Canadian ArThritis CoHort (CATCH):
"A Prospective Cohort Study of Adults with New-Onset Inflammatory
Arthritis Symptoms”
Study sponsor: Amgen/Wyeth
Coordinating center: Mount Sinai Hospital
Design: This is a study of usual care and therefore is a prospective
cohort of all eligible consenting patients referred to the Early
Arthritis Program at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Participating
patients will receive standard of care for early inflammatory
arthritis and be followed for the course of the study. At the
end of the study, patients who do not have another rheumatologist
will continue to be followed, or referred to another rheumatologist
Inclusion criteria: Age > 16 years; symptoms for ≥6 weeks and ≤12
months; at least on of the following-2 or more swollen joints-1
swollen MCP or PIP joint and one of the following (RF ≥20; (+)anti-CCP
antibody; AM stiffness ≥45 min; response to NSAID; (+) MTP squeeze
test
Primary outcome measure: Determine the most effective treatment
strategies for patients who do not meet criteria for RA but
demonstrate inflammatory features. Determine the effectiveness of
recommended treatments in usual practice and for short term and long
term outcomes
Secondary outcome measures: Examine the proportion of patients with
early inflammatory arthritis symptoms who go on to meet diagnostic
criteria for RA within one year of baseline. Examine factors
that may predict how a patient's disease might progress over time.
Examine the frequency of time-point and sustained remission over
time and factors that influence remission. Examine the
proportion of patients in persistent remission who undergo drug
withdrawal and to describe the strategies used to manage these
patients.
Recruitment period: Expected enrollment is approximately 60
patients/year/site, but no limit has been placed on enrollment.
There are currently 17 sites participating across Canada.
Completion: No end of study stated since data is continuously
collected -6 months of data is collected for data locks to generate
information for various conferences
Date of expected analysis: Ongoing