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  • Twenty eight joint count disease activity score in recent onset rheumatoid arthritis using C reactive protein instead of erythrocyte sedimentation rate

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Twenty eight joint count disease activity score in recent onset rheumatoid arthritis using C reactive protein instead of erythrocyte sedimentation rate
  1. T Skogh1,
  2. D Gustafsson1,
  3. M Kjellberg1,
  4. M Husberg2
  1. 1Division of Rheumatology, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University Hospital, SE-581 85 Linköping, Sweden
  2. 2Centre for Medical Technology Assessment, Linköping, Sweden
  1. Correspondence to:
    Professor T Skogh;
    thomas.skogh{at}lio.se

https://doi.org/10.1136/ard.62.7.681

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    C reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are traditional markers of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although the two tests show a relatively high degree of correlation and follow the same reaction pattern, the variance of CRP is independent of ESR to some extent.1 Apart from mirroring inflammation, ESR is affected by immunoglobulin levels, sex, and abnormal size or shape of red blood cells.2,3 CRP, which correlates more significantly than ESR with disease activity,1,3,4 is a predictor of functional status/outcome and joint damage in RA.5–7 Although CRP is the better marker of inflammation, ESR adds information reflecting disease severity,4,8 and a combination of the tests may be worthwhile.

    To create a simple instrument for assessment of disease activity in RA, Prevoo …

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