Early rheumatoid arthritis: the performance of the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria for diagnosing RA

Abstract

New classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were presented by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) in 2010, aiming for early identification of patients at risk of developing persistent and erosive arthritis. Since their publication, the criteria have been extensively validated against several reference standards, but there is still debate regarding how the criteria should be implemented in studies and clinical care. We present an overview of the published validation studies and discuss the strengths and limitations of the classification criteria, as well as whether the criteria are ready for diagnostic purposes in clinical practice.

Keywords: Classification; Criteria; Early diagnosis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Sensitivity; Specificity.