OBJECTIVE: To determine the comparability of a text to a mannequin format for the assessment of joint counts (JC) among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) participating in a randomized clinical trial (RCT). METHODS: A subgroup of patients participating in the MIRA (Minocycline in RA) RCT completed self-administered JC and joint scores (JS), which were compared to those of a trained assessor. RESULTS:JC and JS data were consistently higher for the patient than for the assessor. Higher correlations were obtained for JC than for JS. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest JC can be used in the context of clinical trials or in the clinical setting, but are not interchangeable with trained assessor JC.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To determine the comparability of a text to a mannequin format for the assessment of joint counts (JC) among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) participating in a randomized clinical trial (RCT). METHODS: A subgroup of patients participating in the MIRA (Minocycline in RA) RCT completed self-administered JC and joint scores (JS), which were compared to those of a trained assessor. RESULTS: JC and JS data were consistently higher for the patient than for the assessor. Higher correlations were obtained for JC than for JS. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest JC can be used in the context of clinical trials or in the clinical setting, but are not interchangeable with trained assessor JC.
Authors: A Spoorenberg; D van der Heijde; M Dougados; K de Vlam; H Mielants; H van de Tempel; S van der Linden Journal: Ann Rheum Dis Date: 2002-09 Impact factor: 19.103