Patient Perceptions of Rheumatoid Arthritis Blood Work: A Cross-Sectional Survey in the ArthritisPower Registry

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Clinical Immunology
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) management involves regular laboratory testing to monitor disease activity and medication safety.
• Patients express concerns about treatment efficacy and the potential for current medications to lose effectiveness over time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand patient perceptions of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-related laboratory testing.
• To assess patient interest in a blood test that predicts response to new RA medications.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was administered to members of ArthritisPower with RA.
• A choice-based conjoint analysis determined patient preferences for attributes of a predictive biomarker test.

Main Results:

• Patients believe RA lab tests primarily monitor inflammation and medication side effects.
• C-reactive protein (CRP) was considered the most helpful test for assessing disease activity.
• A significant majority of patients (89.2%) expressed strong interest in a predictive blood test for new RA medications, valuing high accuracy over cost or speed.

Conclusions:

• Patients recognize the importance of RA blood work for disease monitoring.
• Patient concerns about treatment effectiveness highlight the need for predictive tools.
• High accuracy in predicting treatment response is a key patient preference for novel diagnostic tests.