Table 3.

Rheumatologic characteristics of patients with RA before and after medication with inhibitors of IL‐6 receptor and tumor necrosis factor.

Characteristics	Group	Baseline	3 months	6 months
DAS28‐CRP	TCZ (n = 20)	3.93 ± 1.17	2.62 ± 0.96 *	2.18 ± 0.81 *
	TNFI (n = 40)	3.92 ± 1.14	2.56 ± 1.00 *	2.29 ± 0.77 *
Number of tender joints	TCZ (n = 20)	4.90 ± 4.63	2.85 ± 4.22 *	1.50 ± 2.09 *
	TNFI (n = 40)	5.03 ± 5.64	1.80 ± 1.92 *	1.30 ± 1.70 *
Number of swollen joints	TCZ (n = 20)	4.20 ± 4.47	2.40 ± 3.35 *	1.85 ± 2.68 *
	TNFI (n = 40)	4.55 ± 4.65	2.05 ± 2.92 *	1.10 ± 1.58 *
VAS (mm)	TCZ (n = 20)	42.4 ± 25.8	28.8 ± 23.2	16.3 ± 11.8 *
	TNFI (n = 40)	42.9 ± 19.0	22.6 ± 16.9 *	24.4 ± 33.2 *
Serum anti‐CCP titer (U/mL)	TCZ (n = 20)	154.2 ± 172.0	116.3 ± 152.3 *	117.0 ± 154.5 *
	TNFI (n = 40)	124.8 ± 136.5	102.9 ± 132.1 *	108.5 ± 145.8 *
Serum RF levels (IU/mL)	TCZ (n = 20)	212.8 ± 447.5	187.0 ± 451.5	96.6 ± 135.8 *
	TNFI (n = 40)	121.1 ± 166.7	82.6 ± 124.6 *	83.6 ± 167.0 *
Serum CRP levels (mg/dL)	TCZ (n = 20)	2.73 ± 2.78	0.20 ± 0.67 *	0.03 ± 0.13 *
	TNFI (n = 40)	2.26 ± 2.57	0.61 ± 1.30 *	0.39 ± 0.69 *
Serum MMP‐3 levels (ng/mL)	TCZ (n = 20)	291.5 ± 301.1	129.4 ± 153.8 *	104.2 ± 115.4 *
	TNFI (n = 40)	234.4 ± 186.7	133.6 ± 141.7 *	111.3 ± 101.1 *

RA, rheumatoid arthritis; DAS28‐CRP, disease activity score including 28 joints using C‐reactive protein; VAS, visual analog scale; CCP, cyclic citrullinated peptide; RF, rheumatoid factor; MMP, matrix metalloproteinase; TCZ, tocilizumab; TNFI, tumor necrosis factor inhibitor; n, number.

Values represent the mean ± standard deviation, and the bold values show the statistical significance.

^* Significantly different from the baseline, as assessed by Friedman and Wilcoxon signed rank tests (p < 0.017).