Search

The Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease (PsAID-12) questionnaire, a recommended measure of patient-reported impact for psoriatic arthritis (PsA), was initially developed in Europe and may lack universal validity. Recognizing the need for a culturally appropriate tool for Arab patients, this study aimed to TranslAte, CulTurally adapt, and validate the PsAID in ArabIC (TACTIC). The PsAID-12 was translated into Arabic using a rigorous process of double translation, back-translation, and cognitive debriefing. The Arabic version was then validated through a study conducted in 13 Arab countries in 2022. Participants were consecutive literate adult patients diagnosed with PsA and fulfilling the CASPAR criteria. Collected data included PsAID-12, disease activity, and legacy patient-reported outcomes. Psychometric properties, such as internal consistency, construct validity, and test-retest reliability, were examined. Factors associated with high PsAID-12 total scores (> 4) were explored using multivariable binary logistic regression. A culturally adapted Arabic PsAID-12 questionnaire was achieved with minor rephrasing. The validation study included 554 patients from 13 countries (mean age 45 years, 59% females), with a mean PsAID score of 3.86 (SD 2.33). The Arabic PsAID-12 demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.95), and correlations with other measures ranged from 0.63 to 0.78. Test-retest reliability (N = 138 patients) was substantial (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC 0.90 [0.86-0.93]; Cohen's kappa 0.80). Factors associated with a high PsAID score were disability (odds ratio, OR 3.15 [2.03-4.89]), depression (OR 1.56 [1.35-1.81]), widespread pain (OR 1.31 [1.12-1.53]), and disease activity (OR 1.29 [1.13-1.47]). Pain and fatigue were identified as the most impactful PsAID-12 domains for PsA patients. The Arabic PsAID is a valid and reliable measure that reflects the priorities of patients with PsA. PsAID scores correlated with disease activity and legacy outcome measures, as expected, indicating PsAID is a consistent measure of PsA impact across cultures. These findings highlight the potential of the Arabic PsAID in improving the care provided to Arabic-speaking patients worldwide., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To gain consensus on the definitions and descriptions of the domains of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) core domain set for rheumatology trials evaluating shared decision making (SDM) interventions., Methods: Following the OMERACT Handbook methods, our Working Group (WG), comprised of 90 members, including 17 patient research partners (PRPs) and 73 clinicians and researchers, had six virtual meetings in addition to email exchanges to develop draft definitions and descriptions. The WG then conducted an international survey of its members to gain consensus on the definitions and descriptions. Finally, the WG members had virtual meetings and e-mail exchanges to review survey results and finalize names, definitions and descriptions of the domains., Results: WG members contributed to developing the definitions. Fifty-two members representing four continents and 13 countries completed the survey, including 15 PRPs, 33 clinicians and 37 researchers. PRPs and clinicians/researchers agreed with all definitions and descriptions with agreements ranging from 87% to 100%. Respondents suggested wording changes to the names, definitions and descriptions to better reflect the domains. Discussions led to further simplification and clarification to address common questions/concerns about the domains., Conclusion: Our WG reached consensus on the definitions and descriptions of the domains of the core domain set for rheumatology trials of SDM interventions. This step is crucial to understand each domain and provides the foundation to identify instruments to measure each domain for inclusion in the Core Outcome Measurement Set., Clinical Significance: The current study provides consensus-based definitions and descriptions for the domains of the OMERACT core domain set for shared decision making interventions from patients/caregivers, clinicians and researchers. This is a crucial step to understand each domain and provides the foundation to identify instruments to measure each domain for inclusion in the Core Outcome Measurement Set for trials of SDM interventions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Karine Toupin-April, Simon Décary, Maarten de Wit, Florian Naye, Alexa Meara, Jennifer L. Barton, Liana Fraenkel, Linda C. Li, Peter Brooks, Beverley Shea, Dawn Stacey, Cathie Hofstetter, Marieke Voshaar, Maria E. Suarez-Almazor, Tanya Meade, Janet Elizabeth Jull, Willemina Campbell, Rieke Alten, Esi M. Morgan, Ayano Kelly, Lara J. Maxwell, Francis Guillemin, Dorcas Beaton, Yasser El-Miedany, Shikha Mittoo, Tiffany Westrich Robertson, Susan J. Bartlett, Melissa Mannion, Samah Ismail Nasef, Adewale Adebajo, Laurent Arnaud, Tiffany K. Gill, Ellen Moholt, Jennifer Burt, Aruni Jayatilleke, Ihsane Hmamouchi, David Carrott, Kate Mather, Ajesh Maharaj, Saurab Sharma, Francesco Caso, Christopher Fong, Allyson Jones, Regina Greer-Smith, Akpabio Akpabio, Valerie Umaefulam, Sara Monti, Grayson Schultz, Rebecca R. Lee, Glen Stewart Hazlewood, Claire E.H. Barber, Dorthe B. Berthelsen, Laure Gossec, Sabrina May Nielsen, Sabrina Cavallo, Sonam Kiwalkar, Hemalatha Srinivasalu, Deb Constien, Vicki Evans and Peter Tugwell have nothing to disclose. Anne Boel is employed by UCB Pharma, B.V. Netherlands. Simon Stones is employed by Envision Pharma Group, Wilmslow, UK. Robin Christensen reports other potential COI from Lecture: Research Methods (Pfizer, DK; 2017), other from Lecture: GRADE Lecture (Celgene, DK; 2017), other from Ad Board Lecture: CAM (Orkla Health, DK; 2017), other from Project Grant: "GreenWhistle" (Mundipharma, 2019), other from Lecture: Diet in RMD (Novartis, DK; 2019), other from Consultancy Report: Network MA's (Biogen, DK; 2017), other from Ad Board Lecture: GRADE (Lilly, DK; 2017), other from Consultancy Report: GRADE (Celgene, 2018), other from Lecture: Network MA's (LEO; 2020), outside the submitted work; and Musculoskeletal Statistics Unit, The Parker Institute is grateful for the financial support received from public and private foundations, companies and private individuals over the years. The Parker Institute is supported by a core grant from the Oak Foundation; The Oak Foundation is a group of philanthropic organizations that, since its establishment in 1983, has given grants to not-for-profit organizations around the world. Annelies Boonen reports grants from Abbvie, grants from Celgene, other from UCB, other from Galapagos, other from Eli Lilly, outside the submitted work. Lyn March reports personal fees from Pfizer Australia, personal fees from Abbvie Australia, grants from Janssen Australia, outside the submitted work; Dr March is a member of OMERACT executive that receives arms-length funding from 9 companies. Willemina Campbell received OMERACT funded travel to a conference to attend meetings in regard to this paper. Jasvinder Singh reports personal fees from Crealta/Horizon, Medisys, Fidia, UBM LLC, Trio health, Medscape, WebMD, Adept Field Solutions, Clinical Care options, Clearview healthcare partners, Putnam associates, Focus forward, Navigant consulting, Spherix, Practice Point