Systematic literature review of 109 reports, (45% randomised controlled trials) assessing 63 questionnaires or tools for PROs corresponding to 14 domains of health. Frequently reported domains (and most frequent tools) were: function, 83% (most frequent tool, health assessment questionnaire, HAQ); patient global assessment, 61% (most frequent tool, visual analogue scale, VAS); pain, 56% (VAS); and morning stiffness 27%. This review revealed that PROs are reported with great heterogeneity in RA studies with some domains that are important from the patient’s perspective being infrequently reported.
A report of selected disease activity measurement instruments in rheumatoid arthritis based on expert panel recommendations for use in the clinical setting and for research. The report includes a description of the instruments along with practical application, a discussion of psychometric properties and a critical appraisal of their overall value to the rheumatology community.
This study assessed a self-administered questionnaire containing five versions of the 100 mm PG-VAS in 50 patients with RA on biologics. All PG-VAS versions correlated strongly with each other. However, individual scores for each PGA-VAS, had wide limits of agreement and the different phrasing resulted in different DAS28 results (largest difference in DAS28 scores = 0.63). The study highlighted the need for standardizing and validating the PGA. Since DAS28 is a key outcome measure and itself a major influence of clinical decisions relating to eligibility for biologic agents and evaluation of new therapies, such differences stemming from heterogeneity in the phrasing of the PGA need to be eliminated