Suppressing Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Does Patient Global Assessment Blur the Target? A Practice-Based Call for a Paradigm Change

© 2017, American College of Rheumatology Objective: In current management paradigms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), patient global assessment (PGA) is crucial to decide whether a patient has attained remission (target) or needs reinforced therapy. We investigated whether the clinical and psychological determinants of PGA are appropriate to support this important role. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, single-center study including consecutive ambulatory RA patients. Data collection comprised swollen 28-joint count (SJC28), tender 28-joint count (TJC28), C-reactive protein (CRP) level, PGA, pain, fatigue, function, anxiety, depression, happiness, personality traits, and comorbidities. Remission was categorized using American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism Boolean-based criteria: remission, near-remission (only PGA >1), and nonremission. A binary definition without PGA (3v-remission) was also studied. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to identify explanatory variables of PGA in each remission state. Results: A total of 309 patients were included (remission 9.4%, near-remission 37.2%, and nonremission 53.4%). Patients in near-remission were indistinguishable from remission regarding disease activity, but described a disease impact similar to those in nonremission. In multivariable analyses, PGA in near-remission was explained (R2adjusted = 0.50) by fatigue, pain, anxiety, and function. Fatigue and pain had no relationship with disease activity measures. Conclusion: In RA, a consensually acceptable level of disease activity (SJC28, TJC28, and CRP level ≤1) does not equate to low disease impact: a large proportion of these patients are considered in nonremission solely due to PGA. PGA mainly reflects fatigue, pain, function, and psychological domains, which are inadequate to define the target for immunosuppressive therapy. This consideration suggests that clinical practice should be guided by 2 separate remission targets: inflammation (3v-remission) and disease impact

Economic considerations and patients’ preferences affect treatment selection for rheumatoid arthritis patients : A discrete choice experiment among European rheumatologists

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In wealthier countries, patients perceive worse impact of the disease although they have lower objectively assessed disease activity:results from the cross-sectional COMORA study

Objectives To investigate patterns in patient-reported and physician-reported disease outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from countries with different level of socioeconomic development. Methods Data from a cross-sectional multinational study (COMOrbidities in RA) were used. Contribution of socioeconomic welfare (gross domestic product (GDP); low vs high) of country of residence to physicianreported (tender joint count, swollen joint count (SJC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate, disease activity score based on 28 joints assessment (DAS28)-3v based on these three components and physician global assessment) and patient-reported (modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (mHAQ), patient global assessment and fatigue) disease outcomes was explored in linear regressions, adjusting for relevant confounders. Results In total, 3920 patients with RA from 17 countries (30 to 411 patients per country) were included, with mean age of 56 years (SD13) and 82% women. Mean SJC varied between 6.7 (Morocco) and 0.9 (The Netherlands), mean mHAQ ranged between 0.7 (Taiwan) and 1.5 (The Netherlands). Venezuela had the lowest (1.7) and the Netherlands the highest score on fatigue (5.0). In fully adjusted models, lower GDP was associated with worse physician-reported outcomes (1.85 and 2.84 more swollen and tender joints, respectively, and 1.0 point higher DAS28-3v), but only slightly worse performance-based patient-reported outcome (0.15 higher mHAQ), and with better evaluation-based patient-reported outcomes (0.43 and 0.97 points lower on patient global assessment and fatigue, respectively). Conclusions In patients with RA, important differences in physician-reported and patient-reported outcomes across countries were seen, with overall a paradox of worse physician-reported outcomes but better patient-reported outcomes in low-income countries, while results indicate that these outcomes in multinational studies should be interpreted with caution. Research on explanatory factors of this paradox should include non-disease driven cultural factors influencing health