Table 3.
Comparison of Characteristics between ABT Users and Non-ABT Users.
| Characteristics | RA treated with ABT (n=12) |
RA treated with non-ABT (n=37) |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at bDMARDs initiation, years | 66.83±11.21 | 63.22±11.20 | 1.000 |
| Gender Male/Female,n | 3/9 | 8/29 | 1.000 |
| Disease duration at bDMARDs initiation, years | 9.82±9.74 | 9.33±6.78 | 0.875 |
| Past or current smoker, n (%) | 4/12 (33.3%) | 10/28 (35.7%) | 1.000 |
| Patients with respiratory symptoms, n (%) | 3 (25.0%) | 6 (16.2%) | 0.383 |
| CRP (mg/dL) | 2.38±4.14 | 2.56±2.98 | 1.000 |
| RF positive, n (%) | 9/11 (81.8%) | 27/34 (79.4%) | 0.619 |
| RF level among positive patients (U/mL) | 243.78±224.14 | 356.15±503.95 | 0.674 |
| Anti-CCP antibody positive, n (%) | 9/12 (75.0%) | 18/23 (81.5%) | 0.571 |
| Anti-CCP antibody titer among positive patients (U/mL) | 201.03±172.60 | 204.69±147.27 | 0.752 |
| Anti-SS-A antibody positive, n (%) | 3/10 (33.3%) | 11/31 (35.5%) | 0.535 |
| Patients with Sjögren’s syndrome, n (%) | 2/10 (20.0%) | 2/31 (6.5%) | 0.245 |
| Concomitant PSL at baseline, n (%) | 9 (75.0%) | 32 (86.5%) | 0.300 |
| PSL dose among users (mg/day) | 14.22±16.50 | 8.64±5.53 | 0.346 |
| Concomitant PSL at following CT, n (%) | 11 (91.7%) | 32 (86.5%) | 0.540 |
| PSL dose among users (mg/day) | 7.46±6.51 | 6.11±4.09 | 0.767 |
| Concomitant MTX, n (%) | 3 (25.0%) | 12 (32.4%) | 0.460 |
| MTX dose among users (mg/week) | 9.33±2.31 | 7.00±1.93 | 0.764 |
| Concomitant other csDMARDs, n (%) | 10 (83.3%) | 25 (67.6%) | 0.253 |
| The number of csDMARDs among users | 1.80±0.98 | 1.08±0.67 | 0.348 |
| Interval of following CTs (weeks) | 59.32±63.92 | 72.93±75.24 | 0.453 |
| Pre-existing respiratory abnormalities, n (%) | |||
| ILD | 5 (41.7%) | 12 (32.4%) | 0.401 |
| GGO | 2 (16.7%) | 7 (18.9%) | 0.617 |
| Honeycombing | 2 (16.7%) | 4 (10.8%) | 0.460 |
| Reticular shadow | 2 (16.7%) | 3 (8.1%) | 0.356 |
| AD | 2 (16.7%) | 8 (21.6%) | 0.534 |
| AD and ILD | 1 (8.3%) | 5 (13.5%) | 0.540 |
| Other | 1 (8.3%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.245 |
| No abnormality | 3 (25.0%) | 12 (32.4%) | 0.460 |
Data were tested with Fisher’s exact test (for categorical variables) and Mann-Whitney U test (for continuous variables). Plus-minus values are means±S.D. bDMARDs: biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, CRP: C reactive protein, RF: rheumatoid factor, ACPA: anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody, PSL: prednisolone, MTX: methotrexate, csDMARDs: conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, TNFi: tumor necrosis factor inhibitor, ABT: abatacept, TCZ: tocilizumab, ILD: interstitial lung disease, GGO: ground glass opacity, AD: airway disease, S.D.: standard deviations