title: Reexamination of the assessment criteria for rheumatoid arthritis disease activity based on comparison of the Disease Activity Score 28 with other simpler assessment methods.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore simpler and possibly more appropriate tools than the conventional Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) for assessing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to derive more reliable DAS28-based criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  The capabilities of assessing disease activities in 250 RA patients were compared between DAS28 and other methods, including the Simplified DA Index (SDAI), Clinical DA Index (CDAI), and Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data-3 (RAPID-3).
  
  
  RESULTS
  SDAI and CDAI showed a good correlation and consistency with DAS28, whereas RAPID-3 yielded inferior results. In terms of remission criteria, DAS28 was less stringent than SDAI or CDAI; when RA remission was reexamined based on more stringent SDAI or CDAI criteria, cut-off values for DAS28-C-reactive protein of <1.72 were considered to be appropriate. The conventional DAS28 was considered to be appropriate for assessing low, middle and high disease activities because it provides criteria similar to or more stringent than those of other methods, while SDAI and CDAI were considered to be simpler and more appropriate criteria for assessing remission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For assessing remission, DAS28-CRP provides the most appropriate criterion of the methods compared when the currently used cut-off value of 2.3 is lowered to a new value of 1.72.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Yokohama Rosai Hospital, 3211 Kozukue-cho, Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Kanagawa 222-0036, Japan. m.fuji@yokohamah.rofuku.go.jp
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Yasuhiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods*; D012074:Remission Induction; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents