Rheumatoid Arthritis — Patient Rheumatoid Arthritis Social Support Study
Citation(s)
Callahan LF, Brooks RH, Summey JA, Pincus T Quantitative pain assessment for routine care of rheumatoid arthritis patients, using a pain scale based on activities of daily living and a visual analog pain scale. Arthritis Rheum. 1987 Jun;30(6):630-6.
Harris, E D., Rheumatoid arthritis. 1997, Philadelphia: Saunders. xxiii, 433.
Linos A, Worthington JW, O'Fallon WM, Kurland LT The epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis in Rochester, Minnesota: a study of incidence, prevalence, and mortality. Am J Epidemiol. 1980 Jan;111(1):87-98.
Pincus T, Brooks RH, Callahan LF Prediction of long-term mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis according to simple questionnaire and joint count measures. Ann Intern Med. 1994 Jan 1;120(1):26-34.
Yelin E, Meenan R, Nevitt M, Epstein W Work disability in rheumatoid arthritis: effects of disease, social, and work factors. Ann Intern Med. 1980 Oct;93(4):551-6.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient-to-Patient Connection Program
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
