To analyse tender and swollen joint counts in three cohorts of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with a focus on the proportions of patients who had fewer than 6-12 tender or swollen joints, as possible evidence based information toward more generalisable inclusion criteria for current and future RA clinical trials.
Declines in number of tender and swollen joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis seen in standard care in 1985 versus 2001: possible considerations for revision of inclusion criteria for clinical trials.
Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 203 Oxford House, Box 5, Nashville, TN 37232-4500, USA, and Jyväskylä Central Hospital, Finland. t.pincus@vanderbilt.edu
