PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

Comparison of rheumatoid arthritis composite disease activity indices and residual activity in a Brazilian multicenter study- REAL study.

  • Isabela Araújo Santos,
  • Renê Donizeti Ribeiro de Oliveira,
  • Sergio Couto Luna Almeida,
  • Ana Beatriz Vargas-Santos,
  • Rodrigo Balbino Chaves Amorim,
  • Ana Paula Monteiro Gomides,
  • Cleandro Pires de Albuquerque,
  • Manoel Barros Bertolo,
  • Maria Fernanda Brandão Resende Guimarães,
  • Maria Raquel da Costa Pinto,
  • Gustavo Gomes Resende,
  • Rina Dalva Neubarth Giorgi,
  • Nathalia de Carvalho Saciloto,
  • Sebastião Cezar Radominski,
  • Fernanda Maria Borghi,
  • Karina Rossi Bonfiglioli,
  • Henrique Carrico da Silva,
  • Maria de Fatima L da Cunha Sauma,
  • Ivanio Alves Pereira,
  • Glaucio Ricardo Werner de Castro,
  • Claiton Viegas Brenol,
  • Ricardo Machado Xavier,
  • Licia Maria Henrique Mota,
  • Paulo Louzada-Junior,
  • Geraldo da Rocha Castelar-Pinheiro

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273789
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 9
p. e0273789

Abstract

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IntroductionRheumatoid arthritis (RA) composite disease activity indices have become handy tools in daily clinical practice and crucial in defining remission or low disease activity, the main target of the RA treatment. However, there is no definition of the best index to assess disease activity in clinical practice.ObjectivesTo compare the residual activity among the indices with the ACR/EULAR remission criteria (Boolean method) to identify the most feasible for assessing remission in daily practice, also considering correlation and concordance, sensibility, and specificity.Patients and methodsWe selected 1116 patients with established RA from the real-life rheumatoid arthritis study database-REAL. The composite disease activity indices-DAS28-ESR, DAS28-CRP, SDAI, and CDAI-and their components were compared to the Boolean method to identify residual activity using binomial regression. The indices were analyzed for correlation and agreement using the Spearman index and weighted kappa. The chi-square test evaluated sensibility and specificity for remission based on the Boolean method.ResultsDAS28-CRP overestimated remission and confirmed higher residual activity than SDAI and CDAI. The indices showed good correlation and agreement, with a better relationship between SDAI and CDAI (k:0,88). CDAI and SDAI showed higher sensitivity and specificity for remission based on the Boolean method. CDAI was performed in 99% of patients, while DAS28 and SDAI were completed in approximately 85%.ConclusionsAlthough all composite indices of activity can be used in clinical practice and showed good agreement, CDAI and SDAI have better performance in evaluating remission based on the Boolean method, showing less residual activity and higher sensibility and specificity. In addition, CDAI seems to be more feasible for disease activity evaluation in daily clinical practice, especially in developing countries.