Pediatric Rheumatology Online Journal → June 2003 → Medical Treatment → Anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy→ Abstract #55

WHAT DOES CHAQ TELL US ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF ETANERCEPT IN CHILDREN WITH JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS ?

K. Bergren, A. C. Eliasson, S. Hagelberg

¹Department of Women and Child Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; ²Department of Women and Child Health; ³Department of Rheumatology, Astrid Lindgren Childrens Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

The Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) is a useful instrument to follow the clinical outcome in juvenile idiopathic arthritis(JIA), as a part of the other "Core Set Criterias" .Commonly the total CHAQ-score is shown, which will not give details about the childs everyday life. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of treatment with etanercept on children's performance in daily life.
Method: The subjects were 16 children, 5 to 18 years with JIA (10 polyarticular, 3 systemic, 2 psoriatic, 1 Mb Crohn), who were treated with etanercept. The evaluation of treatment was assessed with CHAQ before the treatment started, after 3 months and 6 months.
Result: The children increased their performance in daily life. It was demonstrated by decreased score on activities in CHAQ, from 1,4 to 0,9 after three months (p0.05). Prior to the treatment the VAS-value (0-100) for pain was 38 and after 3 months it had decreased to 18 and further on to 15 after 6 months. The global assessment : prior to the treatment the value was 45 and after 3 months it had decreased to 12, but increased again to 26 after 6 months. The number of technical devices/special aids was in average 1.3 for each child before treatment and 0.9 after 3 months, and it continued to decrease to 0.75 after 6 months. The children also reported less help from other people after treatment. In the category Activity there were several short-comings before etanercept (11/16) which improved considerably (4/16) after treatment. However, in the category Gripping the problems were unchanged after treatment (still 8 /16). The treatment also resulted in increased participation in school gymnastics. During the last 2 months before treatment school absence decreased from average 7 days to 4 days after 6 months.
Conclusion: CHAQ-results indicate that etanercept was of significant value for the children, enabling them to participate in more activities, attend school, get pain relief, use less technical devices and increase their independence.