The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be used to assess whether an individual patient has a significant improvement of the disease activity, compared to baseline. These criteria are based on the DAS28, a clinical measure of RA disease activity that combines information from swollen joints, tender joints, the acute phase response, and general health. The EULAR response criteria classify individual patients as non-, moderate, or good responders by comparing the DAS28 on two different time points. The response criteria depend on the extent of change and the level of disease activity reached according to the table below:
DAS28 improvement _ >1.2 0.6 – 1.2 <0.6
Present DAS28_
< 3.2 good
response moderate response no
response
3.2 - 5.1 moderate response moderate response no
response
>5.1 moderate response no
response no
response
The EULAR response criteria have been published in 1996 (see: Van Gestel et al. “Development and validation of the European League Against Rheumatism response criteria for RA” in: Arthritis Rheum 1996;39:34-40)
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