Patient research partner involvement in rheumatology research: a systematic literature review informing the 2023 updated EULAR recommendations for the involvement of patient research partners.

BACKGROUND: Patient research partners (PRPs) are people with a disease who collaborate in a research team as partners. The aim of this systematic literature review (SLR) was to assess barriers and facilitators to PRP involvement in rheumatology research. METHODS: The SLR was conducted in PubMed/Medline for articles on PRP involvement in rheumatology research, published between 2017 and 2023; websites were also searched in rheumatology and other specialties. Data were extracted regarding the definition of PRPs, their role and added value, as well as barriers and facilitators to PRP involvement. The quality of the articles was assessed. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, and principles of thematic content analysis was applied to qualitative data. RESULTS: Of 1016 publications, 53 articles were included; the majority of these studies were qualitative studies (26%), opinion articles (21%), meeting reports (17%) and mixed-methods studies (11%). Roles of PRPs ranged from research partners to patient advocates, advisors and patient reviewers. PRPs were reported/advised to be involved early in the project (32% of articles) and in all research phases (30%), from the conception stage to the implementation of research findings. The main barriers were challenges in communication and support for both PRPs and researchers. Facilitators of PRP involvement included more than one PRP per project, training of PRPs and researchers, a supportive environment for PRPs (including adequate communication, acknowledgement and compensation of PRPs) and the presence of a PRP coordinator. CONCLUSION: This SLR identified barriers and facilitators to PRP involvement, and was key to updating the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology recommendations for PRP-researcher collaboration based on scientific evidence.

EULAR recommendations for the involvement of patient research partners in rheumatology research: 2023 update.

BACKGROUND: Since the publication of the 2011 European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) recommendations for patient research partner (PRP) involvement in rheumatology research, the role of PRPs has evolved considerably. Therefore, an update of the 2011 recommendations was deemed necessary. METHODS: In accordance with the EULAR Standardised Operational Procedures, a task force comprising 13 researchers, 2 health professionals and 10 PRPs was convened. The process included an online task force meeting, a systematic literature review and an in-person second task force meeting to formulate overarching principles (OAPs) and recommendations. The level of agreement of task force members was assessed anonymously (0-10 scale). RESULTS: The task force developed five new OAPs, updated seven existing recommendations and formulated three new recommendations. The OAPs address the definition of a PRP, the contribution of PRPs, the role of informal caregivers, the added value of PRPs and the importance of trust and communication in collaborative research efforts. The recommendations address the research type and phases of PRP involvement, the recommended number of PRPs per project, the support necessary for PRPs, training of PRPs and acknowledgement of PRP contributions. New recommendations concern the benefits of support and guidance for researchers, the need for regular evaluation of the patient-researcher collaboration and the role of a designated coordinator to facilitate collaboration. Agreements within the task force were high and ranged between 9.16 and 9.96. CONCLUSION: The updated EULAR recommendations for PRP involvement are more substantially based on evidence. Together with added OAPs, they should serve as a guide for researchers and PRPs and will ultimately strengthen the involvement of PRPs in rheumatology research.

ASAS consensus definition of early axial spondyloarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a consensual definition for the term 'early axial spondyloarthritis-axSpA'-and 'early peripheral spondyloarthritis-pSpA'. METHODS: The ASAS (Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society-Spondyloarthritis EARly definition) steering committee convened an international working group (WG). Five consecutive steps were followed: (1) systematic literature review (SLR); (2) discussion of SLR results within the WG and ASAS community; (3) a three-round Delphi survey inviting all ASAS members to select the items that should be considered for the definition; (4) presentation of Delphi results to the WG and ASAS community and (5) ASAS voting and endorsement (2023 annual meeting). RESULTS: Following the SLR, consensus was to proceed with an expert-based definition for early axSpA (81% in favour) but not for pSpA (54% against). Importantly, early axSpA should be based on symptom duration taking solely axial symptoms into account. 151-164 ASAS members participated in the Delphi surveys. Consensus was achieved for considering the following items within early axSpA definition: duration of symptoms ≤2 years; axial symptoms defined as cervical/thoracic/back/buttock pain or morning stiffness; regardless of the presence/absence of radiographic damage. The WG agreed that in patients with a diagnosis of axSpA 'early axSpA' should be defined as a duration of ≤2 years of axial symptoms. Axial symptoms should include spinal/buttock pain or morning stiffness and should be considered by a rheumatologist as related to axSpA. The ASAS community endorsed this proposal (88% in favour). CONCLUSIONS: Early axSpA has newly been defined, based on expert consensus. This ASAS definition should be adopted in research studies addressing early axSpA.

