Flare in XXXX : Thresholds of disease activity variations.

@entity1 @entity1691 @entity1530
UNASSIGNED: There is no definition of flare in @entity1691 ( @entity1691 ). The aim of this study was to evaluate thresholds of disease activity variations using validated composite indexes. METHODS: @entity1691 @entity1 (ASAS criteria) prospectively followed with at least two visits, were evaluated. @entity1 and physician answered at each visit the question: "do you consider your @entity1691 / @entity1 in a state of flare?". Variations of BASDAI and ASDAS between visits were assessed and associated to the change of perception of a flare (yes/no). ROC curves were built to assess thresholds of variation in BASDAI and ASDAS associated with the change flare between visits. RESULTS: The @entity1 were issued from a prospective series of 250 @entity1691 . Ninety-nine cases with at least 2 visits were analysed. They were: 67% @entity1 , mean age 45  12 years; disease duration: 16  10 years; 84% @entity1530 positive; purely axial @entity1691 : 81%; PASS at baseline: 56%; mean CRP: 8.6  13.5mg/l. Mean BASDAI and ASDAS-CRP at baseline were 4.3  2.2 and 2.5  1.1, respectively. The kappa coefficient of agreement between @entity1 and physician for considering a flare was 0.68. The main results of the ROC curves are: a variation >= 2.1 units in BASDAI (sensitivity 59%, specificity 83%), 0.8 units in ASDAS-ESR (sen 56%, spe 91%) or 1.3 units in ASDAS-CRP (sen 47%, spe 100%) is associated to a flare. CONCLUSION: We propose thresholds of variations of BASDAI, ASDAS-ESR, and ASDAS-CRP associated to (and that may define) a flare, as considered by the @entity1 and the physician.