communications, the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Rheumatology, personal fees from Simply Speaking, other from Vaxart pharmaceuticals and Charlotte's Web Holdings (current); Amarin, Viking, and Moderna (previously owned), non-financial support from FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee, non-financial support from Steering committee of OMERACT, an international organization that develops measures for clinical trials and receives arms’ length funding from 12 pharmaceutical companies, non-financial support from Veterans Affairs Rheumatology Field Advisory Committee, non-financial support from Editor and the Director of the UAB Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group Satellite Center on Network Meta-analysis, outside the submitted work. Francisco J. Blanco reports grants from Gedeon Richter Plc., Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation (BMSIC), Sun Pharma Global FZE, Celgene Corporation, Janssen Cilag International N.V, Janssen Research & Development, Viela Bio, Inc., Astrazeneca AB, UCB BIOSCIENCES GMBH, UCB BIOPHARMA SPRL, AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co.KG, Merck KGaA, Amgen, Inc., Novartis Farmacéutica, S.A., Boehringer Ingelheim España, S.A, CSL Behring, LLC, Glaxosmithkline Research & Development Limited, Pfizer Inc, Lilly S.A., Corbus Pharmaceuticals Inc., Biohope Scientific Solutions for Human Health S.L., Centrexion Therapeutics Corp., Sanofi, MEIJI FARMA S.A., Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. Grunenthal, Asofarma Mexico, Gebro Pharma, Roche, Galapagos, Regeneron; outside the submitted work. Anthony P. Fernandez reports personal fees and other from AbbVie, grants, personal fees and other from Novartis, grants, personal fees and other from Mallinkrodt, other from Corbus, other from Pfizer, outside the submitted work. Sarah Mackie reports: Consultancy on behalf of her institution for Roche/Chugai, Sanofi, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Pfizer; Investigator on clinical trials for Sanofi, GSK, Sparrow; speaking/lecturing on behalf of her institution for Roche/Chugai, Vifor, Pfizer, UCB, Novartis and AbbVie; chief investigator on STERLING-PMR trial, funded by NIHR; patron of the charity PMRGCAuk. No personal remuneration was received for any of the above activities. Support from Roche/Chugai to attend EULAR2019 in person and from Pfizer to attend ACR Convergence 2021 virtually. She is supported in part by the NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, the National Health Service or the UK Department of Health and Social Care. Elena Nikiphorou reports personal fees and other from AbbVie, personal fees and other from Eli-Lilly, personal fees and other from Gilead, personal fees and other from Celltrion, personal fees and other from Pfizer, other from Sanofi, outside the submitted work. Victor S. Sloan reports and paid consultant to various pharmaceutical companies and healthcare consultancies providing advice on clinical research and advisory committee preparation outside the scope of the submitted work. He is a shareholder in UCB Pharma. He is in the Peace Corps. This is his personal work, and does not reflect the opinion of the Peace Corps or the United States Government. Vibeke Strand reports consulting fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Arena, AstraZeneca, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, CORRONA, Crescendo/Myriad, Equillium, Genentech/Roche, GSK, Horizon, Inmedix, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Samsung, Sandoz, Sanofi, TwoXAR and UCB, outside the submitted work. Esi M. Morgan reports grant support from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and Pfizer., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Shared decision making (SDM) is a central tenet in rheumatic and musculoskeletal care. The lack of standardization regarding SDM instruments and outcomes in clinical trials threatens the comparative effectiveness of interventions. The Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) SDM Working Group is developing a Core Outcome Set for trials of SDM interventions in rheumatology and musculoskeletal health. The working group reached consensus on a Core Outcome Domain Set in 2020. The next step is to develop a Core Outcome Measurement Set through the OMERACT Filter 2.2., Methods: We conducted a scoping review (PRISMA-ScR) to identify candidate instruments for the OMERACT Filter 2.2 We systematically reviewed five databases (Ovid MEDLINE®, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and Web of Science). An information specialist designed search strategies to identify all measurement instruments used in SDM studies in adults or children living with rheumatic or musculoskeletal diseases or their important others. Paired reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full text articles. We extracted characteristics of all candidate instruments (e.g., measured construct, measurement properties). We classified candidate instruments and summarized evidence gaps with an adapted version of the Summary of Measurement Properties (SOMP) table., Results: We found 14,464 citations, read 239 full text articles, and included 99 eligible studies. We identified 220 potential candidate instruments. The five most used measurement instruments were the Decisional Conflict Scale (traditional and low literacy versions) (n=38), the Hip/Knee-Decision Quality Instrument (n=20), the Decision Regret Scale (n=9), the Preparation for Decision Making Scale (n=8), and the CollaboRATE (n=8). Only 44 candidate instruments (20%) had any measurement properties reported by the included studies. Of these instruments, only 57% matched with at least one of the 7-criteria adapted SOMP table., Conclusion: We identified 220 candidate instruments used in the SDM literature amongst people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Our classification of instruments showed evidence gaps and inconsistent reporting of measurement properties. The next steps for the OMERACT SDM Working Group are to match candidate instruments with Core Domains, assess feasibility and review validation studies of measurement instruments in rheumatic diseases or other conditions. Development and validation of new instruments may be required for some Core Domains., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Anthony P. Fernandez, MD, PhD: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: Mallinckrodt, Novartis, Pfizer. Payments to institution and (partial) to me. Consulting fees: AbbVie, Biogen, UCB, BMS, Alexion: Payments to me. Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events: AbbVie, BMS, Kyowa Kirin, Mallinckrodt: Payments to me. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: Board of Directors, American Society of Dermatopathology; Associate Editor, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Arundathi Jayatilleke: Pas 36 months: Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: Pennsylvania Rheumatology Society, board member: unpaid. Claire Barber: Pas 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: CIHR – 3: Peer reviewed national funding unrelated to current project. CIORA (Canadian Rheumatology Association): Peer reviewed national funding unrelated to current project. Cumming school of medicine Seed Grant: Local university funding, peer reviewed, unrelated to current project. