Patients with RA h | Healthy | p Value | ||
Baseline | Treated | |||
Sample size | 14 | 18 | ||
Age (years) | 50 (32–60) | 44 (36–52) | 0.50853 | |
Females (n, %) | 10, 71% | 11, 61% | 0.7120 | |
Symptoms duration (months) | 9 (2–12) | NA | ||
RF (n positive, % positive) | 8, 57% | NA | ||
ACPA (n positive, % positive) | 5, 36% | NA | ||
Erosive (n positive, % yes) | 3, 21% | NA | ||
Treatment with NSAID (n, %) | 8, 57% | NA | ||
NSAIDs duration (months) | 2.3 (0.3–5.5) | NA | ||
Treatment with MTX (%) | 0% | 100%* | ||
ESR (mm/hour) | 22 (11–44) | 13 (9–27) | NA | 0.1934 |
CRP (mg/dL) | 0.3 (0.1–2.7) | 0.2 (0.1–0.3) | NA | 0.1289 |
Tender joint count | 4 (0–7) | 0 (0–1) | NA | 0.3738 |
Swollen joint count | 6 (2–10) | 1 (0–1) | NA | 0.0380* |
DAS28 | 4.7 (4.2–5.4) | 2.4 (2.1–3.6) | NA | 0.0137* |
HAQ | 1.4 (0.6–2.2) | 0.3 (0.0–0.7) | NA | 0.1250 |
*All patients were under MTX and prednisolone. To three patients hydroxychloroquine was added later on and two patients received concomitant sulfasalazine. *p<0.05 between patients before and after treatment with MTX.
Data are represented as median and IQR unless stated otherwise.
RA, rheumatoid arthritis; NA, not applicable; RF, rheumatoid factor; ACPA, anticitrullinated protein antibodies; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; MTX, methotrexate; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C reactive protein; DAS, disease activity score; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire.