Desarrollo de un cuadro de actuación para la evaluación de pacientes con espondiloartritis axial y artritis psoriásica en la práctica diaria: proyecto ONLY TOOLS

Patients with spondyloarthritis including psoriatic arthritis: Current needs, impact, and perspective

OBJECTIVE

To analyse the current needs of patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and the impact of the conditions.

METHODS

National survey in electronic format for patients with SpA and PsA. The survey was launched on April 28, 2021, using the channels of the Coordinadora Española de Asociaciones de Espondiloartritis (Spanish Coordinator of Associations of Spondyloarthritis) to communicate with members and followers, and was closed on June 30, 2021. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected (age, sex, disease duration, treatments), and variables related to the objectives. A descriptive analysis was performed.

RESULTS

A total of 543 patients with SpA and 291 with PsA were included. In the previous month, on a scale from 0 to 10 (0: none; 10: very high) the mean scores of fatigue, morning stiffness, and sleep problems were all >8. Almost 80% of the patients with SpA reported low back pain and 82.5% of the patients with PsA reported involvement of the knees, ankles, feet and/or hands, and 51% dactylitis. The level of satisfaction with the treatment was low, mean 5.5 in SpA and 6.2 in PsA (scale 0-10). It was higher with biological therapies. We found that 70.2% of patients with SpA and 66% with PsA were used to living with pain every day. Finally, 43.8% of participants with SpA and 31.2% of those with PsA reported that they did not set the treatment goals with their doctors.

CONCLUSIONS

Currently the impact of SpA and PsA on multiple aspects of daily life is still very high. There are areas for improvement in the doctor-patient relationship and in treatments.

Resources and strategies for the optimal care of patients with axial spondyloarthritis: The CREA project

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) are musculoskeletal diseases with different manifestations. In clinical practice, variability, and limitations in the collection of the outcomes required for follow-up have been observed. The objective of the CREA project was to agree on improvement strategies for the initial assessment and follow-up of patients with axSpA in Spain.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey with 33 questions was conducted by a representative sample of rheumatologists on clinical practice, resources, and present limitations in the follow-up of patients with axSpA. The results of the survey were discussed in 10 regional meetings, and 105 strategies were proposed and evaluated through a Delphi consensus in which 85 experts participated.

RESULTS

The lack of time for clinical visits, the lack of nurses and/or support staff and the delay in performing the imaging tests were the most prominent limitations in the follow-up of patients with axSpA. One hundred and five strategies were proposed related to the evaluation of disease activity, physical function, quality of life and disease impact, to the evaluation of comorbidities and extra-articular manifestations, laboratory tests; imaging tests, physical examination and metrology. Of the total, 85 were considered highly advisable. No regional differences were found.

CONCLUSIONS

The proposals agreed upon as highly advisable in the present study are applicable to the entire national territory, allow tighter and more homogeneous monitoring of the patients with axSpA, facilitate more comprehensive management of the disease, and respond to the unmet needs detected in the initial survey.

Comparative results of the implementation in daily practice of an evaluation checklist for patients with axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis

OBJECTIVE

To analyse and compare changes in the collection of clinical variables after the implementation in daily practice of an evaluation checklist for patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

METHODS

An observational study was performed based on medical records review. The number and type of variables of the evaluation checklist in the medical records were collected. The first review was made before the implementation of the checklist, and the second one 6 months after the implementation (in different patients). A descriptive and bivariate analysis was carried out.

RESULTS

Six hospitals and 11 rheumatologists participated. A total of 83 and 68 medical records were reviewed before and after the implementation of the checklist. After the implementation, in the axSpA patients, a significant increase was recorded in alcohol consumption, diarrhoea or IBD and urethritis, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, depression, obesity or gout/hyperuricaemia, weight, height, blood pressure, patient and physician global assessments of disease activity, BASDAI and DAS28. And, in the PsA patients, alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, disease, gout/hyperuricaemia, thoracic expansion, cervical rotation, weight, height, blood pressure, patient and physician global assessments of disease, ASDAS, BASDAI, and BASFI were recorded. In general, there was a trend towards greater recording in axSpA compared with PsA.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of a specific checklist in daily practice improves the evaluation of patients with axSpA and PsA. More efforts are necessary to continue improving the evaluation of patients with axSpA, but especially of those with PsA.

Is obesity a predictor for lack of response to treatment in psoriatic arthritis? A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To update the study of the association between obesity and treatment response in psoriatic arthritis.

METHODS

Updating a systematic review of clinical trials, prospective or retrospective longitudinal studies and case-control studies in psoriatic arthritis in which obesity was assessed as a predictor of efficacy or toxicity. Risks of bias were assessed with validated scales. A meta-analysis of the results of studies with similar outcome variables and weight measurements was performed.

RESULTS

Twenty-one studies were included (6 review of clinical trials, 6 longitudinal studies, 7 registers and one case-control studie), with moderate quality. The risk of achieving an ACR20 response if weight≥100kg was estimated at OR=1.42 (1-2.08) and that of withdrawing treatment in an OR of 1.60 (95% CI: 1.34 - 1.92).

CONCLUSIONS

There seems to be a greater risk of withdrawal of treatment due to inefficacy and difficulty in achieving remission in patients with psoriatic arthritis if they are obese.