Evaluation of Selected Rheumatoid Arthritis Activity Scores for Office-based Assessment

Objective. Patient-reported measures can quickly provide assessments of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity in the office setting and do not require a laboratory test or physician examination. The goal of our study was to establish the validity of patient-reported indices compared to the C-reactive protein-based Disease Activity Score (DAS28-CRP4). Methods. Baseline and 1-year followup DAS28-CRP4 data were obtained from 740 RA subjects and were compared to indices (MDHAQ, CDAI, RAPID, RADAI, GAS) according to cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) status and change at I year. Pairwise correlations were calculated for each index. Results. Among 740 subjects, mean age 57 years, disease duration 14 years, the CDAI (r = 0.74, Delta r = 0.64) and RAPID (r = 0.62, Delta r = 0.57) had the highest correlation with the DAS28-CRP4 scores at baseline and I year. These correlations were not influenced by CCP status, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug use, biologic use, or by disease duration. Conclusion. In RA, the CDAI and RAPID correlated well with the DAS28-CRP4. They may both be practical and informative in the care of patients in the office setting.. (First Release September I 2010; J Rheumatol 2010;37:12; 2466-8; doi:3899/jrheum.091349)