Trial reportRheumatology international2026
Cost-utility of long-term exercise therapy in people with axial spondyloarthritis and severe functional limitations: a randomized, controlled trial.
Trial report in Rheumatology international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
To evaluate the cost-utility of long-term, personalized, exercise therapy as compared to usual care in people with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and severe functional limitations. A comprehensive economic evaluation was conducted from a societal perspective alongside a randomized controlled trial involving 214 participants (110 individuals assigned to the intervention group and 104 to the usual care group), with a one-year follow-up. Cost assessments encompassed both medical and non-medical costs recorded by participants and healthcare providers. Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) were calculated using the EuroQol-5 Dimensions -5 Levels (EQ-5D-5L) and EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS). Costs and QALY differences were analysed using standard unequal variance t-tests according to the intention-to-treat principle and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. In the intervention group, 93% of the participants used the intervention with an average of 41 (standard deviation, SD 15) sessions, with the mean direct costs of the intervention being €1515 (SD 724) per participant. The total mean physiotherapy costs were €1967 (SD 801) in the intervention and €514 (SD 792) in the control group, respectively. Although not statistically significant, the total societal costs also favoured the usual care group after 52-weeks, showing a difference of €657 (95% confidence interval (CI) €-3748 to €5060). QALYs were slightly and non-significantly favouring the intervention group, with a difference of 0.02 based on the EQ-5D-5 L (95% CI - 0.04 to 0.09) and 0.00 according to the EQ-VAS (95% CI -0.04 to 0.04). At a willingness-to-pay threshold of €50,000 per QALY, the intervention had a 57% likelihood of being considered the cost-effective strategy. The higher intervention costs of the long-term exercise therapy intervention were negated by savings on other healthcare and non-healthcare costs and by improved QALYs. As a result, we found no clear economic preference: long-term exercise therapy need not be withheld for economic reasons from people with axSpA and severe functional limitations. REGISTRATION NUMBER: Netherlands Trial Register NL-OMON52399, included in the International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP) (https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx? TrialID=NL-OMON52399).
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