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: Past chair Human Resource Committee, Canadian Rheumatology Association: Unrelated to current project. Dorcas Beaton: Past 36 months: Support for attending meetings and/or travel: OMERACT Management Team: OMERACT covers travel costs for members of management team to attend conferences on behalf of OMERACT. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: Member of Management team of OMERACT, chair of methodology at OMERACT: I help make decisions on the methods that will be used to come to a decision about core outcome sets at OMERACT. This would have informed methods used in this paper. Dorthe B Berthelsen: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: Have received PhD Scholarships from Odense University Hospital and from the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark. Support for attending meetings and/or travel: Have received a grant from the Erna Hamilton Foundation to cover meeting registration fee and travel costs for OMERACT 2023. Dawn Stacey: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Support for attending meetings and/or travel: Beijing University of Chinese Medicine – August 2023. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: Co-Chair International Patient Decision Aid Standards Collaboration (unpaid). Karine Toupin-April: Past 36 months: Support for attending meetings and/or travel: OMERACT travel award given to the Shared decision making group to help attend the OMERACT 2023 meeting. Lyn MARCH: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: Commonwealth Government of Australia Medical Research Future Fund: RCT for biological tapering in RA and PsA (Utilising shared decision making): Payment to institution. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: Chair, Australian Rheumatology Association Research Fund Committee: unpaid. Executive, Global Alliance for MSK Health: unpaid. Maria Suarez-Almazor: Past 36 months: Consulting fees: Pfizer: Consultant. Eli Lilly: Consultant. Syneos Health: Consultant. Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board: Celgene: DSMB member. Maarten de Wit: Past 36 months: Consulting fees: UCB: Payment to Stichting Tools, Netherlands. Peter Tugwell: Past 36 months: Consulting fees: Reformulary Group: Providing independent medical consultation professional services to the firms listed in this section. Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board: UCB Biopharma GmbH & SPRL, Parexel International, Prahealth Sciences: An independent Committee Member for clinical trial Data Safety Monitoring Boards for FDA approved trials being conducted by:  - UCB Biopharma GmbH & SPRL, - Parexel International, - Prahealth Sciences. Other financial or non-financial interests: Abbvie, Astra Zeneca, Aurinia, BMS, Centrexion, GSK, Horizon Pharma Inc, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer & Sparrow: I am [unpaid] Chair of the Management Group of a registered non-profit independent medical research organization, OMERACT, whose goal is to improve and advance the health outcomes for patients suffering from musculoskeletal conditions. OMERACT receives arms-length funding from 11 companies. Rieke Alten: Past 36 months: Consulting fees: Abbvie, BMS, CELLTRION; Eli Lilly; Galapagos, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, Viatris. Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events: Abbvie, BMS, CELLTRION; Eli Lilly; Galapagos, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, Viatris. Support for attending meetings and/or travel: Abbvie, BMS, CELLTRION; Eli Lilly; Galapagos, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, Viatris. Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board: Abbvie, BMS, CELLTRION; Eli Lilly; Galapagos, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, UCB, Viatris. Susan J. Bartlett: Past 36 months: Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: American Thoracic Society Board of Directors: 2020–2022; unpaid. PROMIS Health Organization – President Elect, Board of Directors: unpaid. American College of Rheumatology Association of Rheumatology Professionals Executive Committee: 2021–2023; unpaid. Simon Stones: Past 36 months: Consulting fees: Future Science Group: Payment for document review. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: RAiISE: Director. Stock or stock options: Envision Pharma Group: Related to employment. Other financial or non-financial interests: Envision Pharma Group: Employment. Esi Morgan: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: Pfizer, Inc: Educational Program to Optimize Delivery of Care to Families with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Over Telemedicine; Investigator Initiated Grant to Seattle Children's Research Institute, role – co-Investigator. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Informing personalized treatment decision with advanced Bayesian causal inference - A patient-centred evidence-based shared decision making (SDM) digital health technology; Investigator Initiated Grant to Seattle Children's Research Institute, role – PI (multi-PI grant). Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events: American College of Rheumatology: Honorarium, Education Conference April 2023. Support for attending meetings and/or travel: American College of Rheumatology: Travel Support Education Exchange Conference April 2023. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network: Principal Investigator. Francis GUILLEMIN: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: Novartis: Payment to my institution. Hemalatha Srinivasalu: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: CARRA Registry Associate and NIAMS Intramural program. Janet Jull: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Jennifer L. Barton: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: US Department of Veterans Affairs. Jasvinder A. Singh: Past 36 months: Consulting fees: Crealta/Horizon, Medisys, Fidia, PK Med, Two labs Inc., Adept Field Solutions, Clinical Care options, Clearview healthcare partners, Putnam associates, Focus forward, Navigant consulting, Spherix, MedIQ, Jupiter Life Science, UBM LLC, Trio Health, Medscape, WebMD, and Practice Point communications; and the National Institutes of Health and the American College of Rheumatology: Consultant fees paid to me for each entity. Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events: JAS is on the speaker's bureau of Simply Speaking: Consultant fees paid to me. Support for attending meetings and/or travel: Past steering committee member of OMERACT: I previously received support from the organization to attend their meeting every 2 years. Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board: FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee: JAS serves as a member. No financial support. