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. 2020 Mar 13;15(3):e0230317.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230317. eCollection 2020.

Discordance between the patient's and physician's global assessment in rheumatoid arthritis: Data from the REAL study-Brazil

Maria Fernanda Brandão Resende Guimarães  1 , Maria Raquel da Costa Pinto  1 , Gustavo Gomes Resende  1 , Carla Jorge Machado  1 , Ana Beatriz Vargas-Santos  2 , Rodrigo Balbino Chaves Amorim  2 , Ana Paula Monteiro Gomides  3 , Cleandro Pires de Albuquerque  3 , Manoel Barros Bértolo  4 , Paulo Louzada Júnior  5 , Isabela Araújo Santos  5 , Rina Dalva Neubarth Giorgi  6 , Nathalia de Carvalho Saciloto  6 , Sebastião Cezar Radominski  7 , Fernanda Maria Borghi  8 , Karina Rossi Bonfiglioli  9 , Henrique Carriço da Silva  9 , Maria de Fátima L da Cunha Sauma  10 , Marcel Lobato Sauma  10 , Júlia Brito de Medeiros  10 , Ivânio Alves Pereira  11 , Gláucio Ricardo Werner de Castro  12 , Claiton Viegas Brenol  13 , Ricardo Machado Xavier  13 , Licia Maria Henrique Mota  3 , Geraldo da Rocha Castelar-Pinheiro  2
Affiliations

Discordance between the patient's and physician's global assessment in rheumatoid arthritis: Data from the REAL study-Brazil

Maria Fernanda Brandão Resende Guimarães et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Discordance between patient's global assessment (PtGA) and physician's global assessment (PhGA) has been described in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Understanding the reasons for this discrepancy is important in the context of treat-to-target treatment strategy.

Objective: To assess the determinants of PtGA and PhGA and factors associated with discordance between them.

Methods: The REAL study included RA patients from Brazilian public health centers. Clinical, laboratory and outcomes measures were collected. PtGA and the PhGA were rated on a visual analog scale and analyzed. Three groups were defined: no discordance (difference between PtGA and PhGA within 3 cm), positive discordance (PtGA exceeding PhGA by >3 cm), and negative discordance (PtGA less than PhGA by >3 cm). Multivariate regression analysis was used to identify determinants of PtGA and PhGA and their discordance.

Results: 1115 patients (89,4% female, mean age 56.7y and median disease duration of 12.7y) were enrolled. Two factors were associated with PtGA in the final multivariate model: one point increase in the pain scale leads to an increase of 0.62 in PtGA; one point increase in HAQ increases by 9,25 points the PtGA. The factors associated with PhGA were pain scale, number of tender and swollen joints (NTJ and NSJ), positive RF, ESR, HAQ-DI and use of corticosteroids. Discordance between patient and physician was found in 30.52%: positive discordance in 24.6% and negative discordance in 5.92%. An increase of one point in the NSJ was associated with a 12% increase in the chance of negative discordance. The chance of positive discordance increased by 90% and 2% for each unit increased in HAQ-DI and pain scale respectively. Finally, the chance of positive discordance decreased by 3% for each point increased in NTJ and by 15% for each point increased in NSJ.

Conclusion: In one-third of the assessments, there was disagreement between PtGA and PhGA (a positive discordance was found in 80% of them). Pain and function were determinants for patients to estimate disease activity, while swollen joints was the main factor related to a worse physician's evaluation. These data show how different can be the perspectives of patients and assistants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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