Treatment Satisfaction and Health-Related Quality of Life in Iraqi Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Receiving Biologic Therapy; Rituximab

The exact mechanism of action and which rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients might benefit from Rituximab (RTX) are still questionable. One of the key elements in assessing the performance of a healthcare facility is patient satisfaction, which is a measure of how satisfied a patient is with the medical care he receives. This study aimed to evaluate the health-related quality of life and treatment satisfaction and their association with the responsiveness to RTX in RA patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Center of Rheumatology in Baghdad- Iraq. The study enrolled 90 patients diagnosed with RA and receiving RTX intravenous infusion, for at least six months. The 28-joints disease activity score (DAS28) and clinical disease activity index (CDAI) were used to assess disease activity and RTX response. RA Impact of Disease (RAID) and Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) were used to assess the health-related quality of life and treatment satisfaction, respectively. A total of 90 patients were enrolled in the current study and were divided into two groups (the RTX responders group included 50 patients and the RTX non-responders group included 40 patients) according to DAS28 and CDAI assessment. The patients in the responders group had a significantly better quality of life according to the RAID score (P-value<0.001),  the effectiveness, convenience, and global satisfaction were significantly higher in the responders group compared to the non-responders group (P-values were <0.001 for all). There were significant negative correlations between the effectiveness, convenience, and global satisfaction with RAID, CDAI, and DAS28. Better health-related quality of life and satisfaction were achieved among RTX responders compared to others, some satisfaction parameters were affected by the history of RA and duration of disease