DAS 28 - What’s your number? | Arthritis Information

 

I haven't been on this forum too long, so don't know if this has been discussed previously.  Each time I visit my RD he tells me my DAS 28 score.  I keep forgetting to ask what my first score was, but I know it had to be very high because of all my joint pain and I had not started treatment.  The second visit after 14 days of pred. & daily MTX, my score was 7.2 and my last visit I was at 6.4.....he said he wants to get me to below 6.0   

Just wondering if your RD's use this scoring method and what your numbers are?

Thanks.

I have never heard of that scoring.  That would be interesting to know, and to know that you are progressing as far as pain and inflammation.  I will have to ask.I get my sed rate when I go to the rheumy....I am at 35 down from a high of 55. I believe you should be below 20"DAS stands for "Disease Activity Score" and is a measure of the activity of rheumatoid arthritis. In Europe the DAS is the recognized standard in research and clinical practice.

The following parameters are included in the calculation:

	Number of joints tender to the touch (TEN)
	Number of swollen joints (SW)
	Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
	Patient assessment of disease activity (VAS; mm)"   It seems the 28 is a count of 28 different joints-- I'm not sure why, but the feet are not included. My doctor does not use this scale. I think It is more common in Europe. http://www.kineret-eu.com/en/pro/pro/prodas.jsp     Take care, Karin

OT - my word, those Kineret people are a crafty bunch!!! When I opened this thread, McAfee blocked a cookie from the Kineret website Karin posted the link to!! I did not click on the link, just opened this thread! Never had that happen before. I couldn't figure out where it came from, until I got down to Karin's post. Wow. Karin, thanks for taking the time to type out the DAS info.  I just assumed everyone on here knew their score; didn't realize all RD's aren't using that system.  My RD is from Pakistan, young, and very into technology.  He keeps all of my info in his laptop (paperless filing system).  Each visit he is very, very thorough and he spends 45 minutes to an hour with me.  He does all of the other tests (blood, bone density, x-rays, etc.) as well.  I like the DAS 28 because it makes me feel that we have a goal and a plan to achieve it.  Of course, on the other hand, if I've got pain, I don't need technology or a calculation to tell me that!I haven't heard of that either from any of my RD's but I like it. Sounds like your doctors a keeper Flamingo.
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