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: Past steering committee member of the OMERACT, an international organization that develops measures for clinical trials and receives arms length funding from 12 pharmaceutical companies: I previously received support from the organization to attend their meeting every 2 years. Co-Chair of the Veterans Affairs Rheumatology Field Advisory Committee: No financial support. Editor and the Director of the UAB Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group Satellite center on Network Meta-analysis: No financial support. Stock or stock options: JAS owns stock options in Atai life sciences, Kintara therapeutics, Intelligent Biosolutions, Acumen pharmaceutical, TPT Global Tech, Vaxart pharmaceuticals, Atyu biopharma, Adaptimmune Therapeutics, GeoVax Labs, Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Enzolytics Inc., Seres Therapeutics, Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp., and Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc.: I own stock options. JAS previously owned stock options in Amarin, Viking and Moderna pharmaceuticals: I owned stock options in these companies previously. Saurab Sharma: Past 36 months: Grants or contracts from any entity: I am supported by the International Association for the Study of Pain John J. Bonica Postdoctoral Fellowship. The funder does not have any influence on my research. Support for attending meetings and/or travel: My travel was supported to present a talk (unrelated to the manuscript) at the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Congress in Toronto in 2022. Victor Sloan: Past 36 months: Consulting fees: Boehringer-Ingelheim: Payment to me. Stock or stock options: Stock in UCB Pharma. Willemina Campbell: Past 36 months: Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events: ABBVIE and Einstein Medical School. Support for attending meetings and/or travel: OMERACT and GRAPPA. Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid: GRAPPA PRP CHAIR-past., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We aimed to explore current practice and interregional differences in the treatment of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). We triangulated these observations considering countries' gross national income (GNI), disease subtypes, and symptoms using patient-reported information., Methods: A cross-sectional ancillary analysis of the 'COVID-19 vaccination in auto-immune disease' (COVAD) e-survey containing demographic characteristics, IIM subtypes (DM, PM, IBM, anti-synthetase syndrome [ASSD], immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy [IMNM], overlap myopathies [OM]), current symptoms (surrogate for organ involvement) and treatments (corticosteroids [CS], immunomodulators [IM], i.e. antimalarials, immunosuppressants [IS], IVIG, biologic treatments and targeted-synthetic small molecules). Treatments were presented descriptively according to continents, GNI, IIM and organ involvement, and associated factors were analysed using multivariable binary logistic regressions., Results: Of 18 851 respondents from 94 countries, 1418 with IIM were analysed (age 61 years, 62.5% females). DM (32.4%), IBM (24.5%) and OM (15.8%) were the most common subtypes. Treatment categories included IS (49.4%), CS (38.5%), IM (13.8%) and IVIG (9.4%). Notably, treatments varied across regions, GNI categories (IS mostly used in higher-middle income, IM in lower-middle income, IVIG and biologics largely limited to high-income countries), IIM subtypes (IS and CS associated with ASSD, IM with OM and DM, IVIG with IMNM, and biologic treatments with OM and ASSD) and disease manifestations (IS and CS with dyspnoea). Most inter-regional treatment disparities persisted after multivariable analysis., Conclusion: We identified marked regional treatment disparities in a global cohort of IIM. These observations highlight the need for international consensus-driven management guidelines considering patient-centred care and available resources., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: The primary aim of the CHANGE survey is to determine the current state of gender equity within rheumatology, and secondarily, to review the physician perspective on bullying, harassment and equipoise of opportunities within rheumatology., Methods: The CHANGE e-survey is a cross-sectional self-reported questionnaire adapted from EULAR's gender equity in academic rheumatology task force. The survey was launched in January 2023; it is available in six languages and distributed widely via rheumatology organizations and social media. Eligible participants include rheumatologist physicians and rheumatology health-care professionals. Survey responses will undergo descriptive analysis and inter-group comparison aiming to explore gender-based discrimination using logistic regression, with subgroup analyses for country/continent variations., Conclusion: This e-survey represents a comprehensive global initiative led by an international consortium, aimed at exploring and investigating the gender-related disparities and obstacles encountered by rheumatologists and rheumatology health-care professionals across diverse communities and health-care environments. By pursuing this initiative, we aim to take the broader rheumatology community a step closer to understanding the underlying origins of inequities and their determinants. Such insights are pivotal in identifying viable interventions and strategies to foster gender equity within the field. Ultimately, our collective objective is to ensure equitable access to opportunities for every individual, irrespective of gender, thereby promoting inclusivity and fairness across the entire spectrum of professional practice and career development., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology.)

Background: Burnout is frequent among physicians and seems to be underestimated among rheumatologists., Objective: To estimate the frequency of burnout in a sample of rheumatologists practising in the Arab countries and determine its associated factors., Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted by the Arab League of Associations for Rheumatology (ArLAR research group) using an anonymous electronic questionnaire set up on the Google Forms platform. All Arab rheumatologists and rheumatology fellows were invited to participate in the spring of 2022 via ArLAR social media accounts, societies' WhatsApp groups, and mass emails. Burnout was defined by at least one positive domain of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (Emotional exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal accomplishment). The final score was correlated to socio-demographic factors using a multivariable binary logistic regression., Results: The study included 445 rheumatologists and rheumatology fellows with an average age of 45.2 years (SD 11.5); 61.8% were men. The frequency of burnout among rheumatologists was 61.3% and was driven by low personal accomplishment scores (58.1%). Younger age (OR 1.92 (95%CI 1.20-3.08)), dissatisfaction with the specialty (OR 2.036 (95% CI 1.20-3.46)), and low income (OR 2.26 (95% CI 1.01-5.10)) were associated with burnout., Conclusion: The frequency of burnout in a sample of rheumatologists in Arab countries is very high, driven by low personal accomplishment scores and associated with a low income, dissatisfaction with the specialty and younger age. Some associated factors might be modifiable, thus reducing the burden of burnout on rheumatologists and on the healthcare system. Key Points • The frequency of burnout in a sample of Arab rheumatologists was 61.3% according to the MBI. • The score was mainly driven by low personal accomplishment scores (58.1%). • Younger age, dissatisfaction with the specialty, and low income were associated with burnout. • Acting upon modifiable risk factors would help reducing the burden of burnout on rheumatologists and on the healthcare system., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR).)

