Objective. To evaluate abatacept therapy in patients with non-life-threatening systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and polyarthritis, discoid lesions, or pleuritis and/or pericarditis.Methods. In a 12-month, multicenter, exploratory, phase IIb randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled trial, SLE patients with polyarthritis, discoid lesions, or pleuritis and/or pericarditis were randomized at a ratio of 2:1 to receive abatacept (ϳ10 mg/kg of body weight) or placebo. Prednisone (30 mg/day or equivalent) was given for 1 month, and then the dosage was tapered. The primary end point was the proportion of patients with new flare (adjudicated) according to a score of A/B on the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) index after the start of the steroid taper. Results

Objective. To assess the reliability of physical examination of the osteoarthritic (OA) knee by rheumatologists, and to evaluate the benefits of standardization.Methods. Forty-two physical signs and techniques were evaluated using a 6 ؋ 6 Latin square design. Patients with mild to severe knee OA, based on physical and radiographic signs, were examined in random order prior to and following standardization of techniques. The standardization process resulted in substantial improvements in reliability for evaluation of a number of physical signs, although for some signs, minimal or no effect of standardization was noted. After standardization, warmth (PABAK ‫؍‬ 0.14), medial instability at 30°flexion (PABAK ‫؍‬ 0.02), and lateral instability at 30°flexion (PABAK ‫؍‬ 0.34) were the only 3 signs that were highly unreliable.Conclusion. With the exception of physical examinations for instability, a comprehensive knee examination can be performed with adequate reliability. Standardization further improves the reliability for some physical signs and techniques. The application of these findings to future OA studies will contribute to improved outcome assessments in OA.In clinical practice and in research, the knee examination is a key component in the assessment of patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Recommendations for the physical examination of the OA knee include many different signs and techniques (1-9). In the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) clinical diagnostic

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There are significant differences in utilities obtained from different indirect methods. Agreement among the instruments was moderate but poorer at lower utilities. It is unlikely that these utility values, if used as the weightings for quality-adjusted life years, would result in comparable estimates.

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