title: Most visits of most patients with rheumatoid arthritis to most rheumatologists do not include a formal quantitative joint count.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To ask rheumatologists about the likelihood of performing a formal joint count at each visit of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in standard clinical care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Direct query of rheumatologists at an international meeting of about 600 rheumatologists from 17 European countries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 14% of rheumatologists reported performing a formal joint count at each visit of each patient, and 44% of rheumatologists reported performing a formal joint count at more than 50% of visits of patients with RA. Therefore, 56% of rheumatologists reported performing a joint count at fewer than 50% of visits, including 45% at fewer than 25% of visits. One in eight rheumatologists (13%) reported never performing a formal joint count.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the joint count remains the most specific measure for RA, most visits of most patients with RA to most rheumatologists do not include a formal quantitative joint count.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 203 Oxford House, Box 5, Nashville, TN 37232-4500, USA. t.pincus@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pincus
authors.forename: O G
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Segurado
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000473:pathology*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology*; D009819:Office Visits; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D012219:Rheumatology / Q000379:methods*