Degree of agreement between 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria of rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatologist's diagnosis

Background:rheumatoid arthritis (ra) is an autoimmune disorder primarily having synovial joints inflammationand leading to their destruction and may also involve extra-articular manifestations. diagnosing ra as early as possible and starting treatment immediately is key to prevent complications. aim: to determine the degree of agreement between american college of rheumatology and european league againstrheumatism classification criteria 2010 (acr/eular 2010) of ra and diagnosis made by rheumatologist in diagnosing ra in pakistani population. methods:this is a cross sectional study and conducted in the department of rheumatology and immunology at shaikhzayed hospital lahore over a period of six months from january 2014 to june 2014. study comprised of 200 patients after fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. the degree of agreement between acr/eular 2010 classification criteria of ra and rheumatologist's diagnosis was analyzed. results:out of 200 cases,52(26%) were between 16-50 years of age and 148(74%) were between 51-70 years of age,mean+sd was calculated as 56.43+9.23 years,83(41.5%) male and 117(58.5%) females,frequency of agreement between acr/eular 2010 classification criteria of ra and diagnosis made by rheumatologist in diagnosing ra was calculated which reveals true positive i.e.,119 for both acr/eular 2010 criteria and true negative for both i.e.,31,kappa statistics were computed as 0.393 (75% of the observations),showing the strength of agreement as 'fair'. conclusion:we concluded that the degree of agreement between acr/eular 2010 classification criteria of ra and diagnosis made by rheumatologist in diagnosing ra in pakistani population is higher which may be helpful for diagnosis of this morbidity in a country like pakistan.