Core Outcome Sets Specifically for Longterm Observational Studies: OMERACT Special Interest Group Update in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Patient perspectives on long-term outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis. A qualitative study from the OMERACT patient outcomes in longitudinal studies working group

OBJECTIVES

To identify patient-centered domains with long-term relevance to people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS

We conducted semi-structured individual cognitive interviews of patients with RA with at least five years of disease duration, sampled from five different countries (United States, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Argentina). Participants were encouraged to discuss their long-term concerns regarding RA. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis within a constructivist/interpretivist theoretical framework.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight participants were interviewed, 24 were women. Six main themes, representing important aspects of the daily life of people with RA were generated: (i) Living with symptoms and functional limitations, (ii) Lack of participation, (iii) Partner and family issues, (iv) Risk of damage to vital organs, (v) Coping strategies, and (vi) Healthcare concerns, primarily expressed by participants from non-European countries lacking universal healthcare coverage. In addition, participants discussed the importance of contextual factors and how they impact long-term outcomes. These included attitudes towards disease, social support, or financial burdens.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified six domains of importance to people with RA that are seldom measured in longitudinal registries and should be considered in patient-centered longitudinal studies.

Socioeconomic Status and Medication Use in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVE

Socioeconomic status (SES) influences disease outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Differences in medication use may partly explain this association. A scoping review was used to identify research conducted on this topic and determine what knowledge gaps remain.

METHODS

Medline, Embase, and PsychInfo were searched from their inception until February 2022 for studies that assessed SES and medication use as an outcome variable. Data was extracted on the use of specific SES measures, medication use, and whether differences in SES variables were associated with differences in medication use.

RESULTS

We identified 2,103 studies, of which 81 were selected for inclusion. Included studies originated most frequently from the US (42%); the mean ± SD age of participants was 55.9 ± 6.8 years, and most were female (75%). Studies measured a median of 4 SES variables (interquartile range 3-6), with educational, area-level SES, and income being the most frequent measurements used. Patients' race and/or ethnicity were documented by 34 studies. Studies primarily assessed the likelihood of prescription of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs or dispensation, medication adherence, or treatment delays. A majority of studies documented at least 1 SES measure associated with a difference in medication use.

CONCLUSION

There is some evidence that SES affects use of medications in patients with RA; however, multiple definitions of SES have been utilized, making comparisons between studies difficult. Prospective studies with consistently defined SES will be needed to determine whether differences in medication use accounts for the poorer outcomes experienced by patients of lower SES.

The “Understanding Pyoderma Gangrenosum, Review and Assessment of Disease Effects (UPGRADE)” Project: a protocol for the development of the core outcome domain set for trials in pyoderma gangrenosum

INTRODUCTION

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare neutrophilic dermatosis that affects approximately 0.3-6 out of every 100,000 people worldwide. Clinical trials are scarce but there is growing interest in using newer and more targeted therapeutics to achieve disease remission. However, there are no standardized instruments to measure outcomes in PG and, therefore, future clinical trials are hampered by the absence of established and accurate means of assessment and comparison. Therefore, we aim to produce an internationally accepted core outcome set (COS) that will overcome this obstacle. This protocol outlines our intended approach to achieve the first part of this process, establishing a core outcome domain set.

METHODS

An international team of PG stakeholders, consisting of physicians, wound care nurses, patients, scientists and industry representatives, has been assembled for the purpose of building a comprehensive and universally established set of core outcome domains. During the first step, we will generate items of relevance using a nominal process from all stakeholders. Items will be distilled and collapsed into potential domains and subdomains. A systematic review of current methods for reporting PG has already been published and domains identified in this work will be considered in the generation of the core domains set. During the second step, after the potential domains and subdomains are identified, stakeholders will participate in an e-Delphi exercise to rate the importance of (sub)domains. A final consensus meeting will be organized with the goal of establishing a core domain set.

CONCLUSION

Pyoderma gangrenosum lacks an established COS and previously published clinical trials have used inconsistent measures established from similarly inconsistent domains. As a first step this study seeks to create a core domain set within the COS, to build the foundation for future core outcome work for PG.

Synthesizing Core Outcome Sets for outcomes research in cohort studies: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Life course studies are designed to "collect once, use multiple times" for observational and, increasingly, interventional research. Core Outcome Sets (COS) are minimum sets developed for clinical trials by multi-stakeholder consensus methodologies. We aimed to synthesize published COS that might guide outcomes selection for early life cohorts with an interventional focus.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Medline, COMET, and CROWN for COS published before January 2021 relevant to four life stages (pregnancy, newborns, children <8 years, and parents (adults aged 18-50 years)). We synthesized core outcomes into overarching constructs.

