This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Low correlation seen with CIRAS, DAS28-CRP in patients with RA
The claims-based index for rheumatoid arthritis severity showed low correlation with the disease activity in 28 joints by C-reactive protein score and the multi-dimensional health assessment questionnaire physical function score, according to researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
The researchers studied 315 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) enrolled in both the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Rheumatoid Arthritis Sequential Study (BRASS) and Medicare with at least one valid disease activity in 28 joints by C-reactive protein (CRP) score (DAS28-CRP) between 2006 and 2010. Most patients were women (81%), and patients’ mean age was 70 years. Mean DAS28-CRP was 3.3, and the claims-based index for rheumatoid arthritis severity (CIRAS) was 4.4.
Analysis showed that correlation between DAS28-CRP and CIRAS was low, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.07. The correlation between the multidimensional health assessment questionnaire (MD-HAQ) and CIRAS was also low, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.08, according to the researchers.
A subgroup of 119 patients enrolled in Medicare part D immediately before DAS28-CRP assessment was analyzed for variables associated with the part D records, such as lung involvement, tests ordered and the use of NSAIDs and other biologic and non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatoid drugs (DMARDs).
Biologic DMARDs, opioid use, tuberculin test ordered and the number of non-biologic DMARDs used in the prior year were predictive DAS28-CRP score in a linear regression model but did not substantially improve the performance of predicting DAS28-CRP, the researchers reported. - by Shirley Pulawski
Disclosure s : Desai reports that he receives research grants from Amgen and Eli Lilly and Company; serves in unpaid roles on studies sponsored by Pfizer, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Company, and Bristol-Myers Squibb; and receives royalties from UpToDate.com. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.