Alternative Ways to Quantify Sustained Remission: Applying the Continuity Rewarded Score and Patient Vector Graph

Abstract

Objective Although the Computer Assisted Management in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Trial-II (CAMERA-II) showed favorable clinical effects in the most intensive methotrexate (MTX)-based strategy with prednisone (MTX ± prednisone) compared to that with placebo (MTX + placebo), this beneficial difference was only seen in 1 of the 3 analyses of remission. Our objective was to investigate whether the Continuity Rewarded (ConRew) score and a simple sum score would better reveal differences regarding remission between the 2 treatment arms of CAMERA-II. Furthermore, we investigated whether the patient vector graph, which plots on patient level, would add visual information on remission compared to a conventional box plot only, which displays data on the group level. Methods The ConRew method, which awards continuous periods of remission with a higher score, was applied, in addition to a simple sum score of remission periods of 4 weeks. A patient vector graph was compared with box plots. Results Both the mean ± SD simple sum score and the ConRew score of remission were significantly higher (favorable) in the MTX + prednisone strategy group versus the MTX + placebo group, respectively: 9 ± 7 versus 12 ± 8; P = 0.003, and 23 ± 16 versus 17 ± 14; P = 0.004. The patient vector graphs show a visual pattern of more and longer periods of remission in the MTX + prednisone strategy and visually add information to the box plots. Conclusion The simple sum of remission periods, the ConRew score, and the patient vector graph add understanding and discrimination to the analysis of the remission outcome in CAMERA-II.