RESULTS

From 46 COS we synthesized 414 core outcomes into 118 constructs. "Quality of life", "adverse events", "medication use", "hospitalization", and "mortality" were consistent across all stages. For pregnancy, common constructs included "preterm birth", "delivery mode", "pre-eclampsia", "gestational weight gain", "gestational diabetes", and "hemorrhage"; for newborns, "birthweight", "small for gestational age", "neurological damage", and "morbidity" and "infection/sepsis"; for pediatrics, "pain", "gastrointestinal morbidity", "growth/weight", "breastfeeding", "feeding problems", "hearing", "neurodevelopmental morbidity", and "social development"; and for adults, "disease burden", "mental health", "neurological function/stroke", and "cardiovascular health/morbidity".

CONCLUSION

This COS synthesis generated outcome constructs that are of high value to stakeholders (participants, health providers, services), relevant to life course research, and could position cohorts for trial capabilities.

IMPACT

We synthesized existing Core Outcome Sets as a transparent methodology that could prioritize outcomes for lifecourse cohorts with an interventional focus. "Quality of life", "adverse events", "medication use", "hospitalization", and "mortality" are important outcomes across pregnancy, newborns, childhood, and early-to-mid-adulthood (the age range relevant to parents). Other common outcomes (such as "birthweight", "cognitive function/ability", "psychological health") are also highly relevant to lifecourse research. This synthesis could assist new early life cohorts to pre-select outcomes that are of high value to stakeholders (participants, health providers, services), are relevant to lifecourse research, and could position them for future trials and interventional capability.

Multilevel factors predict medication adherence in rheumatoid arthritis: a 6-month cohort study

Non-adherence challenges efficacy and costs of healthcare. Knowledge of the underlying factors is essential to design effective intervention strategies.

OBJECTIVES

To estimate the prevalence of treatment adherence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to evaluate its predictors.

METHODS

A 6-month prospective cohort study of patients with RA selected by systematic stratified sampling (33% on first disease-modifying rheumatic drug (DMARD), 33% on second-line DMARD and 33% on biologics). The outcome measure was treatment adherence, defined by a score greater than 80% both in the Compliance Questionnaire in Rheumatology and the Reported Adherence to Medication scale, and was estimated with 95% CIs. Predictive factors included sociodemographic, psychological, clinical, drug-related, patient-doctor relationship related and logistic. Their effect on 6-month adherence was examined by multilevel logistic models adjusted for baseline covariates.

RESULTS

180 patients were recruited (77% women, mean age 60.8). The prevalence of adherence was 59.1% (95% CI 48.1% to 71.8%). Patients on biologics showed higher adherence and perceived a higher medication need than the others; patients on second-line DMARDs had experienced more adverse events than the others. The variables explaining adherence in the final multivariate model were the type of treatment prescribed (second-line DMARDs OR=5.22, and biologics OR=3.76), agreement on treatment (OR=4.57), having received information on treatment adaptation (OR=1.42) and the physician perception of patient trust (OR=1.58). These effects were independent of disease activity.

CONCLUSION

Treatment adherence in RA is far from complete. Psychological, communicational and logistic factors influence treatment adherence in RA to a greater extent than sociodemographic or clinical factors.

Development of a patient-centered core domain set for prospective observational longitudinal outcome studies in rheumatoid arthritis: an OMERACT initiative

OBJECTIVES

To identify patient-centered core domains for prospective longitudinal observational studies (LOS) in rheumatoid arthritis.

METHODS

Our working group held a virtual meeting in November 2020 to review data from a literature review and patient qualitative interviews, and to discuss strategies to move forward on domain identification and selection using the OMERACT 2.1 domain selection process.

RESULTS

Important candidate domains and subdomains were identified including in the areas of life impact. Consensus was reached on moving forward with a Delphi process.

CONCLUSIONS

The meeting provided future directions to identify and select a core set of domains for use in LOS.

Qualitative validation of audiovisual educational material for use on rheumatoid arthritis patients

Medication compliance is critical to achieve therapeutic efficacy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis; however, among other factors, low patient-health literacy plays a negative role. Therefore, the development and validation of audiovisual educational material with the participation of health specialists and patients could lead to an improved level of compliance with treatment, while favoring its acceptance. To design and validate audiovisual educational material generated by a multidisciplinary and participative group of patients and health specialists. This study was carried out using a sequential methodology, including qualitative and quantitative techniques: (1) a non-participative observational study with patients and a non-systematic literature search were performed to identify conceptual topics. (2) Pilot videos were qualitatively assessed by patients and health specialists (focus groups and expert committees). (3) Improved versions of seven videos were quantitatively evaluated by patients and specialists following qualitative criteria of attraction, understanding, involvement, acceptance and induction of action. 74 patients with RA, 10 rheumatologists, 4 pharmacists and 2 medical anthropologists participated in the different phases of validation. A total of seven videos lasting 3 min each were generated, incorporating the most relevant suggestions by patients and healthcare professionals. The final version of the videos led to a mean compliance of 96.04 ± 5.2%, according to a representative group of patients and a mean 89.6 ± 9.4%, according to health professionals. With the participation of both patients and health specialists, seven audiovisual educational video recordings were developed and validated, reaching high levels of compliance in accordance with international criteria.