Treating spondyloarthritis early: does it matter? Results from a systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize evidence on the relationship between early treatment (definition based on symptom/disease duration or radiographic damage) and treatment clinical response in patients with SpA. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted in studies on SpA patients treated with NSAIDs or biological/targeted synthetic DMARDs addressing the impact of symptom/disease duration or presence of radiographic damage on treatment response assessed by any disease activity outcome. For categorical outcomes, relative risk, relative risk ratio and number needed to treat were calculated, and for continuous outcomes, differences in differences, to compare groups stratified based on symptom/disease duration or the presence of radiographic damage. RESULTS: From the 8769 articles retrieved, 25 were included and 2 added by hand-search, all in axial SpA (axSpA), most of them with low risk of bias. Twenty-one studies compared groups based on symptom duration (n = 6) or disease duration (n = 15) and seven studies based on absence/presence of radiographic damage (two studies used two comparisons). When early axSpA was defined by symptom duration (<5 years) in randomized controlled trials, early treatment was associated with better outcomes in patients with non-radiographic axSpA [n = 2, ASAS40 relative risk ratio 5.24 (95% CI 1.12, 24.41) and 1.52 (0.60, 3.87)] but not in radiographic axSpA (n = 1) [ASAS20 0.96 (0.53-1.73)]. When early axSpA was defined based on disease duration or radiographic damage, no differences were found between groups. CONCLUSION: Evidence towards better outcomes in early axSpA is very limited and restricted to non-radiographic axSpA and <5 years symptom duration. When early axSpA is defined based on disease duration or radiographic damage, no differences in response to treatment are found.

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Psoriatic Arthritis: Systematic Literature Review and Results From the CARMA Cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a systematic literature review (SLR) and in the Spanish CArdiovascular in RheuMAtology (CARMA) cohort. METHODS: A SLR and a subanalysis of the CARMA cohort were performed. In the SLR, PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov up to March 2019 were searched. Systematic literature reviews, clinical trials, and observational studies that analyzed the prevalence or frequency of MetS in PsA were analyzed. Two reviewers selected the articles, assessed the quality of the studies, and collected data, independently. In addition, data on sociodemographic characteristics and MetS in patients with PsA from the CARMA cohort were collected and analyzed. Comparative descriptive analysis was performed. RESULTS: The SLR included 18 articles, of moderate to high quality, with PsA patients of both sexes, with mean ages between 42 and 59 years. The rate of MetS varied from 23.5% to 62.9%. The most commonly used classification method was that of the National Cholesterol Education Program. Additionally, 724 PsA patients from the CARMA cohort were analyzed; 327 (45.4%) were women, 157 (21.8%) smokers, with a mean age of 51 years and a mean PsA disease duration of 9 years. Hypertension was the most common abnormal finding (66.8%), followed by hyperglycemia (42.6%) and hypertriglyceridemia (30.6%). Notably, 222 patients (30.6%) had MetS. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of MetS in PsA varies, depending on the definition. Whereas 23.5% to 62.9% of PsA patients have MetS, in the CARMA cohort almost a third of patients with PsA have MetS.

Exploring radiographic patterns of the cervical spine, including zygapophyseal joints, in axial spondyloarthritis.

