Table 2.
Baseline characteristics compared between patients with and without identified brain lesions.
| Variable | No Brain Lesions | Brain Lesions | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Patients | 19 | 68 | N/A |
| Demographics | |||
| Age | 44.7 (15.4) | 48.1 (13.2) | 0.35 |
| Female sex | 4 (21%) | 43 (63%) | 0.001 * |
| ARD patients | 5 (26%) | 52 (76%) | <0.001 * |
| Cardiac functional indices | |||
| LVEDV (mL) | 134.0 (116.0, 201.0) | 135.5 (104.0, 160.0) | 0.32 |
| LVESV (mL) | 50.0 (43.0, 60.0) | 50.0 (36.5, 63.5) | 0.55 |
| LVEF (%) | 63.0 (56.0, 69.0) | 62.0 (60.0, 67.5) | 0.96 |
| RVEDV (mL) | 121.0 (108.0, 151.0) | 122.5 (98.0, 150.0) | 0.6 |
| RVESV (mL) | 45.0 (32.0, 60.0) | 44.0 (35.0, 58.0) | 0.95 |
| RVEF (%) | 62.0 (58.0, 67.0) | 63.0 (60.0, 66.0) | 0.82 |
| Tissue characterization indices | |||
| T2 signal ratio | 2.1 (1.7, 2.2) | 2.0 (1.8, 2.3) | 0.75 |
| EGE (%) | 2.8 (1.6, 4.4) | 2.5 (1.6, 3.0) | 0.36 |
| LGE (%) | 5.0 (0.0, 6.0) | 4.0 (0.0, 5.0) | 0.1 |
| Native T1-mapping (ms) | 1034.0 (1020.0, 1058.0) | 1041.0 (1000.5, 1084.5) | 0.86 |
| Post-contrast T1-mapping (ms) | 420.0 (380.0, 436.0) | 387.0 (352.5, 415.5) | 0.052 |
| ECV (%) | 26.0 (25.0, 29.0) | 29.0 (27.0, 32.0) | 0.002 * |
| T2-Mapping (ms) | 53.4 (5.8) | 54.6 (7.8) | 0.53 |
| Local cut-off points for CMR indices | |||
| LGE > 0% | 14 (74%) | 40 (59%) | 0.24 |
| EGE ≥ 4 | 5 (26%) | 12 (18%) | 0.4 |
| T2 ratio ≥ 2 | 13 (68%) | 38 (56%) | 0.33 |
| T2-mapping > 55 ms | 3 (16%) | 27 (40%) | 0.052 |
| Native T1-mapping > 1050 ms | 7 (37%) | 28 (41%) | 0.73 |
| ECV ≥ 29% | 5 (26%) | 35 (51%) | 0.052 |
| Post-contrast T1-mapping < 350 ms | 4 (21%) | 15 (22%) | 0.93 |
| LVEF < 55% | 3 (16%) | 10 (15%) | 0.91 |
ARD autoimmune rheumatic disease; LV-/RV left/right ventricular; EDV/ESV end-diastolic/-systolic volume; EF ejection fraction; EGE/LGE early/late gadolinium enhancement; ECV extracellular volume fraction; CMR cardiovascular magnetic resonance. * p ≤ 0.05.