Comparison between DAS28-ESR and DAS28- CRPus for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: application in a population of southern Brazil

Abstract The Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) shows discrepancies when using erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) scores to assess rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aimed to verify the agreement between the DAS28-CRP and DAS28-ESR scores in patients with RA from the south of Brazil. A unicentric cross-sectional study was performed (n = 56). The diagnosis of the patients followed the American College of Rheumatology/ European League Against Rheumatism criteria, and their DAS28 were calculated. The DAS28- ESR score was higher than the DAS28-CRP (DAS28-ESR mean 4.8±1.6; DAS28-CRP mean 4.3±1.4) for 83.9% of the patients. The DAS28-CRP and DAS28-ESR scores showed a very strong correlation (Pearson's coefficient = 0.922; P<0.0001, 95% CI +0.87 to +0.95, statistical power 100%). Spearman's correlation coefficient (0.49; P=0.0001, 95% CI +0.25 to +0.67, statistical power 47.54%) showed a moderate correlation between the unique components of the DAS28 formulas. There was agreement between the tests in only 36 of the patients (64.29%). Among the discordant categories, DAS28-ESR overestimated the classification in 16 patients (28.5%). The Kappa coefficient between the categories was 0.465 (SE 0.084, 95% CI +0.301 to +0.630), showing a moderate degree of agreement between the instruments. Although the DAS28-ESR and DAS28-CRP were highly correlated, they differed significantly in terms of patient categorization and should not be used interchangeably

Relationship between corticotherapy and increased cardiac risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory joint disease with global prevalence of 0.4% to 1.0%. Extra-articular manifestations increase its morbidity and severity, and cardiovascular diseases present the greatest risk. Therapeutic approaches have been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, often involving the use of multiple classes of drugs with different mechanisms and forms of action. Corticosteroid therapy is widely used in this therapeutic combination; however, its use has been widely questioned because of its high toxicity and some negative effects, including the possibility of increased cardiovascular risk, depending on the dosage. Some studies have provided important insights into how glucocorticoids have an impact on cardiac complications in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Most of these studies have concluded that exposure to these drugs at high or cumulative doses is associated with increased risk of death, as well as possibly being associated with the presence of a positive rheumatoid factor.