Table 2.
Baseline patient characteristics of the clinically suspect arthralgia patients with complete clinical follow-up (N = 152) and complete clinical follow-up as well as MRI data at baseline at 2-year follow-up (N = 98)
| Patient characteristics | Complete clinical follow-up (N = 152) | Complete clinical follow-up and MRI data (N = 98) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symptom resolution (n = 57) | No symptom resolution (n = 95) | Symptom resolution (n = 32) | No symptom resolution (n = 66) | |
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 44 (13) | 46 (13) | 46 (14) | 47 (13) |
| Female sex, N (%) | 40 (70) | 79 (82) | 20 (63) | 53 (80) |
| Family history of RA, N (%) | 17 (30) | 26 (27) | 10 (31) | 18 (27) |
| Symptom duration in weeks*, median (IQR) | 17 (9–30) | 17 (9–41) | 18 (15–32) | 17 (9–50) |
| Morning stiffness ≥ 60 min, N (%) | 22 (39) | 27 (28) | 10 (31) | 19 (29) |
| 68-TJC*, median (IQR) | 5 (2–8) | 6 (2–12) | 4 (2–7) | 6 (2–13) |
| ≥ 4 tender joints, N (%) | 33 (58) | 61 (64) | 18 (56) | 43 (65) |
| Increased CRP (≥ 5 mg/L), N (%) | 12 (21) | 17 (18) | 9 (28) | 10 (15) |
| Autoantibody status | ||||
| Negative for IgM-RF and ACPA, N (%) | 43 (75) | 71 (75) | 25 (78) | 54 (82) |
| ACPA- or RF-positive, N (%) | 9 (16) | 18 (19) | 7 (22) | 12 (18) |
| ACPA-positive, N (%) | 5 (9) | 6 (6) | 3 (9) | 4 (6) |
ACPA anti-citrullinated peptide antibody (positive if ≥ 7 U/mL), CRP C-reactive protein, IgM-RF immunoglobulin M rheumatoid factor (positive if ≥ 3.5 IU/mL), IQR interquartile range, RA rheumatoid arthritis, SD standard deviation, TJC tender joint count, VAS visual analogue scale
*Missing data were as follows: symptom duration in weeks (n = 4) and 68-TJC (n = 1)