Comparison of composite indices with global synovitis score on ultrasound for detecting remission

Abstract

We aimed to compare composite indices with Ultrasound Global Synovitis Score (GLOESS) for remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA patients in remission according to the clinician were investigated with Disease Activity Score28 (DAS28), Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI), and RAPID-3 (Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3). Ultrasonography was performed using the GLOESS scores. Patients in CDAI-remission had lower GLOESS (median (IQR), 5(3-9.75) vs 7(4-11.75), p = 0.048) with a similar trend in SDAI (5(3-9.25) vs 7(4-11.25), p = 0.064). This was not observed with DAS28-CRP and RAPID3. Our results show that CDAI is superior to other indices to assess remission in RA.