Measures of arthritis activity associated with patient-reported improvement in rheumatoid arthritis when assessed prospectively versus retrospectively.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The patient global assessment (PGA) is intended to provide an integrated summary of all symptoms of arthritis, but it is not clear which disease features most impact patients' assessments of changes in their overall status. We investigated what aspects of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) activity correlated best with prospectively measured changes in the PGA and with patients' retrospective judgments of improvement.

Methods

We studied 250 patients with active RA in a prospective longitudinal study. Disease activity measures were collected before and after treatment escalation. Prospectively measured changes in PGA and patients' judgments of improvement or worsening at the followup visit were tested for correlations with changes in patient-reported measures of symptoms and

SUBMITTER: Ward MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4556344 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature