Key clinical point: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who demonstrated major therapeutic change at a visit were more likely to show ACR20 response across all disease activity measures.

Major finding: A visit with major therapeutic change was associated with a significant increase in ACR20 across several measures, including Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28), Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), and Routine Assessment of Patient Data 3 (RAPID3).

Study details: The data come from a cohort analysis of 1,208 veteran patients with 6,138 rheumatology visits who were enrolled in an RA registry; it included 1,773 visits with major therapeutic change and 4,365 visits without major therapeutic change.

Disclosures: The study was supported by Amgen and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Lead author Dr. Sauer disclosed grant support from Amgen.