The Arab League of Associations for Rheumatology (ArLAR) Research Group (ARCH) conducted this study to investigate the number of current practicing rheumatologists in the Arab countries, to estimate the projected number of rheumatologists in 10 years, and to evaluate the current workload, practice profile, consultation waiting time, and geographical mobilities of these rheumatologists. This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in 16 Arab countries in two parts. The first survey was addressed nominally to national societies to estimate the current and projected workforce. The second was an anonymous e-survey elaborated by the study steering committee on the Google Forms platform and distributed to Arab rheumatologists using social media, WhatsApp, and mass e-mails to evaluate their practice. The mean number of rheumatologists in Arab countries was 0.84 per 100,000 inhabitants (mean age 47.5 years, 55% females), ranging from 0.06 (Sudan) to 1.86 (Tunisia). The number of rheumatologists is expected to increase by 50% in 2032. Nevertheless, a 20% increase in population associated with an increase in demand is also expected. Data from 446 rheumatologists (mean age 43.9 years, 60.5% females) revealed that 72% worked full-time, and 53% were employed in the public sector only. The average waiting time for a rheumatology consultation was 19.9 days. Of 394 rheumatologists, 19% obtained their rheumatology diplomas from non-Arab countries, and 47% of Gulf rheumatologists were non-citizen physicians. Considering local demographic disparities, healthcare system differences, and geographical mobilities, national authorities are advised to implement effective intervention plans to optimize the rheumatology workforce., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In 2017, the Moroccan Society of Rheumatology (SMR) issued guidelines for the treatment of severe ankylosing spondylitis. The emergence of new therapeutic classes, the update of international guidelines for axial SpA and psoriatic arthritis, and the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges encountered by rheumatologists has led to the development of recent SMR guidelines for the management of SpA patients. A group-work included rheumatologists, specialists in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and epidemiologists from various sectors was tasked with writing these recommendations based on a literature review, then adapting them to the national context. Thus, 33 recommendations were selected and organized into two sections: diagnostic and therapeutic. The diagnostic section included three general principles and fourteen recommendations. The first, second, and third recommendations concerned the definition and diagnostic criteria for psoriatic arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. In the management of SpA, Recommendation 4 prioritized the importance of opportunity windows. The recommendation5 concerned the diagnostic and prognostic significance of HLAB27. The sixth and seventh recommendations related to imaging of the sacroiliac joints and the spine. The eighth recommendation focuses on the diagnosis and evaluation of perivascular thrombosis activity. The ninth and tenth recommendations concerned the evaluation of SpA activity and psoriatic arthritis. The eleventh and twelfth recommendations concern the evaluation of function and structural progression. The recommendation number thirteen concerned the diagnosis and treatment of coxitis. Recommendation 14 focuses on the most common co-morbidities and extra-rhinitological manifestations observed in SpA., Competing Interests: All authors do not report any conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Mediterranean Journal of Rheumatology (MJR).)

The advent of new therapeutic classes and the updating of international recommendations have justified the development of recent recommendations by the Moroccan Society of Rheumatology. Methods Guidelines were drafted by a core steering committee after performing a literature search. A multidisciplinary task force, including three fellows, eleven rheumatologists, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation, an epidemiologist from hospital-university, hospital and liberal sectors and one patient assessed the Best Practice Guidelines using 2 rounds of anonymous online voting by modified Delphi process. Thus, 19 recommendations were developed. Recommendation 1 concerns the therapeutic principles, recommendation 2 insists on the information and education of the patient, recommendation 3 concerns the general measures to be adopted, namely physical activity, smoking cessation and psychological support, recommendation 4 concerns Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs which constitute the first-line treatment, recommendations 5 to 7 concern the use of analgesics, of general and local corticosteroid therapy and conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, recommendations 8 to 13 deal with the use of biologic agents, including new classes and their indications in radiographic and nonradiographic axial and peripheral spondyloarthritis, follow-up and management in case of failure or remission, recommendation 14 deals with the indication for Janus kinase inhibitors drugs, recommendation 15 deals with physical treatment and recommendation 16 deals with the indication of surgery. Recommendations 17 to 19 deal with special situations, namely fibromyalgia, vaccination and pregnancy. A well-defined therapeutic strategy with first- and second-line treatments has been established., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Mediterranean Journal of Rheumatology (MJR).)

Introduction The Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) criteria for axial and peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA) allow for the classification of patients with an age of onset of disease of less than 45 years. However, SpA can start after this age. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of late-onset SpA (SpA>45 years) in the Moroccan registry of biological therapies in rheumatic diseases (RBSMR). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using the baseline data of the RBSMR. The protocol for the original RBSMR study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee for Biomedical Research Mohammed V University - Rabat, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat (approval number for the study was 958/09/19, and the date of approval was September 11, 2019), and all patients had given their written consent. Patients who met the 2009 ASAS criteria for SpA were included. They were divided into two groups: early-onset SpA (≤ 45 years) and late-onset SpA (>45 years). Clinical, biological, radiological, and therapy data of the two groups were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v25 software (IBM Corp. Armonk, NY). Parameters with a p-value ≤0.05 were considered significant. Results Our population consisted of 194 patients. Thirty-one patients (16%) had late-onset SpA. Comparison between patients with early-onset (≤45 years) and late-onset SpA (>45 years) revealed that late-onset SpA had a higher tender joint count (p=0.01), a higher swollen joint count (p=0.02), depression (p=0.00), fibromyalgia (p=0.001), hypercholesterolemia (p=0.01), and a lower frequency of coxitis (p=0.008). Logistic regression analysis confirmed that late-onset SpA was associated with a higher tender joint count (OR=0.93, CI 95%: 0.88-0.98), a higher swollen joint count (OR=0.92, CI 95%: 0.85-0.99), depression ( OR=0.19, CI 95%:0.04-0.38), fibromyalgia (OR=1.75, CI 95%: 1.74-17.85), and a lower frequency of coxitis ( OR=0.29, CI 95%: 0.11-0.75). Conclusion As life expectancy increases, late-onset SpA will become increasingly common. It is therefore imperative to determine its characteristics. In the RBSMR study, late-onset SpA was associated with a high number of tender and swollen joints, depression, fibromyalgia, and a lower frequency of coxitis., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Mougui et al.)

