PURPOSE: To evaluate the outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving treatment trom a rheumatology-trained primary therapist and to assess the feasibility of the research protocol. METHOD: The experimental (E) group received treatment from a primary therapist in addition to their overall medical care. The usual care (UC) group continued receiving usual medical care. The first 10 patients completed the Health Assessment Questionnaire, a pain visual analogue scale, and the Arthritis Community Research and Evaluation Unit RA Knowledge Questionnaire, Patients were classified as clinical responders if they showed 20% improvement in two-thirds of core measures between baseline and 6 months. Baseline assessment was performed immediately prior to randomization. All patients completed the EuroQol and a monthly health resource use questionnaire. RESULTS: A trend towards improvement was found in the E group (n = 11) in all clinical measures at discharge (approximately 6 weeks from baseline) and 6 months from baseline. In contrast, the UC group (n = 13) showed a slight deterioration in pain (at 6 weeks) and in disease-specific knowledge (at 6 months). Three of six patients in the E group and one of four patients in the UC group met the criteria of clinical responders. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests an improvement trend in patient outcomes after treatment from a primary therapist and that the study protocol is feasible for a full-scale clinical trial.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PDF locator
• publisher