Table 2.
Study population for B-cell phenotyping.
| Healthy control | AAV remission | AAV active | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of individuals: n (female/male) | 31 (17/14) | 34 (19/15) | 28 (11/17) | 0.361 |
| Age: median years (range) | 60 (26–85) | 69 (22–87) | 65 (29–93) | 0.085 |
| ANCA at diagnosis: PR3/MPO | na | 25/9 | 17/11 | 0.413 |
| GPA/MPA | na | 25/9 | 19/9 | 0.779 |
| Disease onset/relapse | na | na | 19/9 | – |
| ORGAN INVOLVEMENT: | ||||
| ENT, n (%) [ever/sample] | na | 23 (68) [23/na] | 14 (50) [14/14] | 0.198 |
| Lungs, n (%) [ever/sample] | na | 14 (41) [14/na] | 14 (50) [14/9] | 0.610 |
| Kidneyes, n (%) [ever/sample] | na | 19 (56) [19/na] | 21 (75) [21/16] | 0.182 |
| Nervous system, n (%) [ever/sample] | na | 10 (29) [10/na] | 10 (36) [10/6] | 0.785 |
| TREATMENT AT TIME OF SAMPLING: | ||||
| Prednisolone, n (%) | na | 22 (65) | 14 (50) | 0.345 |
| Prednisolone, median mg/day (range) | na | 2.5 (0–13) | 1.3 (0–30) | 0.979 |
| Azathioprine, n (%) | na | 8 (24) | 1 (3.6) | 0.033 |
| Methotrexate, n (%) | na | 10 (29) | 3 (11) | 0.116 |
| Mycophenolate mofetil n (%) | na | 4 (12) | 1 (3.6) | 0.366 |
| No immunosuppressive therapy, n (%) | na | 3 (9) | 14 (50) | 0.0004 |
| PRIOR TREATMENT: | ||||
| Cyclophosphamide: n (%) | na | 30 (88) | 7 (25) | < 0.0001 |
| Rituximab: n (%) | na | 11 (32) | 5 (18) | 0.250 |
| Time since rituximab at sampling in treated patients: median months (range) | na | 26 (7–86) | 18 (11–94) | 0.935 |
| Neither cyclophosphamide or rituximab: n (%) | na | 2 (6) | 20 (71) | < 0.0001 |
| BVAS: median (range) | na | 0 | 14 (2–26) | – |
AAV, ANCA-associated vasculitis; PR3, proteinase 3; MPO, myeloperoxidase; GPA, granulomatous with polyangiitis; MPA, microscopic polyangiitis; ENT, ear, nose and throat; BVAS, Birmingham vasculitis activity score; na, not applicable.
Fisher's exact test or the Chi-squared test were used to compare discrete variables and Mann-Whitney U test or the Kruskal-wallis test followed by Dunn's multiple comparison test were used to compare continuous variables between the groups.
Significance assumed at p < 0.05.