AB0564 RHEUMATOLOGISTS’ VIEWS AND EXPERIENCES IN MANAGING PsA PATIENTS BASED ON TREATING TO TARGET STRATEGY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN CHINA
Authors: L. Xu, Z. Wang, J. Xue, M. Bai, H. Zhong, Y. Su
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis with progressive, erosive destruction associated with functional impairment. Principles of treat-to-target (T2T) have been widely used in rheumatoid arthritis, which has powerfully improved patient outcomes. In 2017, the concept of T2T has proposed to apply in PsA patients. However, the awareness and implementation of evidence-based T2T treatment guidelines varies across different geographical regions of China, hospital grades, professional status and specialities. Objectives: The study aimed to investigate Rheumatologists’ views and experiences in managing PsA patients with T2T strategy in china. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of Rheumatologists in China from 5 August to 15 August 2020 was conducted for this study. Rheumatologists were contacted by WeChat (a Chinese cell/web app) and asked to complete a web-based questionnaire anonymously. The electronic questionnaire was sent out by the internet platform of WenJuanXing via WeChat ( https://www.wjx.cn/ ). The questionnaire was designed to collect: (a) demographic information; (b) patient management in clinical practice for Rheumatologists; (c) familiarity and application of T2T strategy in Rheumatologists. P values ≤0.05 were considered significant. Results: (1 ) A total of 823 rheumatologists (69.87% female, 30.13% male) provided valid answers to the questionnaire. 71.09% of the participants major in Modern Western Medicine, 28.91% major in traditional chinese medicine. A total of 75.94% worked in Grade-A Tertiary Hospital. A total of 52.73% had more than 10 years of work experience and 63.55% had High-level title. (2 ) More than half of the patients were followed up by 69% Rheumatologists in their daily practice. The proportion of follow-up patients increased powerfully in the group of Rheumatologists who major in Modern Western Medicine ( P =0.014), work in Grade-A Tertiary Hospital ( P &lt;0.001), have more than 10 years of work experience ( P &lt;0.001) and High-level title ( P &lt;0.001). (3 ) 36.45% Rheumatologist thought the frequency for patient disease activity assessment was every 1 month and 53.1% was every 3 months. And 41.7% Rheumatologist prefer to use PASDAS for disease activity criteria, and only 3.6% choose MDA. (4 ) A total of 62.43% thought they were familiar with T2T strategy, and 83.6% Rheumatologists applied T2T strategy in clinical practice. Among 135 Rheumatologists who did not apply T2T strategy, 62.2% of Rheumatologists thought that the main barrier to T2T application was that they did not fully understand the strategy. The frequency of application of T2T strategy in clinical practice was significantly different between Rheumatologists who major in Modern Western Medicine (60.75%) and traditional chinese medicine (22.84%) ( P =0.023). Conclusion: In china, the management of PsA patients need to be standardized to improve patient outcomes. And the promotion of T2T strategy in PsA need to be further strengthened. References: [1]Smolen JS, Schöls M, Braun J,et al. Treating axial spondyloarthritis and peripheral spondyloarthritis, especially psoriatic arthritis, to target: 2017 update of recommendations by an international task force. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018 Jan;77(1):3-17. [2]Tucker LJ, Ye W, Coates LC. Novel Concepts in Psoriatic Arthritis Management: Can We Treat to Target? Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2018 Sep 18;20(11):71. [3]Coates LC, Helliwell PS. Treating to target in psoriatic arthritis: how to implement in clinical practice. Ann Rheum Dis. 2016;75(4):640-643. Figure 1 A. Rheumatologist priority of frequency for patient follow-up in different disease status. B. Rheumatologist priority of frequency for patient disease activity assessment in clinical practice. C. Rheumatologist priority of disease activity criteria for PsA patients. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.