Clinical and radiographic outcomes in the different strategy arms at year 10
| Sequential monotherapy | Step-up therapy | Initial combination with prednisone | Initial combination with infliximab | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N=40 | N=45 | N=56 | N=43 | ||
| Drop-out, n (%) | 14 (35) | 20 (44) | 21 (38) | 16 (37) | 0.738 |
| DAS, mean±SD | 1.7±0.9 | 1.8±0.8 | 1.6±0.8 | 1.4±0.8 | 0.431 |
| HAQ, mean±SD | 0.5±0.5 | 0.7±0.7 | 0.5±0.5 | 0.5±0.5 | 0.580 |
| DAS-remission, n (%) | 11 (28) | 9 (20) | 17 (30) | 17 (40) | 0.434 |
| Drug-free remission, n (%) | 7 (18) | 7 (16) | 11 (20) | 9 (21) | 0.742 |
| On initial treatment step, n (%) | 10 (25) | 7 (16) | 18 (32) | 15 (35) | 0.161 |
| Use of infliximab, n (%) | 3 (8) | 3 (7) | 4 (7) | 4 (9) | 0.978 |
| Use of prednisone, n (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (5) | 2 (5) | 0.226 |
| SHS progression, year 0–10 Median (IQR) | 0.3 (0–1.4) | 0 (0–6.3) | 1.0 (0–5.3) | 0 (0–1.3) | 0.639 |
| SHS progression ≥5 units, n (%) | 1 (3) | 5 (11) | 8 (14) | 3 (7) | 0.132 |
| SHS progression ≥10 units, n (%) | 1 (3) | 3 (7) | 5 (9) | 1 (2) | 0.324 |
DAS, disease activity score; HAQ, health assessment questionnaire (scale 0–3); SHS, Sharp van der Heijde score.