Patients' concerns regarding biological agents in rheumatology.

OBJECTIVE: The potential side effects of biological agents may increase the anxiety levels of patients and influence not only their desire to use these therapies but also their concordance to treatment. This study aimed to determine the level and prevalence of drug-related concern in patients treated with biological agents and to acquire additional information regarding the related causes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1134 patients who were using biological agents for at least 3 months with a diagnosis of rheumatic diseases were enrolled. General anxiety levels were evaluated using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). RESULTS: The most common cause for drug-related concerns was the potential side effects of the drugs (59.5%). Among the potential side effects, cancer risk was the most common cause for concern (40.1%), followed by the risk of tuberculosis activation (30.7%). Anxiety levels were higher in patients who experienced side effects than in other patients, and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). STAI trait and state scores were moderately correlated with anxiety levels related to the drug (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Anxiety related to biological agents may significantly affect the patients' anxiety levels. Awareness regarding the patients' concerns and expectations related to the drug is important to ensure drug adherence and concordance to treatment.

Performance characteristics of the simplified version of ankylosing spondylitis disease activity score (SASDAS).

Various types of disease activity measures are available for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), and there is no gold standard for all individual patients. The ankylosing spondylitis disease activity score (ASDAS) is highly discriminatory, sensitive to change, and associated with structural progression. A simplified version of the ASDAS (SASDAS) was proposed and found to be a simple and practical tool to assess disease activity. Our aim was to test the performance characteristics of the SASDAS and compare it with validated tools. In total, 97 consecutive ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients were included in the study. Disease activity was assessed by the ASDAS-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), ASDAS-C-reactive protein (CRP), bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index (BASDAI), and SASDAS. The relationship among these activity indices and the level of agreement of various activity categories were tested. There was a strong correlation between the SASDAS and other activity indices, including the BASDAI (r = 0.916, p < 0.001), ASDAS-CRP (r = 0.847, p < 0.001), and ASDAS-ESR (r = 0.942, p < 0.001). Although the agreement between the ASDAS-ESR and SASDAS was good (weighted kappa of 0.744 and total agreement of 77 %), there was moderate agreement between the ASDAS-CRP and SASDAS (weighted kappa of 0.579 and total agreement of 66 %). The disagreement was particularly striking in "moderate" and "high disease activity" states. Approximately 40 % of patients classified as moderate activity according to the ASDAS-ESR and 45 % according to the ASDAS-CRP were differentially categorized by the SASDAS. The results of the present analysis suggest that the simplified version of the ASDAS-ESR should be further validated in various settings and populations due to a questionable level of agreement between the ASDAS-CRP and SASDAS.