Does the Clinical Context Improve the Reliability of Rheumatologists Grading Digital Ulcers in Systemic Sclerosis?

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Digital ulcers (DUs) are often a primary end point in systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma) clinical trials, although the reliability of rheumatologists grading DUs is poor to moderate at best. DU assessment in recent trials has been based upon visual inspection alone, which potentially misses "real-world" clinical contextual information. Our aim was to investigate whether this clinical information improves the reliability of rheumatologists grading DUs. A secondary aim was to assess agreement between patients and rheumatologists.

Methods

Eighty images of a range of digital lesions were collected from patients with SSc with the clinical context: pain (severity and temporal relationship), lesion duration, and discharge (patient reported and clinician observed). Rate

SUBMITTER: Hughes M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5006886 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature