Table 3.

Correlations between the ΔSUV and the clinical parameters

		3 months
		ΔDAS28	ΔDAS28-CRP	ΔSDAI	ΔCDAI
ΔSUV (12 joints)	r	0.615*	0.696*	0.652*	0.662*
	p	0.009	0.002	0.005	0.004
ΔSUV (8 joints)	r	0.61*	0.723*	0.637*	0.64*
	p	0.009	0.001	0.006	0.006
		6 months
		ΔDAS28	ΔDAS28-CRP	ΔSDAI	ΔCDAI
ΔSUV (12 joints)	r	0.775*	0.828*	0.686*	0.711*
	p	<0.001	<0.001	0.002	0.001
ΔSUV (8 joints)	r	0.749*	0.775*	0.623*	0.686*
	p	0.001	<0.001	0.008	0.002

The ΔSUV (12/8 joints), the difference in the total SUVmax of the affected 12 or eight (bilateral shoulder, elbow, wrist and knee) joints before and after treatment, was significantly correlated with the ΔDAS28, ΔDAS28-CRP, ΔSDAI and ΔCDAI. *indicates a significant correlation following the Bonferroni correction.