The objective of the study is the establishment of a standardized risk-adapted screening protocol for detecting pleuropulmonary manifestations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. To determine the risk of pleuropulmonary manifestation in RA, clinical (pulmonological and rheumatological specialist examination including standardized disease activity and symptom scores), laboratory (e.g. RF, ACPA, CRP, CEA), lung function (incl. body plethysmography, TLCO, FeNO, SMWT), sonographic (thoracic ultrasound, joint ultrasound), and demographic (e.g., age, gender) factors will be considered. A machine learning (ML) based risk-modeling approach will be utilized to create the screening tool. For further external validation and clinical application, a freely accessible online tool and a mobile app will be developed based on the existing model.