The prevalence of glucocorticosteroid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) is well established in higher income countries. There are limited studies showing a wide prevalence of GIOP in Africa. Prospective studies are needed on GIOP in African rheumatology patients to implement appropriate management algorithms., Purpose: The prevalence of glucocorticosteroid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) is well established in developed countries, but little is known about GIOP in African adult patients with inflammatory rheumatic musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). This study aimed to determine the prevalence of GIOP and osteoporotic fracture risk in African patients with inflammatory RMDs according to radiographic and bone mineral density (BMD) findings., Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and African Index Medicus were searched up to 31 December 2020. Heterogeneity was assessed using I 2 statistic across the included studies. A random-effects model was applied to estimate the pooled effect size across studies. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA™ version 14 software. The study was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42021256252., Results: In this meta-analysis, a total of 7 studies with 780 participants, stratified by geographical region were included. The pooled prevalence of GIOP based on BMD data was 47.7% (95% CI 32.9-62.8) with 52.2% (95% CI 36.5-67.6) in North African countries and 15.4% (95% 1.9-45.4%) in South Africa with a high heterogeneity (I 2  = 93.3%, p = 0.018). There was no data from the rest of African countries. We were unable to complete the meta-analysis of osteoporotic fractures due to the lack of available data., Conclusion: This study revealed that the prevalence of GIOP varies significantly in Africa. There is no information, however, for most of Africa, and further prospective studies are needed to develop context-specific GIOP preventive strategies in patients with RMDs., (© 2023. International Osteoporosis Foundation and Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation.)

The use of online surveys as a recruitment tool for clinical research has recently expanded; nevertheless, optimal recruitment strategies remain poorly identified. Objectives. The study aimed to identify the most effective recruitment strategies for online research studies and to determine the optimal survey channels for obtaining patients' responses. This is a post-hoc analysis of the ARCOVAX (ArLAR COVID Vaccination) study. Multiple recruitment strategies were disseminated in Arabic, English, and French. The proportion of enrolled patients was correlated with each strategy. Channels used by patients to complete the survey were divided into three categories (social media (SoMe), doctor, and patients' associations). These channels were correlated with the patients' characteristics and the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A total of 1595 patients from 19 Arab countries completed the survey. Patients' mean age was 39 years, 73.2% (1159) were females, 17.8% (284) had a university education level and 93.1% (1468) answered the survey in Arabic. The most effective recruitment strategies were personalized WhatsApp reminders to recruiters (30% of enrolled patients), technical support in response to access issues (27%) and sharing recruitment status by country on a WhatsApp group (24%). The channels used to complete the survey were: SoMe in 45% (711), doctor in 40% (647), and patients' associations in 8.5% (233), and correlated with age and GDP. To optimize recruitment, it is recommended to combine multiple strategies and channels, use the native language and be active (mobilize teams), reactive (provide prompt technical support), and proactive (share regular updates and reminders)., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Despite of the availability of several effective bDMARDs, a significant proportion of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients discontinued bDMARDs. The aims of this study were to analyze causes of bDMARDs discontinuation in RA and AS included in the Moroccan registry RBSMR. A historical prospective multicenter cohort study based on the RBSMR database at 12 months of follow-up, which included 225 RA and 170 AS. Using T student, Mann-Whitney U, chi-squared or Fischer exact tests, baseline demographic and clinical features were compared between patients discontinuing bDMARDs and patients remaining on initiated bDMARDs or switching bDMARDs. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with drugs discontinuation. 61 RA discontinued bDMARDs and 47 AS interrupted anti-TNF. The most common reasons for drugs discontinuation were adverse events (7.5%) in RA patients and social security reimbursement problems (16.8%) in AS. RA patients discontinuing bDMARDs were more frequently first-line biological drugs users, more frequently female and had more comorbidities and lower DAS28 CRP than RA patients remaining on initiated bDMARDs or switching bDMARDs (p < 0.001, p = 0.01, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001 respectively). Female sex and comorbidities were the significant predictors of bDMARDs discontinuation in RA patients. Higher baseline BASDAI had a protective role on anti-TNF interruption in AS patients. Adverse events and social security reimbursement problems were the main reasons for drugs discontinuation in RA and AS patients respectively. Female sex and comorbidities in RA patients, baseline BASDAI in AS patients impacted bDMARDs discontinuation in real-life settings., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objectives: To assess the hierarchy of outcomes contributing to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in spondyloarthritis (SpA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA)., Methods: Data from the international cross-sectional COMOSPA and COMORA studies were used. HRQoL was assessed using the EuroQOL 5-dimension 3-level (EQ-5D-3 L). First, multivariable linear regression models were used to identify associations between EQ-5D-3 L (dependent variable) and several demographic and clinical variables (independent variables). Second, a decision tree was built using Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector, a method of unbiased hierarchical multivariable analysis (dependent variable: EQ-5D-3 L)., Results: In total, 3984 patients with SpA and 3920 patients with RA were included. In SpA, HRQoL was associated with BASFI (adjusted B=-0.006; 95%CI=-0.007 to -0.005), ASDAS (-0.052; -0.071 to -0.033), work productivity loss score (-0.002; -0.003 to -0.002), NSAID treatment (-0.052; -0.083 to -0.020), bDMARD treatment (-0.051; -0.082 to -0.021), university education (-0.051; -0.075 to -0.027) and radiographic sacroiliitis (0.035; 0.004 to 0.030). In RA, HRQoL was associated with modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ) (-0.220, -0.253 to -0.188), DAS28-CRP-3v (-0.027, -0.036 to -0.018), work productivity loss score (-0.003, -0.003 to -0.002), presence of erosions (-0.042, -0.065 to -0.020), alcohol consumption ≥3 units/day (0.012, 0.001 to 0.024)) and csDMARD treatment (0.034, 0.001 to 0.066). The decision tree revealed BASFI and MHAQ as first variables with the most discriminative power on EQ-5D-3 L, followed by work productivity loss and disease activity, in both SpA and RA cohorts., Conclusion: In SpA and RA, physical function is the main contributor to HRQoL measured by EQ-5D-3 L, followed by disease activity and work productivity