Table 2. Comparison of clinical characteristics between the DAS and US remission groups and the non-remission groups at baseline.
| DAS | US | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Rem (n = 20) | Non-rem (n = 23) | P | Rem (n = 11) | Non-rem (n = 31) | P |
| Age (years) | 65.0 (53.5–73.8) | 68.0 (64–76) | 0.34 | 69.0 (55–82) | 67.0 (60–73) | 0.43 |
| Female, n | 16 | 21 | 0.39 | 9 | 28 | 0.59 |
| Disease duration (years) | 6.5 (4–16.5) | 9.0 (1.5–18) | 0.98 | 6.0 (0.6–13) | 8.0 (2–18) | 0.32 |
| Stage 1/2/3/4, n | 6/6/3/5 | 1/10/3/9 | – | 4/4/2/1 | 3/12/4/12 | – |
| Class I/II/III/IV, n | 16/4/0/0 | 11/10/2/0 | – | 8/3/0/0 | 18/11/2/0 | – |
| RF (IU/mL) | 42.5 (7.25–116.5) | 86.0 (31–168) | 0.32 | 41.0 (7–56) | 86.0 (20–149) | 0.16 |
| ACPA (U/mL) | 50.1 (12.9–100) | 57.7 (10.4–134) | 0.90 | 49.0 (0–100) | 57.0 (11–134) | 0.69 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 0.03 (0.02–0.17) | 0.15 (0.04–0.6) | 0.045* | 0.03 (0.02–0.04) | 0.15 (0.03–0.6) | 0.0090* |
| ESR (mm/h) | 7 (5.3–14.3) | 12 (9–28) | 0.0084* | 7 (5–11) | 12 (7–22) | 0.0495* |
| Serum MMP-3 (ng/mL) | 86.0 (51.4–152.8) | 90.3 (48.6–170.5) | 0.57 | 69.9 (38.7–128.4) | 95.0 (53.9–170.5) | 0.24 |
| DAS28ESR | 3.17 (2.84–3.50) | 3.87 (3.08–4.19) | 0.0008** | 3.19 (2.83–3.81) | 3.66 (3.16–4.18) | 0.074 |
| CDAI | 12.0 (7.8–16.4) | 14.5 (10.5–18.5) | 0.086 | 14.0 (11.3–17) | 13.5 (10–18) | 0.90 |
| Total GS score | 14.0 (7.5–19.3) | 11.0 (9–18) | 0.76 | 9.0 (7–17) | 14.0 (9–19) | 0.29 |
| Total PD score | 6.5 (4–10.5) | 9.0 (5–10) | 0.31 | 6.0 (5–11) | 8.0 (4–10) | 0.37 |
Values indicate the median (interquartile range). DAS: disease activity score, US: ultrasound, Rem: remission, Non-rem: non-remission, RF: rheumatoid factor, ACPA: anti citrullinated peptide antibody, CRP: C-reactive protein, ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate, MMP-3: matrix metalloproteinase 3, CDAI: clinical disease activity index, GS: gray scale, PD: power Doppler.P-values were estimated using Fisher’s exact test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
*P <0.05
**P <0.001.