Hand function and adaptive equipment use in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: Evaluation and characterization of hand function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and, secondarily, identification of the use of adaptive equipments. Material and methods: Firstly, a written informed consent was obtained and then an anonymous questionnaire was filled by RA outpatients observed at the rheumatology consultation. Those with no other musculoskeletal or neuromuscular disorders that would determine major functional impairment of hand function were included. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected and the Cochin Hand Functional Scale (CHFS) was applied. Classical deformities of hand and/or wrist were observed and recorded by the attending physician. Results: A total of 79 patients were enrolled. In the overall sample, most patients were female (69.60%), with a mean age of 59.72 ± 11.77 years and with a mean diagnosis duration of 11.72 ± 8.29 years. The majority (73.40%) had at least one hand or wrist deformity, the most frequent being atrophy of the interosseous muscles, followed by ulnar deviation of the metacarpophalangeal joints and piano key deformity of the wrist. The mean CHFS score was 17.94 ± 18.26 points with a minimum and maximum value recorded of 0 and 80 points, res pectively. The presence of hand deformities, Health Assessment Questionnaire score (HAQ), hand pain and diagnosis duration were correlated with the CHFS score. Six patients had assistive devices and only in one case it was used to overcome hand's functional impairment. Conclusions:Most patients presented at least one classic RA deformity after a mean diagnosis duration of appro ximately 12 years and under pharmacological treatment. Despite this, most patients scored significantly below CHFS maximum score, but only 18 reported no difficulty in any of the tasks mentioned in the scale. The fact that only a minority of these patients had assistive devices should alert us to the need for a more thorough functional assessment and identification of needs among RA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]