A Study of Subjects With Psoriatic Arthritis to Investigate the Effectiveness of Adalimumab Introduction Compared With Methotrexate Dose Escalation (CONTROL)

The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score is a measure of participant's quality of life (QOL) related to skin disease.The DLQI questionnaire consists of 10 questions concerning participants' perception of the impact of skin diseases on different aspects of their health related QOL over the last week. The items of the DLQI encompass aspects such as symptoms and feelings, daily activities, leisure, work or school, personal relationships and the side effects of treatment. The range of possible DLQI scores is 0 to 30, with a score of 0 indicating no effect at all on a participant's life and a score of 30 indicating extremely large effect on participant's life. A decrease in DLQI score indicates improvement.

Hands and feet bilaterally were assessed for the presence/absence of dactylitis and associated tenderness for participants with presence of dactylitis at baseline. The tender dactylitic digit count is equal to the number of swollen and painful digits (range 0 to 20). A decrease indicates improvement.

The Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) is a validated index of rheumatoid arthritis disease activity but is also used in PsA clinical trials. DAS28 is a composite score calculated using a mathematical formula based on the scores for these scales. DAS28 includes tender and swollen joint counts, PtGA, and acute phase reactant (CRP in this study). DAS28 scores range from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating more disease activity. A larger negative change in the DAS28 score indicates greater improvement.

Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease Score (PsAID) was developed by an European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) initiative and is a validated patient self-reported tool to assess the impact of PsA on the participant's life. The PsAID is a composite score calculated using a mathematical formula based on the scores for each component. PsAID-9 was developed for clinical trials and was used in this study. The PsAID-9 is calculated based on 9 Numerical rating scales (NRS) questions that include pain, fatigue, skin, work and/or leisure activities, function, discomfort, sleep, coping, and anxiety). Each NRS is assessed as a number between 0 and 10. PsAID scores range from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating worse status. A larger negative change in the PsAID-9 score indicates greater improvement.

The ACR is a standard criteria originally developed to measure the effectiveness of various arthritis medications or treatments in clinical trials for RA, but is also widely used in PsA. The ACR measures improvement in tender joint count (TJC) or swollen joint count (SJC), and improvement in at least 3 of the following 5 parameters: Patient Global Assessment (PtGA), Physician's Global Assessment of Disease Activity (PhGA), physical function (using HAQ-DI) and acute phase reactant (using CRP). ACR 20/50/70 response is achieved if ≥ 20%/≥ 50%/≥ 70% improvement in tender joint count (TJC) or swollen joint count (SJC) as well as a ≥ 20%/≥ 50%/≥ 70% improvement in ≥ 3 of the other 5 parameters.

The Leeds Enthesitis Index (LEI) is an enthesitis measure developed specifically for PsA and assesses the presence or absence of tenderness at the following 3 bilateral enthesial sites: medial femoral condyles, lateral epicondyles of the humerus, and Achilles tendon insertions for participants with presence of LEI at baseline.Tenderness on examination is recorded as either present (1) or absent (0) for each of the 6 sites, for an overall score range of 0 to 6. A decrease in LEI indicates improvement.

MDA for PsA was defined as fulfilling at least 5 of the following 7 criteria: TJC ≤ 1 (out of TJC68 assessed in this study), SJC ≤ 1 (out of SJC66 assessed in this study), PASI ≤ 1 or BSA ≤ 3; Patient's assessment of pain VAS ≤ 15, PtGA VAS ≤ 20, HAQ-DI score ≤ 0.5, and tender entheseal points ≤ 1 (out of 8 assessed in this study).

Psoriatic Arthritis Disease Activity Score (PASDAS) is a weighted disease activity measure developed specifically for PsA. It includes PhGA, PtGA, SF-36 PCS, SJC, TJC, Leeds enthesitis count, tender dactylitic count and hsCRP lab test. The PASDAS is a composite score calculated using a mathematical formula based on the scores for each component. The PASDAS is unitless, with a typical score range between 0 and 10. Smaller values on PASDAS indicate a better condition; a negative change from baseline indicates improvement.

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The Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36) is a generic measure to assess participant's general health/well-being (health related quality of life); short version 2 (SF-36v2) was used. SF-36 determined participants' overall quality of life by assessing 1) limitations in physical functioning due to health problems; 2) limitations in usual role because of physical health problems; 3) bodily pain; 4) general health perceptions; 5) vitality; 6) limitations in social functioning because of physical or emotional problems; 7) limitations in usual role due to emotional problems; and 8) general mental health. Items 1-4 comprise physical component of the SF-36. Scores on each item were summed and averaged (PCS; range = 0-100). Items 5-8 comprise mental component of the SF-36. Scores on each item were summed and averaged (mental component score [MCS]; range = 0-100). Larger values on SF-36 indicate a better condition. A positive change from Baseline in either PCS or MCS indicates improvement.

The HAQ-DI is a standardized measure of physical function in arthritis. The HAQ-DI questionnaire contains 20 items divided into 8 domains that measure: dressing and grooming, arising, eating, walking, hygiene, reach, grip, and common daily activities. Participants assessed their ability to do each task over the past week using the following response categories: without any difficulty (0); with some difficulty (1); with much difficulty (2); and unable to do (3). Scores on each task were summed and averaged to provide an overall score ranging from 0 to 3, where 0 represents no disability and 3 very severe, high-dependency disability. HAQ remission indicating normal physical function is defined by HAQ-DI score of < 0.5. Negative change from Baseline indicates improvement.

Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) provides a quantitative assessment of psoriasis lesional burden based on the amount of body surface area involved and the degree of severity of erythema, induration, and scale, weighted by body part. The score ranges from 0 to 72, with 0 indicating no psoriasis and 72 indicating very severe psoriasis. 75/90/100 denotes greater than or equal to 75%/90%/100% improvement in PASI score. A 100% reduction is considered complete clearance of psoriasis.

Disease Activity in Psoriatic Arthritis Score (DAPSA) score is a the sum of swollen joint count (66 joints), tender joint count (68 joints), CRP (mg/dL), Patient's Assessment of Pain (on a 10-unit VAS;0=no pain, 10=worst possible pain), and Patient's Global Assessment of Disease Activity (arthritis, on a 10-unit VAS; 0 to 100 centimeter [cm] VAS, 0=excellent and 10=poor). Change from baseline in DAPSA measures the change in disease activity, where a negative change indicates an improvement and a positive change indicates worsening of disease activity.