Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39903294›Full record

ArticleRheumatology international2025

Early detection of rheumatoid arthritis through patient empowerment by tailored digital monitoring and education: a feasibility study.

Nicola Pfeuffer, Fabian Hartmann, Manuel Grahammer, David Simon, Louis Schuster, Sebastian Kuhn, Gerhard Krönke, Georg Schett, Johannes Knitza, Arnd Kleyer

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Rheumatology international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Nicola PfeufferDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0009-0007-2171-5602
Fabian HartmannDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6106-1657
Manuel GrahammerABATON GmbH, ABATON, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-1560-4459
David SimonDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8310-7820
Louis SchusterDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5878-8465
Sebastian KuhnInstitute for Digital Medicine, University Hospital Giessen-Marburg, Philipps University, Baldingstrasse, Marburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8031-2973
Gerhard KrönkeDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7566-4325
Georg SchettDepartment of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8740-9615
Johannes Knitza *Department of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany. knitza@uni-marburg.de.ORCID 0000-0001-9695-0657
Arnd Kleyer *Department of Internal Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2026-7728

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Patients at risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) describe fluctuating and nonspecific symptoms, making it difficult to quantify symptom burden and recognize RA progression. This study aimed to assess feasibility and diagnostic value of a multimodal digital self-monitoring program in preclinical RA. This prospective cohort study included individuals at-risk for RA, who first watched self-produced educational videos about (preclinical) RA and joint self-examination techniques and then started the REMOTRA symptom monitoring. Key outcomes measured included patient acceptance (Net Promoter Score: NPS), monitoring program usability (System usability scale: SUS), monitoring adherence, diagnostic accuracy, and reported symptom burden. A total of 43 participants (65.9% female, mean age 50.1 years) were enrolled. The educational and self-examination videos received NPS ratings of 54.4 and 31.6, respectively. The monitoring software received usability scores of 88.1/100 (SD: 5.5) at three months and 85.4/100 (SD: 16.0) at 6 months. 24/41 (58.5%) completed all questionnaires, and the average app usage was 4.8 months (SD: 1.8). None of the patients with a REMOTRA score below 10 developed RA, yielding a negative predictive value and sensitivity of 100%. However, the positive predictive value was 12%, and the specificity was 42.1%. Analgesic and cortisone usage was reported by 58.5% and 29.3% of participants, respectively. The strong patient acceptance, ease of use, and high adherence rates, combined with encouraging diagnostic outcomes, underscore the potential of this personalized digital monitoring and education approach. These findings suggest that further validation through multicenter studies is warranted.

Indexed as

Arthritis, RheumatoidPatient Education as TopicPatient ParticipationAdultAgedEarly DiagnosisFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMobile ApplicationsPredictive Value of TestsProspective StudiesSelf-ExaminationDigital healthPatient educationRemote monitoringRheumatoid arthritis

Identifiers

PMID39903294
PMCPMC11794354

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.