Chiromorphoergometry (a new method for assessment of joint involvement in rheumatoid arthritis)

The authors suggest a method for "measuring" the morpho-functional damage of hands and wrists. This method analyzes three postural tests: - "Praying hands" (cf. Fig. 1,2) - "Back of the hands opposed" (cf. Fig. 3) - "Phalanges opposed (by their dorsum)" (cf. Fig 4). These tests define for each hand three angles a1, a2, a3. The corresponding indices I1, I2, I3 are obtained by the following formula: Ii = (1 - ai/90 degrees) . 100. One then defines a general index ITOT by the following expression: ITOT = (I1 + I2 + I3)/3 The index ITOT looks very effective in assessing the patient's condition in an objective way and is simple enough to be used in everyday practice. Hence it is also helpful in therapy-monitoring.