Ab1176 Scoping Review to Guide the Development of an Articular Score in Systemic Sclerosis (Assess Score)

Background: Joint involvement is frequent in systemic sclerosis (SSc), and highly contributes to impaired quality of life of SSc patients. Despite its frequency and associated morbidity, there is currently no evidence-based drug for joint involvement in SSc. Evaluation of therapies in clinical practice and clinical trials is also hampered by the lack of validated/generally accepted evaluation criteria for joint involvement in SSc. Objectives: We aimed to identify instruments to assess joint and tendon involvement in SSc to consider for the development of a composite articular score in SSc for use in clinical practice and clinical trials. Methods: A steering committee comprising 12 rheumatologists, 1 epidemiologist, 1 occupational therapist, and 3 patient research partners was convened. The process included an online meeting to guide the scoping review. The review was conducted in PubMed/Medline, for January 1960 to April 2023. Two reviewers independently identified eligible studies assessing joint and tendon involvement in SSc and extracted related assessment outcomes. Instruments were included as possible measures to consider if they had been used in at-least two independent studies including SSc patients. Results: After the first meeting, the steering committee decided to develop a composite score consisting of 3 sub-scores assessing activity, function, and damage respectively. Among a total of 770 identified references, 658 were excluded on the basis of their title or abstract resulting in 112 articles being examined for the full text (Figure 1A). Overall, 82 studies were included out of which 43 instruments that were used in at-least two studies were identified. Based on the instrument category, 18 clinical, 2 laboratory, 4 composite scores, 11 patient reported outcomes, and 8 imaging instruments (Table 1) were included for further evaluation of key measurement properties. Specifically, 36 instruments were selected to assess joint activity, 19 for joint function and 19 for joint damage based on domain match and feasibility (Figure 1B). Conclusion: Our scoping review identified 40 meaningful core instruments to assess joint and tendon involvement in SSc. This represents the foundation for further development of a composite score for articular involvement in SSc for use in clinical practice and clinical trials.REFERENCES: NIL. Acknowledgements: NIL. Disclosure of Interests: Blaž Burja: None declared, Paco M.J. Welsing: None declared, Alain LESCOAT: None declared, Andreas Eisenring: None declared, Anna-Maria Hoffmann-Vold Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Medscape, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis and Roche, ARXX, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Janssen, Medscape, Merck Sharp & Dohme and Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Claire Leroy David: None declared, Dinesh Khanna: None declared, Francesco Del Galdo: None declared, Michele Iudici: None declared, Janet Pope: None declared, Julia Spierings: None declared, Madelon Vonk: None declared, Marie-Elise Truchetet: None declared, Martine Clergeau: None declared, Michael Hughes: None declared, Susan L Murphy: None declared, Tracy Frech: None declared, Oliver Distler 4P-Pharma, Abbvie, Acceleron, Alcimed, Amgen, AnaMar, Argenx, Arxx, AstraZeneca, Blade, Boehringer Ingelheim, Citus AG, Corbus, CSL Behring, Enzyvant (Sumitomo), Galderma, Galapagos, Glenmark, Gossamer, Kymera, Lupin, Medscape, Merck, Miltenyi Biotec, Mitsubishi Tanabe; Novartis, Orion, Prometheus, Redxpharna, Roivant, Topadur and UCB, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen, Muriel Elhai: None declared.