Consortium of Rheumatology Researchers of North America found a decline in the use of assistive mechanical devices among rheumatoid arthritis patients, according to Medpage Today.
Researchers compared the mechanical device use in two periods to determine how biologics enhanced the care of RA patients — 2001 to 2003 and 2010 to 2012.
The study examined participants over age 17 from two cohorts — 1,096 patients enrolled in CORRONA from 2001 to 2003 and 11,140 patients from 2010 to 2012.
Here are five things to know:
1. The study found less disease activity and less functional impairment in the 2010 to 2012 period.
2. From 2010 to 2012, the prevalence of aid use was nearly 30 percent.
3. The mean disease duration was longer (11.6 years) in the 2001 to 2003 cohort, as opposed to the later period (10.7 years).
4. Fewer patients in the later period used any medical devices or aids (31.1 percent), and fewer patients used jar openers, canes, special chairs, raised toilet seats or devices for reaching, dressing or bathing.
5. Researchers found no differences between the cohorts in special utensil use, wheelchairs or walkers.
"Because patients with a history of biologic use were less likely than biologic-naïve patients to utilize assistive devices, differences in physical impairment/disability between the two eras appear to reflect reductions in irreversible damage associated with increased use of biologic combination therapy," the CORRONA investigators wrote.
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