Disease activity measurement of rheumatoid arthritis: Comparison of the simplified disease activity index (SDAI) and the disease activity score including 28 joints (DAS28) in daily routine

Abstract

Objective. To assess the reliability and congruency of the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) compared with the Disease Activity Score including 28 joints (DAS28) in daily practice. Methods. In 399 consecutive rheumatoid arthritis patients (307 women, 92 men), the SDAI and the DAS28 were calculated. Additionally, 115 of them were observed for 1 year and changes of both values were recorded. Joint assessments were performed by 4 experienced physicians. DAS28 and SDAI values and the respective changes were compared by correlation and regression analyses. Reliability assessment and factor analyses were performed. Disease activity categorizing was compared by the Wilcoxon's rank sum test. Results. The median ؎ SD scores were 3.42 ؎ 1.45 for the DAS28 and 11.50 ؎ 11.50 for the SDAI. Spearman's rho was 0.897 (P < 0.0001). Score changes were also significantly correlated. Reliability testing and factor analysis revealed that both scores can be regarded as monocomponent. Categorizing patients according to the European League Against Rheumatism response criteria (EULARC) or the SDAI revealed statistically significant differences between the 2 scales (P < 0.0001). Conclusion. SDAI values are considerably shifted to the left compared with DAS28 levels. Internal consistency and reliability of both scores are comparable. For the differences in disease activity categorizing due to the SDAI compared with the EULARC, a major limitation of the application of this newly developed disease activity score is given, unless these incongruencies can be cleared.

Carotid artery stiffness in Behçet’s disease

“…Disease activity and severity scoring Behçet syndrome activity score (BSAS) and disease activity score (DAS) -28 were calculated in the BD and RA groups, respectively (18,19). BD patients were considered as active when a patient had a BSAS score ≥2 with the following clinical involvements: skin lesions, genital ulcers, active arthritis, recent vascular involvement, recent eye involvement, recent neurological involvement, a positive pathergy test in addition to oral ulcer, as well as high C-reactive protein (CRP) and/ or high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).…”

Resistance of rheumatoid arthritis patients to changing therapy: Discordance between disease activity and patients' treatment choices

“…When response is judged to be inadequate, more aggressive therapy is said to be indicated. Tools for measuring response include the Disease Activity Score (10), the Simplified Disease Activity Index (11,12), the Clinical Disease Activity Index (11), and patient-based assessments such as the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) (13), the Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Index (14), and the Patient Activity Scale (PAS) (15). Such tools are suitable for use in randomized clinical trials and clinical practice.…”

Association of Knee Muscle Strength with Lower Extremity Dysfunction in Patients with Osteoarthritis: a Comparison with Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients and Healthy Controls

“…Scores on the DAS 28 of greater than 5.1 implied high disease activity, and scores below 3.2 indicated low disease activity. [21] …”