Table 1.

Demographic and clinical data of the rheumatoid arthritis patients and arthritis controls

Parameter	RA patients (n = 8)	AC patients (n = 3)
Age (years)	58 (34–69)	56 (49–68)
Sex (no. of males/females)	4/4	3/0
Disease duration (months)	60 (4–360)	2 (1–12)
Rheumatoid factor	7 positive; 1 negative	1 positive; 2 negative
Tender joint count	9 (5–15)	1 (1–2)
Swollen joint count	11 (5–19)	2 (1–23)
ESR (mm/h)	46 (25–69)	38 (28–43)
Erosive disease	6 positive; 2 negative	None
No. of DMARDs	4.5 (1–5)	0
Leukocytes in SF (109/l)	6.3 (4.5–7.0)	4.3 (4.2–4.5)
CRP (mg/l)	34 (8–97)	4 (<3–26)

Results are medians, with ranges in parentheses. AC, arthritis control; CRP, C-reactive protein in plasma; DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SF, synovial fluid.