@article {Wollaston2390, author = {Sean J Wollaston and Vernon T Farewell and David A Isenberg and Caroline Gordon and Joan T Merrill and Michelle A Petri and Kenneth C Kalunian and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)}, title = {Defining response in systemic lupus erythematosus: a study by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics group.}, volume = {31}, number = {12}, pages = {2390--2394}, year = {2004}, publisher = {The Journal of Rheumatology}, abstract = {OBJECTIVE: In a preliminary attempt to develop a drug responder index for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 2 validated disease activity instruments were studied for their responsiveness and compared to a physician visual analog scale (VAS) assessment of disease activity. We attempted to determine whether these validated instruments were useful components in characterizing response in the setting of a clinical trial. METHODS: Eighty paper patients were assessed using the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) and Systemic Lupus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) and by physician{\textquoteright}s assessment of global activity. The cases were arranged in random order and divided into groups of 20 patients and each group was assessed by 20 lupus experts; change in disease activity was recorded at 3 and 6 months compared to baseline using a physician VAS. RESULTS: Four different lupus experts assessed disease activity in all 80 patients at baseline and 3 and 6 months after initiation of therapy using the BILAG and SLEDAI instruments. BILAG and SLEDAI scores correlated well over time; however, in a regression analysis where average physician VAS were chosen as the outcome variable, a significant amount of variation in the average physician VAS not related to the SLEDAI and BILAG scores was noted. CONCLUSION: The physician VAS may be too blunt to assess response in SLE, because even among experienced lupus assessors, there were considerable differences in what influenced scoring decisions.}, issn = {0315-162X}, URL = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/31/12/2390}, eprint = {https://www.jrheum.org/content/31/12/2390.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of Rheumatology} }