Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions

Achieving RA Target Disease-Activity Measures

Does it make a difference in function and HRQoL?

Publish date:: August 10, 2015

Attaining recommended target disease-activity measures was associated with enhanced physical functioning and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), according to a longitudinal, observational study of 1,297 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers found that achieving recommended disease targets was associated with:

• Significantly enhanced physical functioning based on Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) ≤ 3.3 and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) ≤ 2.8 , but not Disease Activity Score 28-C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP) < 2.6.

• Significantly improved quality of life score in EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D).

• A 36% to 45% reduction in hospitalizations.

• A 23% to 45% reduction in the use of durable medical equipment.

Citation: Alemao E, Samuel Joo S, Kawabata H, et al. Effects of achieving target measures in RA on functional status, quality of life and resource utilization: analysis of clinical practice data. [Published online ahead of print August 3, 2015]. Arthritis Care Res. doi: 10.1002/acr.22678.

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