Performance of the 2010 Rheumatoid Arthritis Classification Criteria
International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases, 06/15/2012

Davatchi F et al. – The 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria have good performance: sensitivity of 69% in early disease (first year), with the same sensitivity in both genders.

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were selected from August to December 2010, among those coming for their follow–up.
• The inclusion criteria were patients with not more than 12 months of disease progression at their first evaluation.
• Patients were selected from four rheumatology subspecialty clinics.

• Nine hundred and ninety–seven patients with a confirmed diagnosis of RA entered the study.
• The female–to–male ratio was 4.3/1.0. Mean age was 46.4 years. Mean disease progression at first visit was 6.3 months.
• The mean follow–up of their disease was 5.9 years.
• The 1987 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria were fulfilled for 74% of patients.
• The ACR/EULAR (European League Against Rheumatism) criteria were fulfilled for 69% of patients. Ten percent had involvement of 2–10 large joints, 29% 1–3 small joints, 25% 4–10 small joints and 32% more than 10 joints.
• Low rheumatoid factor (RF)/anticytoplasmic antibodies (ACPA) were discovered in 30%, high RF/ACPA in 37%; high erythrocyte sedimentation rate/C–reactive protein in 77%, and duration of 6 weeks or more in 92% of patients.
• There was no significant difference between men and women.