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Rheumatoid Arthritis Activity Signs Can Also Be Useful For Measuring Psoriatic Arthritis Activity

Acknowledged indications of rheumatoid arthritis may also prove useful for measuring disease activity in psoriatic arthritis with peripheral arthritis.

Hungarian researchers noted similar improvement in both diseases during disease- modifying anti-rheumatic drug therapy.

Thirty eight patients with psoriatic arthritis were studied before commencing drug therapy and again a year after treatment. A number of assessments were recorded: extended and reduced tender and swollen joint counts, Ritchie articular index, Health Assessment Questionnaire, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) morning stiffness, and both patient and assessor's global assessment. In addition, disease activity improvement scores were calculated.

The researchers noted: "good correlations both before and after AGA treatment with the exceptions of morning stiffness and tender joint counts." Equally following treatment, the patients' global assessment correlated well with the 68 and 28 tender joint counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and HAQ.

They also noted that the disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug therapy response was well characterised with changes in the number of tender and swollen joint counts and DAS4, DAS3, DAS28, all of which correlated with patient and assessor's global assessment. There was also a comparable improvement in extended and reduced joint count, they concluded.
Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie 2003;62:1:60-65. "original contribution : Measurement of disease activity in psoriatic arthritis: Extended report"

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