2021 EULAR recommendations for the implementation of self-management strategies in patients with inflammatory arthritis 

(Part 3)

Before we continue our discussion on how the guidelines were crafted by the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR), we need to recall that there were two meetings that took place in relation to the 2021 guidelines for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis (IA).

In preparation for the second meeting with experts, based on the outcome of the first meeting, clinical questions were converted into epidemiological questions that were addressed through systematic literature review (SLR), which were undertaken by the task force fellows.

The SLR’s aim was to pinpoint the best evidence for the implementation of self-management interventions in IA and to identify the individual effects and components.

The SLR was done based on the Cochrane Handbook and reported in accordance with the standard reporting procedures, review, meta-analysis and guidelines. The results of the processes were also subjected to consultations with other EULAR and healthcare professionals across Europe.

At the second meeting, the task force members formulated the overarching principles (OAP) and recommended the latest guidelines based on evidence and through discussions and best practices examples.

After several revisions, the level of agreement (LoA) was voted on a 0 to 10 scale. The number O on the scale is indicative that the voter does not agree at all while the number 10 shows that the voter fully agrees.

The second meeting poll was done virtually via Zoom and subsequent voting was done via a survey website.

The mean and standard deviation of the LoA were presented along with the percentage of members who agree.

Finally, a research agenda was crafted based on discussions on the identified gaps in evidence.

We have discussed the methods and next week we will move to the results of the meetings and the SLR regarding the OAPs in relation to self-management strategies in the management of IA.