for clinical trials in rheumatoid arthritis (this is identical to the WHO-ILAR core set).
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has determined a set of outcome criteria for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). This set uses seven measures:
Tender joints
Swollen joints
Pain, according to the patient (VAS or Lickert scale)
Disease activity, according to the patient (VAS or Lickert scale)
Disease activity, according to the consultant (VAS or Lickert scale)
Functions in daily life (for example assessed by the HAQ)
Acute Phase Reactant (CRP or blood sedimentation)
If a patient improves 20% or more regarding the amount of tender and swollen joints (criteria 1 and 2) and improves 20% or more regarding at least three of the other five criteria, we talk about an ACR20-response. Improvements of at least 50% or at least 70% are indicated as ACR50-response and ACR70-response. See: Felson et al. “The ACR preliminary core set of disease activity measures for RA clinical trials” in: Arthritis Rheum 1993;36:729-40. And: Felson et al. “ACR preliminary definition of improvement in RA” in: Arthritis Rheum 1995;38:727-35.
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