RA assessment & scoring tools [32]

Assessment toolsDescription

Disease Activity Score-28 (DAS28)

  • Tender joint count

  • Swollen joint count

  • Blood markers of inflammation (ESR or CRP)

  • Patient’s assessment of their global health (VAS analogue scale)

Scale 0–9.4

  • Remission: < 2.6

  • Low disease activity: > 2.6 and < 3.2

  • Moderate disease activity: > 3.2 and < 5.1

  • High disease activity: > 5.1

Clinical trial assessment tool

  • American College of Rheumatology (ACR) developed criteria to evaluate treatment efficacy in RA clinical trials

Scoring system

  • ACR20: 20% improvement in comparison to baseline

  • ACR50: 50% improvement in comparison to baseline

  • ACR70: 70% improvement in comparison to baseline

RA: rheumatoid arthritis; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP: C-reactive protein; VAS: visual analogue scale