Table 1.
Comparison between the patient groups
| RA | Non-rheumatoid control group | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number (F:M) | 51 (44:7) | 50 (35:15) | 0.057 |
| Age (mean years +/−SD) | 45.3 (± 14.9) | 42 (± 12.34) | 0.85 |
| Symptom duration, (mean years +/−SD) | 5.28 ± 3.67 | 5.32 ± 4.21 | 0.62 |
|
Patients on steroids at the time of the scan Includes IM/IV within 3 months |
7 (13.7) | 1 (2.0) | 0.24 |
| Patients on DMARDs at the time of the scan n (%) | 34 (66.7) | 8 (16.0) | < 0.0001 |
| Patients on biologic treatment at the time of the scan n (%) | 3 (5.8) | 2 (4.0) | 0.238 |
| CRP (mean ± SD) | 3.75 (± 4.99) | 4.37 (± 6.25) | 0.32 |
| ESR (mean ± SD) | 14.56 (± 17.6) | 13.3 (± 16.5) | 0.58 |
| Hand SJC (median, IQR) | 0 (0–5) | 3 (0–13) | 0.18 |
| Hand TJC (median, IQR) | 3 (0–28) | 3 (0–28) | 0.31 |
| % patients with hand symptoms | 100 | 100 | N/A |
| Feet SJC (median, IQR) | 1 (0–5) | 2 (0–10) | 0.19 |
| Feet TJC (median, IQR) | 3 (2–5) | 3 (1–10) | 0.67 |
| % patients with feet symptoms | 100 | 100 | N/A |
| Pain VAS mean +/− SD | 51.8 | 49.8 | 0.4 |
| Rheumatoid factor (%) | 37 (72.5) | 8 (16) | 0.0002 |
| ACPA (%) | 32 (62.7) | 4 (8) | 0.0002 |
P < 0.05 was considered significant
ACPA, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies; CRP, C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; IQR, inter-quartile range; SD, standard deviation; SJC, swollen joint count; TJC, tender joint count; VAS, visual analogue scale