INTRODUCTION: The assessment of the cervical spine (CS) in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and its radiographic characteristics, including the zygapophyseal joints (ZJ), may be helpful for an accurate diagnosis, establishing a prognosis and enhancing treatment decisions. OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence and characteristics of CS involvement in patients with axSpA and perform a comparison between groups according to cervical radiographic damage. METHODS: Patients who fulfilled the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society classification criteria were included from January 2011 to January 2021. Sociodemographic, clinical, radiographic and treatment variables were gathered. Patients were categorised into 'CS group' (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiology Index ≥2 or De Vlam score ≥3 for ZJ) and 'no CS group' as controls. ZJ fusion and interobserver reliability in ZJ scoring were analysed. RESULTS: A total of 340 patients were included, 244 (71.7%) men, with mean age 57±15 years. CS involvement was observed in 181 (53.2%) patients. Patients in the CS group, as compared with no CS group, were predominantly men, older, had a higher body mass index, higher prevalence of smoking, showed higher disease activity, worse functionality and mobility, as well as more structural damage. Sixty-nine patients with CS involvement had ZJ fusion at some level. These patients showed worse mobility and more radiographic damage. Overall, ZJ involvement was observed in 99 patients (29.1%), 20 of whom did not present with vertebral body involvement. CONCLUSION: Radiographic evaluation of CS is relevant in patients with axSpA and should be assessed routinely. Evaluation of the ZJ is particularly significant, as it is related to higher disease activity and worse function.

Evaluating sarcopenia prevalence and SARC-F effectiveness in elderly Spanish women with RA: a comparative study of EWGSOP criteria.

Introduction: The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) has put forward two key proposals for diagnosing sarcopenia: the EWGSOP1 in 2010 and the EWGSOP2 in 2019. These proposals are currently the most widely used guidelines for diagnosing sarcopenia. However, data on the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on EWGSOP criteria are limited. This study aimed to: (a) establish the prevalence of sarcopenia in an elderly Spanish cohort of women with RA using both EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2 criteria; and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of the SARC-F questionnaire in detecting sarcopenia. Methods: In this observational, cross-sectional study, 67 women aged over 65 years who met the ACR 2010 criteria for RA were consecutively recruited from a tertiary university hospital. Assessments included: (a) demographic and anthropometric data; (b) RA-related variables (disease history, analytical evaluation, activity, disability, quality of life); and (c) sarcopenia-related variables (muscle strength, gait speed, skeletal muscle mass, and SARC-F questionnaire). The prevalence of sarcopenia was determined using both EWGSOP1 and EWGSOP2 criteria. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the SARC-F questionnaire for detecting sarcopenia were calculated. Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia was 43% according to the EWGSOP1 criteria and 16% according to the EWGSOP2 criteria. Patients diagnosed with sarcopenia based on the latter criteria also met the EWGSOP1's criteria for sarcopenia. Agreement between the two sets of EWGSOP criteria was poor. The SARC-F questionnaire demonstrated an inherently high sensitivity (100%) as well as good specificity (75%) and diagnostic accuracy (79%) in detecting sarcopenia according to EWGSOP2 criteria. Conclusions: The prevalence rate of sarcopenia among elderly Spanish women with RA varies significantly depending on whether EWGSOP1 or EWGSOP2 criteria are applied. The SARC-F questionnaire is effective for predicting sarcopenia when used in conjunction with the EWGSOP2 criteria, which is currently the most accepted standard in clinical practice.

