Table 1.
Patient characteristics of 56 patients
| Patient characteristics | No. (%) |
|---|---|
| Male | 32 (53.6%) |
| Age (mean ± SD) | 50.3 ± 15.4 years |
| Diagnosis | |
| Rheumatoid arthritisa | 29 (51.8%) |
| RF positive | 25 (83.3%) |
| Ankylosing spondylitisa | 17 (30.4%) |
| Psoriatic arthritisa | 5 (8.9%) |
| Undifferentiated spondylitis | 2 (3.6%) |
| Juvenile idiopathic arthritisa | 1 (1.8%) |
| Still’s disease | 1 (1.8%) |
| Sarcoidosis | 1 (1.8%) |
| Disease duration (mean ± SD) | |
| Total study population | 8.7 ± 9.2 years |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 7.4 ± 7.7 years |
| Type of immunosuppressive treatment (at study inclusion) | |
| Methotrexate ± corticosteroids | 27 (48.2%) |
| Leflunomide ± methotrexate ± corticosteroids | 3 (5.4%) |
| Azathioprine and corticosteroids | 1 (1.8%) |
| Only corticosteroids (maintenance and high-dose treatment) | 5 (8.9%) |
| No current immunosuppressive treatment | 20 (35.7%) |
| Daily dose of immunosuppressive treatment (at study inclusion; mean ± SD) | |
| Methotrexate | 19 ± 7 mg |
| Leflunomide | 20 ± 0 mg |
| Azathioprine | 150 mg |
| Corticosteroids | |
| Maintenance treatment | 6 ± 2 mg |
| High-dose treatmentb | 3,000 ± 0 mg |
| BCG vaccination | 3 (5%) |
| Tuberculosis exposure | 8 (14%) |
Data are presented as number (No.) and percentage (%) and, if applicable, mean ± standard deviation (SD)
No. number of patients, RF rheumatoid factor
aDiagnosis according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria
bOnce-only three pulses of 1 g methylprednisolone prior to LTBI screening (n = 3)