loss., Competing Interests: Competing interests PMM has received consulting/speaker's fees from Abbvie, BMS, Celgene, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche and UCB. EVS has received grants, consulting/speaker's fees from MSD, Celgene, Novartis, Janssen, Abbvie, Pfizer. PC has received speaker's fees from Novartis, Pharmakern, Bial and Amgen. The other authors have declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Over the last few decades, the development of Rheumatology on the African continent has made great strides. Alongside an increasing recognition of the prevalence and burden of disease from these conditions, has been a determination to raise awareness of these disorders in Africa together with an appreciation of the associated disease impact on individuals, families and society as a whole. Great improvements have also been made across the continent with regards to the education of medical students, trainee doctors and allied health professionals of these conditions. Furthermore, high quality rheumatological research is now emanating from Africa. Taken together, these actions mean that Africa is making a significant contribution to global excellence in Rheumatology. Although this achievement has been made possible by visionary, hardworking and inspirational men and women, we believe that it is vital to bring to light the extraordinary efforts of African female rheumatologists in this endeavor. Their contribution is all the more remarkable because of the barriers that women still face in medicine in general and in academia in particular. We showcase here, four women of distinction who in their own unique way, have exemplified the contribution of African female rheumatologists to global excellence in Africa. We pay tribute to them and to their ongoing efforts to act as beacons of excellence in rheumatology in Africa to men and especially to other women., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Hmamouchi and Adebajo.)

Competing Interests: We declare no competing interests. DD and FP are joint first authors. All authors were involved in planning and data collection. IH did the statistical analysis. DD, FP, and IH wrote the article. All authors edited and corrected the article. All authors had full access to all the data in the study and have seen and approved the final version of the article and accept responsibility to submit for publication. The survey data were from data that were already available in the public domain and no personal details collected, therefore ethics approval was not required. Data collected for the study, including individual country data will be made available to others on request from the authors on publication.

Objectives: To describe and analyse the prevalence of extra-articular manifestations (EAMs) including acute anterior uveitis (AAU), psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in the Moroccan registry of biological therapies in rheumatic diseases RBSMR (Registre des Biothérapies de la Société Marocaine de Rhumatologie)., Methods: A cross-sectional, multicentre and analytical study based on the RBSMR database, which included 170 AS. Incidence rates for the development of AAU, psoriasis and IBD were calculated, and risk factors were analysed., Results: Prevalence of EAMs in AS was 13.5%, 4.7% and 11.2% for AAU, psoriasis and IBD respectively. No significant differences were found while establishing a comparison of the prevalence of these EAMs between AS patients with and without peripheral arthritis. Interestingly, AAU was the most common EAM, and was positively associated in multivariable regression with family history of spondyloarthritis (OR= 7.21, CI 95%: 2.23-23.24)., Conclusions: AAU was the leading EAM in patients with AS included in the Moroccan biotherapy registry (RBSMR) and it was associated with family history of spondyloarthritis., (© 2022 The Mediterranean Journal of Rheumatology (MJR).)

Background The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is behind the current pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, gastrointestinal symptoms initially described as rare were reported, but their spread to other countries increased rapidly. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of digestive symptoms among COVID-19 patients and to assess the correlation between these symptoms and disease severity. Methods This retrospective observational study was conducted in the Cheikh Khalifa University Hospital of Casablanca, Morocco. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of gastrointestinal symptoms upon initial assessment and hospital admission. Results A total of 154 patients were included in this study from March 21 to April 26, 2020. The mean age of patients was about 48.5 (± 20.0) years, and 85 (55.2%) of them were men. In our population, 8.17% of patients had toxic habits. Digestive symptoms were present at admission in 30% of our patients. The most frequent digestive symptoms were diarrhea (15%), abdominal pain (5.6%), vomiting (5%), and anorexia (3.1%). We found a significant difference in COVID-19 patients with digestive symptoms and toxic habits contrary to all other comorbidities. Neurologic symptoms were significantly associated (p=0,004) with digestive symptoms in 50%. Conclusion In this study, we found that digestive symptoms were present in 22.64% of patients diagnosed with COVID-9. The clinician must know the different digestive symptoms to evoke the diagnosis and take charge of the patient early., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Belabbes et al.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the therapeutic maintenance level of methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis patients enrolled in the Moroccan biotherapy registry and to identify predictive factors for discontinuing MTX treatment., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the baseline data of the Moroccan biotherapy registry for RBSMR (a multicentric study that aims to evaluate tolerance of biological therapy on patients affected with rheumatic diseases). Demographics and disease features were compared using descriptive statistics. Therapeutic maintenance levels were determined according to a Kaplan-Meier survival curve and a univariate Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to compare the strength of potential factors, followed by a multivariate Cox model to identify significant predictors of MTX discontinuation. Statistically significant results were considered for p values less than 0.05., Results: 224 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were included in this study. The mean age of patients was 51.83±11.26 years with a majority of females (87.50%). The median duration of disease was 12 [1.66-41.02] years. The therapeutic maintenance level of MTX was 91.1% at 1 year, 87.1% at 2 years, and 68.3% at 5 years. The median of treatment duration was 2, 02 [0, 46-27,76] years. Causes of treatment interruption were side effects (66/88=75%), inefficiency (12/88=13.63%), and other reasons (10/88=11.36%). Predictive factors for stopping MTX were presence of rheumatoid factor (HR 2.24; 95% CI 1.14-5.15; p =0.02) and the access to education (HR 0.37; 95% CI 0.16-0.88; p =0.02)., Conclusion: The therapeutic maintenance level of MTX in our study was satisfactory and comparable to other series, and influenced by many factors such as the occurrence of a side effect. It is necessary to sensitise medical practitioners on symptomatic prevention and management of side effects., (© 2022 The Mediterranean Journal of Rheumatology (MJR).)