Natural language processing to identify and characterize spondyloarthritis in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to use a novel technology based on natural language processing (NLP) to extract clinical information from electronic health records (EHRs) to characterise the clinical profile of patients diagnosed with spondyloarthritis (SpA) at a large-scale hospital. METHODS: An observational, retrospective analysis was conducted on EHR data from all patients with SpA (including psoriatic arthritis (PsA)) at Hospital Universitario La Paz, between 2020 and 2022. Data were collected using Savana Manager, an NLP-based system, enabling the extraction of information from unstructured, free-text EHRs. Variables analysed included demographic data, SpA subtypes, comorbidities and treatments. The performance of the technology in detecting SpA clinical entities was evaluated through precision, recall and F-1 score metrics. RESULTS: From a hospital population of 639 474 patients, 4337 (0.7%) patients had a diagnosis of SpA or their subtypes in their EHR. The population predominantly comprised men (55.3%) with a mean age of 50.9 years. Peripheral SpA (including PsA) was reported in 31.6%, axial SpA in 20.9%, both axial and peripheral SpA in 3.7%, while 43.7% of patients did not have the SpA subtype reported. Common comorbidities included hypertension (25.0%), dyslipidaemia (22.2%) and diabetes mellitus (15.5%). The use of conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) and biological DMARDs (bDMARDs) was documented, with methotrexate (25.3% of patients) being the most used csDMARDs and adalimumab (10.6% of patients) the most used bDMARD. The NLP technology demonstrated high precision and recall, with all the assessed F-1 score values over 0.80, indicating reliable data extraction. CONCLUSION: The application of NLP technology facilitated the characterisation of the SpA patient profile, including demographics, clinical features, comorbidities and treatments. This study supports the utility of NLP in enhancing the understanding of SpA and suggests its potential for improving patient management by extracting meaningful information from unstructured EHR data.

Assessing fatigue in women over 50 years with rheumatoid arthritis: a comprehensive case-control study using the FACIT-F scale.

Introduction: Data on prevalence of fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in the era of biological treatments remains scarce, with a lack of case-control studies. This study evaluates the prevalence of fatigue in Spanish women over 50 years with RA using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) scale, explores its association with RA-related variables, and seeks to identify the primary factors influencing fatigue. Ultimately, our objective is to underscore the clinical significance of fatigue as a comorbidity and to advocate for its systematic evaluation in routine clinical practice. Methods: In a case-control study at a tertiary university hospital, 191 women over 50 years (mean age: 67.5 ± 8.8 years) meeting ACR 2010 criteria for RA and age-matched controls were assessed using the FACIT-F scale, SF-12 questionnaire, and RA-related clinical measures. Results: Fatigue was significantly more prevalent in the RA group (61%) compared to controls (37%, p < 0.001), with RA patients showing lower mean FACIT-F scores (36.0 ± 10.6 vs. 40.0 ± 0.6, p < 0.001). Correlations were noted between FACIT-F scores and C-reactive protein, DAS28, RAPID3, HAQ, and SF-12 scores. A multivariate analysis was performed and four models generated. The final model, with an R2 of 0.817, indicates that fatigue is significantly influenced by disease activity (RAPID 3) and mental and physical health (SF12) and age, explaining 81.7% of the variance in fatigue. Conclusion: Fatigue remains significantly prevalent and severe in women over 50 years with RA, strongly linked to disease activity, disability, and diminished quality of life. Systematic fatigue assessment and targeted strategies in clinical settings are essential to address this widespread issue. Future research should explore targeted interventions tailored to this demographic to enhance quality of care.

Prediction model for major bleeding in anticoagulated patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism using machine learning and natural language processing.

PURPOSE: We developed a predictive model to assess the risk of major bleeding (MB) within 6 months of primary venous thromboembolism (VTE) in cancer patients receiving anticoagulant treatment. We also sought to describe the prevalence and incidence of VTE in cancer patients, and to describe clinical characteristics at baseline and bleeding events during follow-up in patients receiving anticoagulants. METHODS: This observational, retrospective, and multicenter study used natural language processing and machine learning (ML), to analyze unstructured clinical data from electronic health records from nine Spanish hospitals between 2014 and 2018. All adult cancer patients with VTE receiving anticoagulants were included. Both clinically- and ML-driven feature selection was performed to identify MB predictors. Logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT), and random forest (RF) algorithms were used to train predictive models, which were validated in a hold-out dataset and compared to the previously developed CAT-BLEED score. RESULTS: Of the 2,893,108 cancer patients screened, in-hospital VTE prevalence was 5.8% and the annual incidence ranged from 2.7 to 3.9%. We identified 21,227 patients with active cancer and VTE receiving anticoagulants (53.9% men, median age of 70 years). MB events after VTE diagnosis occurred in 10.9% of patients within the first six months. MB predictors included: hemoglobin, metastasis, age, platelets, leukocytes, and serum creatinine. The LR, DT, and RF models had AUC-ROC (95% confidence interval) values of 0.60 (0.55, 0.65), 0.60 (0.55, 0.65), and 0.61 (0.56, 0.66), respectively. These models outperformed the CAT-BLEED score with values of 0.53 (0.48, 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows encouraging results in identifying anticoagulated patients with cancer-associated VTE who are at high risk of MB.

