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. 2015 May 19;2015:151626. doi: 10.1155/2015/151626

Table 2.

Comparison of cardiopulmonary scales and Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire between patients with rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) and patients with RA only.

Variable RA-ILD
n = 39
RA only
n = 42
P
Pulmonary symptoms
Cough, n (%)* 31 (66.0) 0 (0%)
Phlegm, n (%)* 10 (21.3) 0 (0%)
Wheezing, n (%)* 3 (6.4) 0 (0%)
Bilateral inspiratory/expiratory crackles, n (%)* 33 (70.2) 0 (0%)
Breathlessness, n (%)* 19 (40.4) 0 (0%)
Cardiopulmonary scales
6MWT, meters 310.0 (170.0–549.0) 410.0 (270.0–549.0) <0.001
Pre-6MWT VAS modified Borg scale 1.0 (0–3.1) 0 (0–2.0)
Post-6MWT VAS modified Borg scale 2.0 (0.5–8.0) 1.0 (0–5.0) <0.001
Development of dyspnea, n (%) 19 (23.8) 7 (16.7) 0.002
SGRQ, %
Symptoms 14.0 (0–30.0) 3.0 (0–24.0) <0.001
Activity 10.0 (0–38.0) 4.0 (0–27.0) <0.001
Impact 10.0 (0–38.0) 3.5 (0–13.0) <0.001
Total 13.0 (0–37.0) 5.0 (0–25.0) <0.001
Lung function
FVC (% of predicted) 71.0 (52.0–91.0) 86.0 (80.0–99.0) <0.001
Restrictive patterns, n (%)* 32 (68.1) 0 (0%)

Qualitative variables were expressed in frequency (%); quantitative variables were expressed in medians (ranges); FVC: forced vital capacity; 6MWT: six-minute walk test; VAS: visual analogue scale; SGRQ: Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire. *This variable is not accepted for evaluation by the program. P values were computed as follows: for quantitative variables with Mann-Whitney U test and for qualitative variables with chi-square (or Fisher exact test if required).