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Objectives In RA, telemedicine may allow tight control of disease activity while reducing hospital visits. We developed a smartphone application connected with a physician’s interface to monitor RA patients. We aimed to assess the performance of this e-Health solution in comparison with routine practice in the management of patients with RA. Methods A six-month pragmatic, randomized, controlled, prospective, clinical trial was conducted in RA patients with high to moderate disease activity starting a new DMARD therapy. Two groups were established: ‘connected monitoring’ and ‘conventional monitoring’. The primary outcome was the number of physical visits between baseline and six months. Secondary outcomes included adherence, satisfaction, changes in clinical, functional and health status scores (Short-Form 12). Results Of the 94 randomized patients, 89 completed study: 44 in the ‘conventional monitoring’ arm and 45 in the ‘connected monitoring’ arm. The total number of physical visits between required baseline and six-month visits was significantly lower in the ‘connected monitoring’ group [0.42 (0.58) vs 1.93 (0.55); P Conclusion Our results suggest that connected monitoring reduces the number of physical visits while maintaining a tight control of disease activity and improving quality of life in patients with RA starting a new treatment. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, https://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03005925.

International audience; Background Nearly 1% of the population is currently treated with long-term corticosteroid therapy. When corticosteroids are introduced, information concerning potential adverse effects and recommendations for lifestyle changes aimed at preventing such effects is provided to patients. However, studies have shown patients often do not fully comprehend the information provided and have difficulty implementing the recommended dietary and physical activity advice. In this study, we aim to highlight the difficulties encountered by patients in comprehending and implementing recommendations in the context of long-term corticosteroid use. Such information can be used to better optimize care, particularly concerning adherence to the treatment, the diet, and thus improve the quality of life of patients. Methods We recruited adult patients under long-term corticosteroid (≥ 3 months, ≥ 5 mg/day) treatment from both general medicine and rheumatology practices. We performed a qualitative analysis based on semi-structured interviews of these patients. Transcripts of these interviews were then compiled and analysed using a thematic approach. Results Sixteen patients were included. Analysis of the interviews revealed that patients’ hope for effective corticosteroid treatment was counterbalanced by concerns over potential adverse effects. In some patients, the need to respect a strict and imposed diet induced psychological distress, potentially leading to eating disorders or fear of social exclusion. Furthermore, patient ambivalence toward the therapeutic education was highlighted, as well as the notion of filtering information, conscious or unconscious, as revealed by their lack of recall. The relationship with the physician also affected the treatment experience. Conclusion Our analysis of the personal experience of patients regarding recommended lifestyle changes associated with long-term corticosteroid treatment highlights patient difficulties and suggests different ways of improving therapeutic education.

Background:Telemedicine has found wider application in chronic diseases for encouraging tight home-monitoring in order to improve patients’ outcome (Smolen et al. 2017).In previous studies, a high feasibility and high patient-satisfaction rate was found as well as the evidence for a superior or equal effectiveness of telemedicine compared to the standard face-to-face approach, however the results were weakened by some methodological biases and wide heterogeneity of interventions, thus preventing to draw definitive conclusions (Piga et al. 2017; Najm, Gossec, et al. 2019).Objectives:In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), telemedicine may allow a tight control of disease activity while reducing hospital visits. We developed a smartphone application connected with a physician’s interface to monitor RA patients. We aimed to assess the performance of this e-Health solution in comparison with routine practice in the management of patients with RA.Methods:A 6-month pragmatic, randomized, controlled, prospective, clinical trial was conducted in RA patients with high to moderate disease activity starting a new Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug (DMARD) therapy. Two groups were established: “connected monitoring” and “conventional monitoring”. The primary outcome was the number of physical visits between baseline and 6 months. Secondary outcomes included adherence, satisfaction, changes in clinical, functional, and health status scores (SF-12).Results:Of the 94 randomized patients, 89 completed study: 44 in the “conventional monitoring” arm and 45 in the “connected monitoring” arm. The total number of physical visits between baseline and 6 month was significantly lower in the “connected monitoring” group (0.42 ± 0.58 versus 1.93 ± 0.55; pConclusion:According to our results, a connected monitoring reduces the number of physical visits while maintaining a tight control of disease activity and improving quality of life in patients with RA starting a new treatment.References:[1] Najm, Aurelie, Laure Gossec, Catherine Weill, David Benoist, Francis Berenbaum, and Elena Nikiphorou. 2019. “Mobile Health Apps for Self-Management of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases: Systematic Literature Review.”JMIR MHealth and UHealth7 (11): e14730.https://doi.org/10.2196/14730.[2] Piga, Matteo, Ignazio Cangemi, Alessandro Mathieu, and Alberto Cauli. 2017. “Telemedicine for Patients with Rheumatic Diseases: Systematic Review and Proposal for Research Agenda.”Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism47 (1): 121–28.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2017.03.014.[3] Smolen, Josef S, Robert Landewe, Johannes Bijlsma, Gerd Burmester, Katerina Chatzidionysiou, Maxime Dougados, Jackie Nam, et al. 2017. “EULAR Recommendations for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis with Synthetic and Biological Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs: 2016 Update.”Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases76 (6): 960–77.https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-210715.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

ObjectivesTo assess the risk of losing remission, low disease activity (LDA) or radiographic progression in the case of (1) discontinuing or (2) tapering doses of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) compared with continuation of the initial treatment regimen in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with remission or LDA.Materials and methodsA systematic literature analysis was carried out through May 2017 on the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and international congress databases, selecting controlled trials comparing bDMARDs discontinuation/tapering versus continuation in RA patients with remission or LDA. The meta-analysis assessed the risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI of losing remission or LDA and the risk of radiographic progression after (1) discontinuing and (2) tapering doses of bDMARDs versus continuing the initial treatment.ResultsThe meta-analysis comparing bDMARDs discontinuation versus continuation performed on nine trials showed an increased risk of losing remission (RR (95% CI)=1.97(1.43 to 2.73), PConclusionDiscontinuation of bDMARDs leads to an increased risk of losing remission or LDA and radiographic progression, while tapering doses of bDMARDs does not increase the risk of relapse (LDA) or radiographic progression, even though there is an increased risk of losing remission.

To the Editor: Chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are widely used in the longterm treatment of connective tissue disease (CTD) and are usually considered safe1. However, these therapies may cause serious adverse events2, including cardiac toxicity3. The cardiomyopathy induced by an antimalarial drug might mimic the cardiac involvement of Fabry disease (FD), a genetic storage disorder that causes a deficiency of a lysosomal enzyme, alpha galactosidase A (GLA). Indeed, CQ and HCQ provoke a dysfunction in the lysosomal enzymes, leading to the impairment of intracellular degradation processes in conjunction with the accumulation of pathological metabolic products4,5. The cardiac presentation of these 2 diseases is close regarding the clinical symptoms as well as the imaging and pathological findings. We report the case of a patient, treated longterm with HCQ, with cardiac disorders revealing FD. A 61-year-old woman was diagnosed 20 years ago for a CTD with dermatological disorders: alopecia, skin rash, and joint pain. The antinuclear antibodies (ANA) were positive at 1/100. Anti-SSa/Ro and anti-dsDNA antibodies were negative. The … Address correspondence to Dr. Y.M. Pers, 371 Avenue du Doyen Gaston Giraud, 34295 Montpellier, France. E-mail: ympers2000{at}yahoo.fr