Predictive model for a second hip fracture occurrence using natural language processing and machine learning on electronic health records.

Hip fractures (HFx) are associated with a higher morbidity and mortality rates, leading to a significant reduction in life quality and in limitation of patient´s mobility. The present study aimed to obtain real-world evidence on the clinical characteristics of patients with an initial and a second hip fracture (HFx) and develop a predictive model for second HFx using artificial intelligence. Electronic health records from one hospital centre in Spain from January 2011 to December 2019 were analysed using EHRead® technology, based on natural language processing and machine learning. A total of 1,960 patients with HFx were finally included during the study period after meeting all inclusion and exclusion criteria. From this total, 1835 (93.6%) patients were included in the HFx subgroup, while 124 (6.4%) were admitted to the second HFx (2HFx) subgroup. The mean age of the participants was 84 years and 75.5% were female. Most of comorbidities were more frequently identified in the HFx group, including hypertension (72.0% vs. 67.2%), cognitive impairment (33.0% vs. 31.2%), diabetes mellitus (28.7% vs. 24.8%), heart failure (27.6% vs. 22.4%) and chronic kidney disease (26.9% vs. 16.0%). Based on clinical criteria, 26 features were selected as potential prediction factors. From there, 16 demographics and clinical characteristics such as comorbidities, medications, measures of disabilities for ambulation and type of refracture were selected for development of a competitive risk model. Specifically, those predictors with different associated risk ratios, sorted from higher to lower risk relevance were visual deficit, malnutrition, walking assistance, hypothyroidism, female sex, osteoporosis treatment, pertrochanteric fracture, dementia, age at index, osteoporosis, renal failure, stroke, COPD, heart disease, anaemia, and asthma. This model showed good performance (dependent AUC: 0.69; apparent performance: 0.75) and could help the identification of patients with higher risk of developing a second HFx, allowing preventive measures. This study expands the current available information of HFx patients in Spain and identifies factors that exhibit potential in predicting a second HFx among older patients.

Patient outcomes in longitudinal observational studies (POLOS) of rheumatoid arthritis: Determining the OMERACT core domain set.

OBJECTIVE: To define and select rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-specific core domain set for Longitudinal Observational Studies (LOS) within the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) framework. METHODS: A three-round online Delphi exercise, including patient research partners (PRPs) and other community partners in healthcare, was conducted. Domains scored 7-9 (i.e., critically important to include) by ≥ 70 % of participants in both groups were included. Items were consolidated in a subsequent dedicated meeting. RESULTS: Nineteen domains scored ≥ 70 % consensus in both groups. The focus group refined these into a list of twelve domains. CONCLUSION: The achieved consensus will inform the next steps of developing the core domain set for LOS in RA.

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis with interstitial lung disease using unstructured healthcare data and machine learning.

