Objectives: To gain insight into the management and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) from the perspective of patients with moderate to severe disease.
Methods: We recruited patients with moderate-to-severe, active RA who were either biologic naïve or biologic experienced (i.e. receiving biologic therapy) and then surveyed their perceptions of their disease and its management through a questionnaire. The survey was administered by computer-assisted telephone interview of patients in 9 countries (n=586) and covered diagnosis, treatment, physician interaction, and lifestyle with RA. Mean age at onset of RA symptoms was 41 years, with an average time to diagnosis of 3 years.
Results: Most physician-patient communication centered on symptoms and treatment rather than the impact of RA on quality of life (QoL). Biologic users had significantly more 'good' days per month than biologic-naïve patients (71% vs. 61%). Of all patients, 22% reported high levels of pain on the day of the interview. A majority of patients considered their lives to be controlled by RA, despite the fact that they were receiving the current standard of care. Although potentially eligible for biologic therapy, as defined by a broad set of criteria for this investigation, 62% of biologic-naïve patients were not aware of biologic therapies.
Conclusions: The Rheumatoid Arthritis: Insights, Strategies & Expectations (RAISE) survey describes how patients with moderate to severe RA view their disease and which issues are critically important to them. Despite substantial impact on QoL and emotional health, a minority of patients discuss these issues with their physician. Also, despite improvements afforded by biologic therapy, continuing symptoms and pain occur in a proportion of RA patients.