High therapy satisfaction among patients with rheumatic diseases

Colleagues from the DRFZ’s Health Services Research Group have evaluated current data from the Nationwide German Database (NGD) of the Regional Cooperative Rheumatology Centers. The data show changes in the treatment spectrum of inflammatory rheumatic diseases, including less cortisone for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and new treatment options for ANCA-associated vasculitis. The new care trends can be found on the NGD project website.

The NGD administered by the DRFZ provides clinical and patient-reported data on more than 13,000 patients with various inflammatory rheumatic diseases every year. This continuous documentation, which has been running since 1993, shows how new therapies and changes in medical guidelines are reaching routine care as well as allowing for care deficits to be recognised.

The medical documentation is supplemented by many statements from patients about their state of health, the course of their disease, stress and restrictions in everyday life and occupational participation. In 2022, 52% of 671 patients with SLE stated that they were very satisfied with the success of their current therapy and a further 40% were relatively satisfied. 59% of patients were very satisfied and 36% relatively satisfied with the tolerability of the therapy. At the same time, 27% of SLE patients stated that they had suffered from severe exhaustion/fatigue in the last 7 days.

The care trends in NGD provide information on the age and gender distribution and the average duration of the various rheumatic diseases. The figures show developments in mean disease activity, functional limitations in everyday life, incapacity to work, hospitalisations and much more, in each case from 2022 and in comparison with previous years since 2010.