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Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disabling disease with unpredictable clinical manifestations. As clinical assessments may not fully capture the impact of MS on quality of life, they can be complemented by patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures to provide a more comprehensive picture of MS disease state and impact. The objectives of this study were to explore the experiences of people with relapsing–remitting MS, including symptoms and impacts on daily life, and to provide a conceptual model of MS outcomes. Methods: A literature review of studies that evaluated the experiences of people with MS was completed and combined with semi-structured concept elicitation interviews conducted with 14 people with relapsing–remitting MS in the USA. Results: The average age of the 14 participants was 43.9 (range 25–64) years, most were White (78.6%) and female (78.6%), and the mean duration since diagnosis was 6.6 (2–10) years. The most bothersome symptoms identified included fatigue (n = 9), cognitive dysfunction (n = 5), mobility/difficulty with walking (n = 3), and vision problems (n = 3). The most commonly reported impacts on daily life were balance problems/instability (n = 13), work life/productivity (n = 12), difficulty walking (n = 11), daily activities/household chores (n = 11), and leisure activities (n = 10). Conclusion: There was a high frequency of concepts associated with physical function, fatigue, and sensory-motor actions. A conceptual model was developed that captures the disease symptoms, impairments, and impacts identified in the interviews as well as known processes and symptoms identified in the literature search. This model underpins the appropriateness of PRO instruments, such as the PROMIS Fatigue (MS) 8a and PROMIS Physical Function (MS) 15a, which evaluate symptoms and impacts that matter most to people with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Molluscum contagiosum is often characterized by persistent lesions and bothersome symptomology. What patients with molluscum contagiosum and/or caregivers consider to be meaningful measures of therapeutic success is unknown. Objective: We aimed to collect patient experience data and assess Global Impression of Change from patients and/or caregivers participating in a large phase III molluscum contagiosum interventional trial. Methods: The Berdazimer Sodium In Molluscum Patients with LEsions (B-SIMPLE4) phase III study enrolled 891 patients with molluscum contagiosum. Patients were randomly assigned to berdazimer gel, 10.3% or vehicle gel applied once daily for 12 weeks. Assessments of participant and investigator perceptions of complete lesion clearance were collected at weeks 12 and 24 along with Global Impression of Change scores from 1 (very much improved) to 7 (very much worse). A subset of 30 B-SIMPLE4 patients participated in the patient/caregiver experience exit interview to evaluate bothersome signs and symptoms. Results: At week 12, among participants with a ≥ 75% molluscum contagiosum lesion count reduction from baseline (as assessed by investigators), 99% (373/376) reported improvement. Perceptions of complete clearance at week 12 were nearly 40% for both participant-reported and investigator-reported Global Impression of Change in berdazimer group vs 20% in the vehicle group: 82% (322/392) of participants in the berdazimer group and 60% (237/394) in the vehicle group reported their molluscum contagiosum lesions were either very much improved or much improved at week 12. Similarly, investigators scored 80% (314/393) of berdazimer and 54% (215/396) of vehicle participants as very much improved or much improved. From the exit interview, the mean duration of participant-reported molluscum contagiosum was nearly 2 years. The most frequently reported molluscum contagiosum-related signs and symptoms were itch (n = 20), scarring (n = 18), and pain (n = 13). Visibility and contagiousness of molluscum contagiosum were the most bothersome aspects to participants. The most frequently reported psychosocial impacts were self-consciousness (n = 15) and embarrassment (n = 14). Lesion clearance was an expectation of 28/30 study participants. Overall, 26/30 reported being very satisfied (n = 18) or satisfied (n = 8) with the changes in their disease over the duration of the trial; 23/30 stated that the change in lesion count was meaningful. A mean reduction of 18 lesions (76% decrease) from the baseline lesion count was reported by participants (n = 28). Although 22 of 28 had less than complete lesion clearance, 17 of 22 reported that the reduction in the number of lesions was meaningful. Conclusions: Molluscum contagiosum lesion reductions, with or without complete clearance, may be considered a therapeutic "success" by the patient/caregiver. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04535531 (registered 2 September, 2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Current knowledge of the reasons for patients' preference for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment modes is limited. This study was designed to identify preferences for four treatment modes, and to obtain in-depth information on the reasons for these preferences. Patients and Methods: In this multi-national, cross-sectional, qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with adult patients with RA in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. Patients' strength of preference was evaluated using a 100-point allocation task (0– 100; 100=strongest) across four treatment modes: oral, self-injection, clinic-injection, and infusion. Qualitative descriptive analysis methods were used to identify, characterize, and summarize patterns found in the interview data relating to reasons for these preferences. Results: 100 patients were interviewed (female, 75.0%; mean age, 53.9 years; mean 11.6 years since diagnosis). Among the four treatment modes, oral administration was allocated the highest mean (standard deviation) preference points (47.3 [33.1]) and was ranked first choice by the greatest percentage of patients (57.0%), followed by self-injection (29.7 [27.7]; 29.0%), infusion (15.4 [24.6]; 16.0%), and clinic-injection (7.5 [14.1]; 2.0%). Overall, 56.0% of patients had a "strong" first-choice preference (ie, point allocation ≥ 70); most of these patients chose oral (62.5%) vs self-injection (23.2%), infusion (10.7%), or clinic-injection (3.6%). Speed and/or ease of administration were the most commonly reported reasons for patients choosing oral (52.6%) or self-injection (55.2%). The most common reasons for patients not choosing oral or self-injection were not wanting to take another pill (37.2%) and avoiding pain due to needles (46.5%), respectively. Conclusion: These data report factors important to patients regarding preferences for RA treatment modes. Patients may benefit from discussions with their healthcare professionals and/or patient support groups, regarding RA treatment modes, to facilitate shared decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]