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- Title
Health-related quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis: therapeutic education plus pharmacological treatment versus pharmacological treatment only.
- Authors
Núñez, Montserrat; Núñez, Esther; Yoldi, Carmen; Quintó, Llorenç; Hernández, Mª; Muñoz-Gómez, José
- Abstract
Objective: To determine whether therapeutic education added to conventional drug therapy reduced disability and pain in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Fourty-three patients with RA, 29F/14 M, were included in a randomized, controlled trial and assigned to a control group receiving conventional pharmacological treatment only ( n=21), or an intervention group receiving therapeutic education added to conventional pharmacological treatment ( n=22). The main outcome variable was self-reported disability on the Stanford health assessment questionnaire (HAQ). Results: At 18 months, patients in the intervention group had less disability (HAQ), pain intensity, number of tender and swollen joints, and patient’s and physician’s global assessments ( p=0.003, 0.031, 0.003, 0.001, 0.014, and 0.004, respectively) compared with baseline, and improvements in disability and number of tender and swollen joints ( p=0.024, 0.040, and 0.003, respectively), compared with controls. Conclusions: Patients receiving pharmacological treatment and therapeutic education had a better evolution than those receiving only pharmacological treatment.
- Subjects
RHEUMATOID arthritis; QUALITY of life; PATIENTS; THERAPEUTICS; CLINICAL trials; JOINT diseases
- Publication
Rheumatology International, 2006, Vol 26, Issue 8, p752
- ISSN
0172-8172
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00296-005-0071-6