. Other TNF inhibitors, such as infliximab, are still under study to treat JRA.¹¹

Medications used to treat JRA

First-line

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

Injected corticosteroids

Second-line

Methotrexate

Etanercept (Enbrel)

Infliximab (Remicade)

Oral corticosteroids

Other second-line medications used less often

Sulfasalazine

Antimalarials (such as hydroxychloroquine sulfate [Plaquenil]

Adult therapies, such as cytotoxic (cell-destroying) drugs and intravenous human immunoglobulin, that may be used for rheumatoid arthritis in adults but are not yet proven to be safe and effective for children with JRA