It is scored by simply adding the numerical values corresponding to the following set of predetermined elements: the 28 joint assessment used to measure tender and swollen joint count; patient and physician global assessment of disease activity measured using a visual analogue scale, and finally, levels of the measured C-reactive protein (mgudl, normal <1 mgudl) [ 8].
The following indices were measured: tender joint count, swollen joint count, patient's assessment of pain, patient's global assessment of disease activity, physician's global assessment of disease activity, the Disability Index of the Health Assessment Questionnaire, serum levels of C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
The former, we measured using tender, swollen and painful joint counts, the latter, using the deformed joint count.
A recent longitudinal study compared the three different evoked measures – tender point counts, the dolorimeter (ascending pressure paradigm), and the multiple random staircase (random pressure paradigm) – with clinical reports of pain improvement [ 21].
The DAS28 specifies the disease activity measuring the number of tender and swollen joints, the ESR and VAS of general health.
PRO measures of non-physical aspects of health and clinical outcome measures (e.g., tender and swollen joint counts) should be less strongly related to the PF scale than the previous measures.
In addition, the patients with RA were comprehensively evaluated for disease activity with the use of the following measures: 1. Tender and swollen joint count (maximum of 68 tender and 66 swollen joints).
However, neither study showed a positive effect of methotrexate on the basis of objective measures such as tender and swollen joint counts [ 105, 106].
Clinical and laboratory assessment was performed using standard measures of 28 tender and swollen joint count (DAS28), rheumatoid factor, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and global health visual analogue scale (VAS).
The lymph node was tender and measured 3 cm in diameter.