OBJECTIVES: Real-world data regarding rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its association with interstitial lung disease (ILD) is still scarce. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of RA and ILD in patients with RA (RAILD) in Spain, and to compare clinical characteristics of patients with RA with and without ILD using natural language processing (NLP) on electronic health records (EHR). METHODS: Observational case-control, retrospective and multicentre study based on the secondary use of unstructured clinical data from patients with adult RA and RAILD from nine hospitals between 2014 and 2019. NLP was used to extract unstructured clinical information from EHR and standardise it into a SNOMED-CT terminology. Prevalence of RA and RAILD were calculated, and a descriptive analysis was performed. Characteristics between patients with RAILD and RA patients without ILD (RAnonILD) were compared. RESULTS: From a source population of 3 176 165 patients and 64 241 683 EHRs, 13 958 patients with RA were identified. Of those, 5.1% patients additionally had ILD (RAILD). The overall age-adjusted prevalence of RA and RAILD were 0.53% and 0.02%, respectively. The most common ILD subtype was usual interstitial pneumonia (29.3%). When comparing RAILD versus RAnonILD patients, RAILD patients were older and had more comorbidities, notably concerning infections (33.6% vs 16.5%, p<0.001), malignancies (15.9% vs 8.5%, p<0.001) and cardiovascular disease (25.8% vs 13.9%, p<0.001) than RAnonILD. RAILD patients also had higher inflammatory burden reflected in more pharmacological prescriptions and higher inflammatory parameters and presented a higher in-hospital mortality with a higher risk of death (HR 2.32; 95% CI 1.59 to 2.81, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found an estimated age-adjusted prevalence of RA and RAILD by analysing real-world data through NLP. RAILD patients were more vulnerable at the time of inclusion with higher comorbidity and inflammatory burden than RAnonILD, which correlated with higher mortality.

Toward Telemonitoring in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: Protocol for a Mixed Attention Model Study.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) are chronic diseases that may alternate between asymptomatic periods and flares. These conditions require complex treatments and close monitoring by rheumatologists to mitigate their effects and improve the patient's quality of life. Often, delays in outpatient consultations or the patient's difficulties in keeping appointments make such close follow-up challenging. For this reason, it is very important to have open communication between patients and health professionals. In this context, implementing telemonitoring in the field of rheumatology has great potential, as it can facilitate the close monitoring of patients with RMDs. The use of these tools helps patients self-manage certain aspects of their disease. This could result in fewer visits to emergency departments and consultations, as well as enable better therapeutic compliance and identification of issues that would otherwise go unnoticed. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the implementation of a hybrid care model called the mixed attention model (MAM) in clinical practice and determine whether its implementation improves clinical outcomes compared to conventional follow-up. METHODS: This is a multicenter prospective observational study involving 360 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondylarthritis (SpA) from 5 Spanish hospitals. The patients will be followed up by the MAM protocol, which is a care model that incorporates a digital tool consisting of a mobile app that patients can use at home and professionals can review asynchronously to detect incidents and follow patients' clinical evolution between face-to-face visits. Another group of patients, whose follow-up will be conducted in accordance with a traditional face-to-face care model, will be assessed as the control group. Sociodemographic characteristics, treatments, laboratory parameters, assessment of tender and swollen joints, visual analog scale for pain, and electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) reports will be collected for all participants. In the MAM group, these items will be self-assessed via both the mobile app and during face-to-face visits with the rheumatologist, who will do the same for patients included in the traditional care model. The patients will be able to report any incidence related to their disease or treatment through the mobile app. RESULTS: Participant recruitment began in March 2024 and will continue until December 2024. The follow-up period will be extended by 12 months for all patients. Data collection and analysis are scheduled for completion in December 2025. CONCLUSIONS: This paper aims to provide a detailed description of the development and implementation of a digital solution, specifically an MAM. The goal is to achieve significant economic and psychosocial impact within our health care system by enhancing control over RMDs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06273306; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT06273306. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/55829.

Looking through the window of opportunity in axial spondyloarthritis?

Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the spine and sacroiliac joints, that can lead to irreversible structural damage. Early detection and timely intervention are crucial for preventing long-term structural damage, improving quality of life, and reducing the burden of the disease. The concept of a window of opportunity suggests that an early intervention in the reversible stage of the disease can lead to improved long-term outcomes. However, it is unclear whether this concept applies in axSpA. Recent advances in axSpA management, including the use of diagnostic techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging as well as the use of advanced therapies, have shown promise in improving outcomes. However, studies investigating the potential window of opportunity in axSpA by assessing the impact of an early treatment on clinical outcomes have yielded inconclusive results. One of the reasons behind this is the lack of a standardized definition of early axSpA. The Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS)-SPEAR (SPondyloarthritis EARly) project has set the ground for it by working on a consensus definition of early axSpA. Randomized controlled trials specifically focused on the comparison between treating axSpA in the early and late stages of the disease and using the standardised definition of early axSpA are essential to understand better the potential benefits of an early treatment on clinical outcomes. Additionally, it would be relevant to assess the long-term outcomes of early axSpA treatment, especially regarding structural damage, to better grasp the concept of the window of opportunity in axSpA.

Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the mSQUASH into Spanish.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of outcome measures for the assessment of physical activity in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). For this matter, the modified Short QUestionnaire to Assess Health (mSQUASH) was developed and validated, originally in Dutch. OBJECTIVE: To translate and cross-culturally adapt the mSQUASH into Spanish and to evaluate the equivalence of the translated version in patients with axSpA. METHODS: The mSQUASH was translated following forward-backward procedure according to the protocol of Beaton. Two bi-lingual translators produced independent forward translations of the mSQUASH into Spanish, and the versions were harmonized in a consensual version. Another translator back translated the synthesized version into Dutch. A scientific committee reached consensus on discrepancies and developed a pre-final version of the questionnaire. The field test with cognitive debriefing involved 10 patients with axSpA with different gender, age, disease duration, educational level and working status. RESULTS: The translation process of the mSQUASH was completed without major issues. The first translation needed several iterations due to small discrepancies in the wording. Back-translation was performed without difficulties, and the scientific committee agreed upon a final version of the questionnaire. Cognitive debriefing showed the Spanish questionnaire to be clear, relevant, understandable and comprehensive. The preliminary version was accepted with minor modifications. CONCLUSIONS: The resulting Spanish version of the mSQUASH showed good linguistic and face validity according to the field test, revealing potential for use in clinical practice and research. In order to conclude the cross-cultural adaptation of the mSQUASH into Spanish, the next step is the assessment of psychometric properties of the Spanish version.

Coping with rheumatic stressors (CORS) questionnaire: Spanish translation and cross-cultural adaptation.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs) substantially impact the lives of patients, with complex associations between disease severity and self-perceived health status. In this regard, the Coping with Rheumatic Stressors (CORS) questionnaire was developed to measure how patients with RMDs cope with stressors such as pain, limitations or dependency. The CORS is not currently available in Spanish, and therefore the adaptation of this instrument is needed. OBJECTIVE: First, to cross-culturally adapt the CORS into Spanish for Spain. Secondly, to test the conceptual equivalence of the translated version in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). METHODS: A translation of the CORS into Spanish was performed adhering to the forward-backward procedure described by Beaton. Two translators produced independent forward translations of the item content, response options, and instructions of the CORS into Spanish. Both versions were harmonized in a consensual version. Another translator back-translated the synthesized version into Dutch. A scientific committee including all the translators, one methodologist and a rheumatologist, held a meeting and reached consensus on discrepancies to develop a final draft version of the Spanish CORS. Then, a field test with cognitive debriefing was conducted, involving a sample of 10 patients with axSpA. RESULTS: The translation process of the CORS was completed after the discussion of some discrepancies throughout the process. The first translation was done without major complications. Back-translation presented some discrepancies. These led to minor modifications in the wording in one response option and 15 questionnaire items. The scientific committee agreed upon a final version of the questionnaire. Cognitive debriefing, led to minor modifications; for example, three respondents indicated that one of the statements in the instructions was syntactically complex ("indique cuán a menudo usted ha llevado a cabo dicho comportamiento") which led to its adjustment. The process indicated that the final CORS Spanish questionnaire was clear and understandable to all patients. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the CORS showed good cross-cultural validity and good face validity according to the field test. Before the Spanish CORS is implemented, further validation is in progress to test the psychometric properties of the instrument in patients with axSpA.

Involving patients as research partners in research in rheumatology: a literature review in 2023.

