Introduction

The Disease Activity Score (DAS) is a combined index that has been developed in Nijmegen in the 1980s to measure the disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It has been extensively validated for its use in clinical trials in combination with the EULAR response criteria. Its usability also enables the collection of valuable information about the disease activity of your patient in daily clinical practice. 


Evaluation of a patient’s response to treatment can be made much easier and more objective using the DAS or DAS28. Simply assess the number of swollen and tender joints and measure the ESR. The DAS will provide you with a number between 0 and 10, indicating the activity rate of the rheumatoid arthritis is at that particular moment.