Assessment of Drug Efficacy in Rheumatoid Arthritis

"Disease activity" in rheumatoid arthritis is difficult of definition but crucial to proper management of the disease. Disease activity can, perhaps, be conceived of as a varying "mass of inflammation." It is defined by its consequences such as joint pain and swelling, morning stiffness, the red-cell sedimentation rate and the rate of progression of erosive disease as determined radiologically. When the disease is active, such phenomena reveal the degree of abnormality, and therapeutic efforts are increased. When effective therapy is given to a patient with active disease, the manifestations of disease activity can be shown to recede, and thus their . . .