Predictors of quality of life, functional status, depression and fatigue in early arthritis: comparison between clinically suspect arthralgia, unclassified arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is often preceded by symptomatic phases during which classification criteria are not fulfilled. The health burden of these "at-risk" stages is not well described. This study assessed health-related quality of life (HRQoL), function, fatigue and depression in newly presenting patients with clinically suspect arthralgia (CSA), unclassified arthritis (UA) or RA. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of baseline Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) was conducted in patients from the Birmingham Early Arthritis Cohort. HRQoL, function, depression and fatigue at presentation were assessed using EQ-5D, HAQ-DI, PHQ-9 and FACIT-F. PROMs were compared across CSA, UA and RA and with population averages from the HSE with descriptive statistics. Multivariate linear regression assessed associations between PROMs and clinical and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: Of 838 patients included in the analysis, 484 had RA, 200 had CSA and 154 had UA. Patients with RA reported worse outcomes for all PROMs than those with CSA or UA. However, "mean EQ-5D utilities were 0.65 (95%CI: 0.61 to 0.69) in CSA, 0.61 (0.56 to 0.66) in UA and 0.47 (0.44 to 0.50) in RA, which was lower than in general and older (≥ 65 years) background populations." In patients with CSA or UA, HRQoL was comparable to chronic conditions such as heart failure, severe COPD or mild angina. Higher BMI and older age (≥ 60 years) predicted worse depression (PHQ-9: -2.47 (-3.85 to -1.09), P < 0.001) and fatigue (FACIT-F: 5.05 (2.37 to 7.73), P < 0.001). Women were more likely to report worse function (HAQ-DI: 0.13 (0.03 to 0.21), P = 0.01) and fatigue (FACIT-F: -3.64 (-5.59 to -1.70), P < 0.001), and residents of more deprived areas experienced decreased function (HAQ-DI: 0.23 (0.10 to 0.36), P = 0.001), greater depression (PHQ-9: 1.89 (0.59 to 3.18), P = 0.004) and fatigue (FACIT-F: -2.60 (-5.11 to 0.09), P = 0.04). After adjustments for confounding factors, diagnostic category was not associated with PROMs, but disease activity and polypharmacy were associated with poorer performance across all PROMs. CONCLUSIONS: Patient-reported outcomes were associated with disease activity and sociodemographic characteristics. Patients presenting with RA reported a higher health burden than those with CSA or UA, however HRQoL in the pre-RA groups was significantly lower than population averages.

The value of ultrasound-defined tenosynovitis and synovitis in the prediction of persistent arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: The value of US-defined tenosynovitis in predicting the persistence of inflammatory arthritis is not well described. In particular, the predictive utility of US-defined tenosynovitis of larger tendons is yet to be reported. We assessed the value of US-defined tenosynovitis alongside US-defined synovitis and clinical and serological variables in predicting persistent arthritis in an inception cohort of DMARD-naïve patients with early arthritis. METHODS: One hundred and fifty DMARD-naïve patients with clinically apparent synovitis of one or more joints and a symptom duration of ≤3 months underwent baseline clinical, laboratory and US (of 19 bilateral joints and 16 bilateral tendon compartments) assessments. Outcomes were classified as persistent or resolving arthritis after 18 months' follow-up. The predictive value of US-defined tenosynovitis for persistent arthritis was compared with those of US-defined synovitis, and clinical and serological variables. RESULTS: At 18 months, 99 patients (66%) had developed persistent arthritis and 51 patients (34%) had resolving disease. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that US-detected digit flexor tenosynovitis [odds ratio (OR): 6.6, 95% CI: 2.0 , 22.1, P = 0.002] provided independent predictive data for persistence over and above the presence of US-detected joint synovitis and RF antibodies. In the RF/ACPA-negative subcohort, US-defined digit flexor tenosynovitis remained a significant predictive variable (OR: 4.7, 95% CI: 1.4, 15.8, P = 0.012), even after adjusting for US-defined joint synovitis. CONCLUSION: US-defined tenosynovitis provided independent predictive data for the development of persistent arthritis. The predictive role of US-defined digit flexor tenosynovitis should be further assessed; investigators should consider including this tendon site as a candidate variable when designing imaging-based predictive algorithms for persistent inflammatory arthritis development.

Very low prevalence of ultrasound-detected tenosynovial abnormalities in healthy subjects throughout the age range: OMERACT ultrasound minimal disease study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ultrasound-detected tendon abnormalities in healthy subjects (HS) across the age range. METHODS: Adult HS (age 18-80 years) were recruited in 23 international Outcome Measures in Rheumatology ultrasound centres and were clinically assessed to exclude inflammatory diseases or overt osteoarthritis before undergoing a bilateral ultrasound examination of digit flexors (DFs) 1-5 and extensor carpi ulnaris (ECU) tendons to detect the presence of tenosynovial hypertrophy (TSH), tenosynovial power Doppler (TPD) and tenosynovial effusion (TEF), usually considered ultrasound signs of inflammatory diseases. A comparison cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was taken from the Birmingham Early Arthritis early arthritis inception cohort. RESULTS: 939 HS and 144 patients with RA were included. The majority of HS (85%) had grade 0 for TSH, TPD and TEF in all DF and ECU tendons examined. There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of TSH and TPD involvement between HS and subjects with RA (HS vs RA p<0.001). In HS, there was no difference in the presence of ultrasound abnormalities between age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound-detected TSH and TPD abnormalities are rare in HS and can be regarded as markers of active inflammatory disease, especially in newly presenting RA.

Is symptom duration before DMARD therapy a determinant of direct and indirect costs in DMARD-naïve RA patients? A systematic review.

Objective: Early treatment of RA improves clinical outcomes; however, the impact on health economic outcomes is unclear. This review sought to investigate the relationship between symptom/disease duration and resource utilization/costs and the responsiveness of costs following RA diagnosis. Methods: A systematic search was performed on Pubmed, EMBASE, CINAHL and Medline. Studies were eligible if patients were DMARD-naïve and fulfilled 1987 ACR or 2010 ACR/EULAR RA classification criteria. Studies had to report symptom/disease duration and resource utilization or direct/indirect costs as health economic outcomes. The relationships between symptom/disease duration and costs were explored. Results: Three hundred and fifty-seven records were identified in a systematic search; nine were eligible for analysis. The mean/median of symptom/disease duration in studies ranged between 25 days and 6 years. Annual direct costs of RA following diagnosis showed a U-shaped distribution in two studies. Longer symptom duration before starting a DMARD (>180 days) was associated with lower health-care utilization in the first year of RA diagnosis in one study. Annual direct and indirect costs 6 months before RA diagnosis were higher in patients with shorter symptom duration (<6 months) in one study. Given the clinical and methodological heterogeneities, the association between symptom/disease duration and costs after diagnosis was not computed. Conclusion: The association between symptom/disease duration at the time of DMARD initiation and resource utilization/cost in patients with RA remains unclear. Health economic modelling with clearly defined symptom duration, resource utilization and long-term productivity is vital to address this evidence gap.