Background: An increase in women physicians in the medical workforce is witnessed in recent decades, paralleled by an increase in leadership positions and, to a lesser extent, in academic advancement., Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the women rheumatologists (WR) workforce and to identify the challenges faced by WR in the Arab League of Associations for Rheumatology (ArLAR) countries., Methods: We collected data from members of special interest groups from 16 ArLAR countries about the number of rheumatologists in the national societies and boards - including WR -, and the estimated percentage of WR involved in academia. Also, a sample of WR was identified based on their established leadership positions and invited to a structured interview addressing their career path and the gender-related challenges., Results: The proportion of WR varied widely across the ArLAR countries, with a mean of 56%. Moreover, WR constituted 47% of the society's board members and roughly 49% of WR were involved in academia. However, only 37% of the current society presidents were females. Structured interviews indicated that WR place a high value on patient care and teaching, followed by research and publications. The primary reported gender-related challenge was balancing work with family demands. Moreover, some WR reported gender-related discrimination incurred by colleagues, patients, and administrations., Conclusion: WR constituted more than half of the current rheumatology workforce in the ArLAR countries, with a lower - but steadily growing - proportion of WR in leadership positions. As they embrace their growing role in the workforce, WR must benefit from all the provided tools, from learning from the experience of current women leaders in the field to using the latest technology such as social media platforms to empower them to reach gender equity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ziade, Hmamouchi and El Kibbi.)

To develop Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) for the use of Telehealth in Rheumatology in the Arab region, to identify the main barriers and facilitators of telehealth, and to provide rheumatologists with a practical toolkit for the implementation of telehealth. Guidelines were drafted by a core steering committee from the Arab League of Associations for Rheumatology (ArLAR) after performing a literature search. A multidisciplinary task force (TF), including 18 rheumatologists, 2 patients, and 2 regulators from 15 Arab countries, assessed the BPG using 3 rounds of anonymous online voting by modified Delphi process. The statements were included in the final BPG without further voting if ≥ 80% of TF members indicated high agreement. The voting on barriers and facilitators was performed through one voting round. The toolkit was developed based on available literature and discussions during the Delphi rounds. Four General Principles and twelve Statements were formulated. A teleconsultation was specifically defined for the purpose of these guidelines. The concept of choice in telehealth was highlighted, emphasizing patient confidentiality, medical information security, rheumatologist's clinical judgment, and local jurisdictional regulations. The top barrier for telehealth was the concern about the quality of care. The toolkit emphasized technical aspects of teleconsultation and proposed a triage system. The ArLAR BPG provide rheumatologists with a series of strategies about the most reliable, productive, and rational approaches to apply telehealth., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Competing Interests: LA reports consulting fees and honoraria from Pfizer and AstraZeneca, outside this work. All other authors declare no competing interests. NZ, LEK, IH, and MM designed the study and were part of the steering committee that wrote the study protocol, included participants from their respective countries, and supervised the recruitment of participants in all the countries. LA and RF provided the original questionnaire from the VAXICOV study and participated in the questionnaire adaptation and in the finalisation of the protocol. NZ, LEK, MM, and IH drafted the manuscript and handled the comments of the authors. NA, HH, ME, MER, BM, FA, WH, AA, and AAN participated in the study design and protocol, included participants from their respective countries, and helped in addressing logistical issues during recruitment. NZ and IH analysed the results of the survey and designed the tables and figures. All authors made substantial contributions to work and participated in the discussion of the study results, the draft of the manuscript, and revised the final submitted document for intellectual content. All the authors approved the version to be published and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work. RF and LA contributed equally.

Background: Kinesiotaping (KT) is widely used in several musculoskeletal disorders particularly in shoulder pain. However, literature shows controversial results regarding the effect of KT on shoulder pathology. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical effects of KT in the short term on rotator cuff tendinopathy (RCT)., Methods: A randomized controlled double-blind clinical trial was conducted. The sample consisted of 50 subjects (25 per group). Patients were randomly assigned to the KT group (to receive therapeutic KT application) or to the placebo group (to receive sham KT application). Taping was applied every 4 days, a total of three times during the study period. We assessed the patients at baseline, at the end of taping period (D12), and at one-month post-taping (D30). Primary outcome was assessed through the Arabic version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH). Secondary outcomes were assessed through Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain intensity at rest (VASr), during active movement (VASm), and at night (VASn)., Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in the demographic and clinical characteristics and the pre-test scores. Results of repeated measures ANOVA showed significant improvement in DASH scores and in VAS for pain (at rest, during active movement and at night) from D12 in both groups. The use of ANCOVA, controlling for pre-test scores, showed no significant differences between groups, except for VASm at D30., Conclusion: This study showed that the standardized therapeutic KT used for shoulder pain was not superior to a sham KT application in improving pain and disabilities in patients with RCT., Trial Registration: The study was retrospectively registered on Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (identification number: PACTR202007672254335) on 21/07/2020. https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/TrialDisplay.aspx?TrialID=12200., (© 2022. The Author(s).)