OBJECTIVE: The inclusion of patient research partners (PRPs) in research projects is increasingly recognised and recommended in rheumatology. The level of involvement of PRPs in translational research in rheumatology remains unknown, while in randomised clinical trials (RCTs), it has been reported to be 2% in 2020. Therefore, we aimed to assess the involvement of PRPs in recent translational studies and RCTs in rheumatology. METHODS: We conducted a scoping literature review of the 80 most recent articles (40 translational studies and 40 RCTs) from four target diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and lower extremity osteoarthritis. We selected 20 papers from each disease, published up until 1 March 2023, in rheumatology and general scientific journals. In each paper, the extent of PRP involvement was assessed. Analyses were descriptive. RESULTS: Of 40 translational studies, none reported PRP involvement. Of 40 RCTs, eight studies (20%) reported PRP involvement. These trials were mainly from Europe (75%) and North America (25%). Most of them (75%) were non-industry funded. The type of PRP involvement was reported in six of eight studies: six studies reported PRP participation in the study design or design of the intervention and two of them in the interpretation of the results. All the trials reporting the number of PRPs (75%), involved at least two PRPs. CONCLUSION: Despite a worldwide movement advocating for increased patient involvement in research, PRPs in translational research and RCTs in rheumatology are significantly under-represented. This limited involvement of PRPs in research highlights a persistent gap between the existing recommendations and actual practice.

Using natural language processing to explore characteristics and management of patients with axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis treated under real-world conditions in Spain: SpAINET study.

Background: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of related but phenotypically distinct inflammatory disorders that include axial SpA (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Information on the characteristics and management of these patients in the real world remains scarce. Objectives: To explore the characteristics and management [disease activity assessment and treatment with secukinumab (SEC) or other biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs)] of axSpA and PsA patients using natural language processing (NLP) in Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Design: National, multicenter, observational, and retrospective study. Methods: We analyzed free-text and structured clinical information from EHR at three hospitals. All adult patients with axSpA, PsA or non-classified SpA from 2018 to 2021 with minimum follow-up of three months were included when starting SEC or other bDMARDs. Clinical variables were extracted using EHRead® technology based on Systemized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) terminology. Results: Out of 887,735 patients, 758 were included, of which 328 had axSpA [58.5% male; mean (SD) age of 50.7 (12.7) years], 365 PsA [54.8% female, 53.9 (12.4) years], and 65 non-classified SpA. Mean (SD) time since diagnosis was 36.8 (61.0) and 24.1 (35.2) months for axSpA and PsA, respectively. Only 116 axSpA patients (35.3%) had available Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) or Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) at bDMARD onset, of which 61 presented active disease. Disease Activity in PSoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA) or Disease Assessment Score - 28 joints (DAS-28) values at bDMARD onset were available for only 61 PsA (16.7%) patients, with 23 of them having active disease. The number of patients with available tender joint count or swollen joint count assessment was 68 (20.7%) and 59 (18%) for axSpA, and 115 (31.5%) and 119 (32.6%) for PsA, respectively. SEC was used in 63 (19.2%) axSpA patients and in 63 (17.3%) PsA patients. Conclusion: Using NLP, the study showed that around one-third of axSpA and one-sixth of PsA patients have disease activity assessments with ASDAS/BASDAI or DAPSA/DAS-28, respectively, highlighting an area of improvement in these patients' management.

Investigating axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis patients using natural language processing We conducted a study in Spain to better understand patients with specific rheumatic conditions known as axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). To analyze their characteristics, we used a computer technology called EHRead, which uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze free text from electronic health records. Out of a large group of patients, we focused on 758 individuals who had axSpA or PsA. Most of the axSpA patients were men, and they were around 51 years old on average. For the PsA patients, most were women, and their average age was about 54 years. We analyzed outcomes and treatments of these patients. Our findings showed that we can describe and assess a cohort of patients from real world using NLP. Besides, only about one-third of axSpA patients and one-sixth of PsA patients had their respective outcomes completely assessed, which indicates that there is potential room for improvement in the management of axSpA and PsA. The most promising feature in our study is the use of NLP, an artificial intelligence technology that helps us understand information in medical records written in free text. This can help us explore the characteristics of patients and their management in the real world, bringing an opportunity to enhance the care of patients with axSpA and PsA.