Patient questionnaires have gained increasing prominence in the treatment of rheumatic diseases over the last few decades. Three patient self-report scores for physical function, pain, and patient global estimate are included in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) core dataset1. These 3 scores distinguish active from control treatments in RA clinical trials involving leflunomide2, methotrexate2, anakinra3, adalimumab4, abatacept5, and certolizumab6, at levels of significance similar to formal joint counts or laboratory tests. Patient physical function scores generally are more significant than radiographic scores or laboratory test results in the prognosis of severe longterm RA outcomes such as work disability and premature mortality7,8,9,10. Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data (RAPID3), an index of only the 3 patient-reported RA Core Data Set measures, is correlated significantly with standard indices that require a formal joint count, such as DAS28 (28-joint Disease Activity Score) and CDAI (Clinical Disease Activity Index)11,12. A RAPID3 score of ≤ 3/30 with 1 or 0 swollen joints, RAPID3≤3+≤SJ1, provides remission criteria comparable to Boolean13, SDAI (Simplified Disease Activity Index), CDAI, and DAS2814 criteria in far less time than a formal joint count, in studies of the French ESPOIR early arthritis cohort15 …
Address correspondence to Dr. Pincus, Division of Rheumatology, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, 301 East 17th St., Room 1608, New York, New York 10003, USA. E-mail: tedpincus{at}gmail.com