Patient-driven outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Clinical trials evaluating therapies for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) typically report disease activity using measures such as the American College of Rheumatology response criteria and Disease Activity Scores. Additional outcomes, such as feeling well and feeling less fatigue, appear to be more important to patients than traditional disease activity outcomes such as joint tenderness and stiffness. As a result, patient-driven outcomes are increasingly used in clinical trials of RA, and have been shown to provide useful information. It is proposed that factors such as Health Assessment Questionnaire scores, fatigue, sleep, and physical and mental function become part of a patient's core set of outcomes when assessing patients with RA. The Journal of Rheumatology Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.