Table 1.
Clinical and demographic characteristics of the study subjects.
| Experiment / comparison |
(A) Body fluid (synovial fluid vs plasma) |
(B) Patient subgroup (oligo vs extended oligo vs poly) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient subgroup | Oligo | Extended oligo | Poly | Total | Oligo | Extended oligo | Poly | Total |
| Number | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 22 |
| Age (years) | 7.2 ± 0.56 | 7.1 ± 4.75 | 6.1 ± 2.78 | 6.7 ± 2.83 | 7.8 ± 4.15 | 6.0 ± 3.69 | 5.1 ± 2.31 | 6.6 ± 3.60 |
| Male / female (n) | 2/1 | 0/3 | 1/3 | 3/7 | 5/5 | 0/5 | 1/6 | 6/16 |
| Duration of JIA (weeks) | 9.6 ± 7.43 | 12.0 ± 9.00 | 5.6 ± 2.70 | 8.7 ± 6.38 | 7.0 ± 6.50 | 11.8 ± 7.6 | 8.7 ± 6.06 | 8.7 ± 6.57 |
| No. Of swollen joints (n) | 1.3 ± 0.58 | 3.7 ± 0.58 | 4.5 ± 0.58 | 3.3 ± 1.49 | 1.7 ± 0.82 | 4.0 ± 0.71 | 4.0 ± 1.63 | 3.0 ± 1.59 |
| Serum CRP (mg/l) | 8.1 ± 2.76 | 6.3 ± 1.84 | 17.8 ± 16.79 | 11.5 ± 11.27 | 7.5 ± 1.60 | 7.1 ± 2.11 | 13.6 ± 13.14 | 9.4 ± 7.75 |
| ESR (mm/h) | 10.0 ± 10.39 | 7.3 ± 3.06 | 60.3 ± 32.27 | 29.3 ± 32.92 | 10.7 ± 7.15 | 9.8 ± 4.02 | 50.3 ± 31.63 | 23.1 ± 25.93 |
| NSAID (yes/no) | 3/0 | 2/1 | 3/1 | 8/2 | 8/2 | 4/1 | 6/11 | 8/4 |
| DMARD (yes/no) | 0/3 | 0/3 | 0/4 | 0/10 | 0/10 | 2/3 | 0/7 | 2/20 |
| Biologic (yes/no) | 0/3 | 0/3 | 1/3 | 1/9 | 0/10 | 0/5 | 1/6 | 1/21 |
Values are the mean ± standard deviation or the number of subjects. Subgroups descriptors: Oligo = oligoarticular 4 joints or less involved at diagnosis; Poly = polyarticular, 5 joints or more involved at diagnosis; Extended Oligo = patients who become polyarticular 6 months after diagnosis. CRP = C-reactive protein; ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate. All study patients were rheumatoid factor negative.