Different Wording of the Patient Global Visual Analogue Scale (PG-VAS) Affects Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients' Scoring and the Overall Disease Activity Score (DAS28): A Cross-Sectional Study

French, Tracy; Hewlett, Sarah; Kirwan, John; Sanderson, Tessa

Abstract

Objective: The Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) is a key measure in clinical practice and clinical trials. There are at least five different versions of the 'Patient Global' Visual Analogue Scale (PG-VAS) being used in the DAS28. The developers suggested that the PG-VAS can be an assessment of global health or disease activity, but did not specify the wording of the question. There is no consensus on what the PG-VAS is intended to capture, and the different words and phrases have not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to test if phrasing affects PG-VAS scores and hence yields different results for the DAS28. Methods: Fifty patients with rheumatoid arthritis taking biologic agents in a rheumatology outpatient department completed a self-administered questionnaire containing five versions of the 100mm PG-VAS. Results: All PG-VAS versions correlated strongly with each other (rho=0.67-0.87, p

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2013
• Journal: Musculoskeletal Care
• Print ISSN: 1478-2189
• Electronic ISSN: 1557-0681
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 229-237
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/msc.1046
• Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, disease activity score, patient global visual analogue scale
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/934996
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/msc.1046