OBJECTIVE: To test for and estimate variation among rheumatologists in their prescribing of prednisone and second-line agents for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), after taking into account the characteristics of their patients. METHODS: Multiple logistic regression incorporating random effects for rheumatologists, with adjustment for patient characteristics. RESULTS: Values for the likelihood-ratio statistic provided strong evidence of such variation. Random-effect variance estimates showed that the variation is of great magnitude. CONCLUSION: Even after patient characteristics have been taken into account, the data show that the rheumatologist may strongly influence the use of prednisone and second-line agents by a patient.
OBJECTIVE: To test for and estimate variation among rheumatologists in their prescribing of prednisone and second-line agents for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), after taking into account the characteristics of their patients. METHODS: Multiple logistic regression incorporating random effects for rheumatologists, with adjustment for patient characteristics. RESULTS: Values for the likelihood-ratio statistic provided strong evidence of such variation. Random-effect variance estimates showed that the variation is of great magnitude. CONCLUSION: Even after patient characteristics have been taken into account, the data show that the rheumatologist may strongly influence the use of prednisone and second-line agents by a patient.
Authors: Iván Ferraz-Amaro; Daniel Seoane-Mato; Fernando Sánchez-Alonso; María A Martín-Martínez Journal: Rheumatol Int Date: 2015-09-24 Impact factor: 2.631
Authors: Michael D George; Joshua F Baker; Beth Wallace; Lang Chen; Qufei Wu; Fenglong Xie; Huifeng Yun; Jeffrey R Curtis Journal: Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken) Date: 2021-10-07 Impact factor: 4.794
Authors: Beth I Wallace; Paul Lin; Neil Kamdar; Mohamed Noureldin; Rodney Hayward; David A Fox; Jeffrey R Curtis; Kenneth G Saag; Akbar K Waljee Journal: Semin Arthritis Rheum Date: 2019-09-07 Impact factor: 5.532