title: The Disease Activity Score (DAS) and the Disease Activity Score using 28 joint counts (DAS28) in the management of rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), disease activity cannot be measured in all individual patients according to a single variable. The Disease Activity Score (DAS) and the DAS28 have been developed to measure disease activity in RA both in daily clinical practice as well as in clinical trials on a group as well as individual level. The DAS/DAS28 is a continuous measure of RA disease activity that combines information from swollen joints, tender joints, acute phase response and general health. The DAS-based EULAR response criteria were primarily developed to be used in clinical trials. The EULAR response criteria classify individual patients as non-, moderate, or good responders, dependent on the magnitude of change and level of disease activity reached. In addition, already in the early nineties, cut points were developed to categorise patients in remission. The DAS28 is incorporated in several electronic patient records and web-based systems for monitoring purposes in daily clinical practice. In addition to this, it is being used in combination with patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to facilitate self-monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen; and Department of Rheumatology, Bernhoven, Uden, The Netherlands. piet.vanriel@radboudumc.nl.
authors.forename: Piet L C M
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: van Riel
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Bernhoven, Uden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lisanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Renskers
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000071066:Patient Reported Outcome Measures; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012074:Remission Induction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012219:Rheumatology / Q000379:methods*; D012648:Self Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017216:Telemedicine; D013997:Time Factors