Table 1.
Clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with GPA and healthy controls
| Patients with GPA in remission | Patients with active GPA | Healthy controls | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 12 | 14 | 20 |
| Age in years, mean (range) | 58 (38-83) | 55 (27-77) | 51 (21-78) |
| Sex, male/female | 10/2 | 10/4 | 11/9 |
| BVAS V3.0, mean (range) | 0 | 10 (4-21) | |
| CRP in mg/L, mean (range) | 8 (1-17) | 33 (1-86) | |
| PR3-ANCA, positive/negative | 9/3 | 14/0 | |
| Methotrexate, number | 9 | 5 | |
| Azathioprine, number | 1 | 0 | |
| Leflunomide, number | 2 | 0 | |
| Cyclophosphamide, number | 0 | 5 | |
| Prednisolone, number | 12 | 10 | |
| Prednisolone dosage in mg | 6.1 ± 0.8 | 11.9 ± 1.9a | |
| No treatment | 0 | 4 |
Remission was defined as BVAS V3.0 (Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Index version 3.0) of 0. Disease activity in patients either with first manifestation or relapsing was defined as BVAS V3.0 of at least 1 (15). Prednisolone dosage is expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean. aP < 0.05 by Mann-Whitney U test. CRP, C-reactive protein; GPA, granulomatosis with polyangiitis; PR3-ANCA, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies targeting proteinase 3.