PROMs for sjögren’s syndrome

Abstract

Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune syndrome combining rheumatoid arthritis and lupus symptoms with xerostomia and dry eyes. Therefore, when you are in doubt whether the patient might have rheumatoid or lupus, it is usually Sjögren’s. The symptoms in Sjögren’s syndrome are commonly stratified into “benign” and “systemic” (or extraglandular). However, although some of the symptoms are called “benign," the complaints of dry or painful eyes/mouth, fatigue, and joint or muscle ache are considered by many patients to be their greatest cause of disability. In view of the facts that the sicca symptoms and fatigue are mainly reported by the patients, and that the patients in standard clinical practice tend to focus more on the disease burden and its impact on their lives; patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) has booked its place in the assessment and monitoring of Sjögren’s syndrome patients. This chapter reviews these patient-reported features, their relationships with objective assessment of the disease activity, and their validity as reliable outcome measures to assess response to current and potential therapies in both standard medical practice and clinical trials.