Table 1.
Characteristics of the patients in the early RA and TNFi‐IR cohortsa
| Early RA (n = 165) | TNFi‐IR (n = 164) | P b | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 53.2 ± 15.3 | 54.6 ± 13.3 | NS |
| Sex, % female | 66.1 | 79.9 | 0.005 |
| Disease duration, years | 0.5 ± 0.6 | 12.8 ± 10.8 | <0.001 |
| DAS28 | 5.7 ± 1.4 | 5.63 ± 1.27 | NS |
| Tender joint count | 11.6 ± 7.6 | 11.85 ± 7.8 | NS |
| Swollen joint count | 7.5 ± 5.6 | 6.92 ± 5.10 | NS |
| Global health score (100‐mm VAS) | 61.5 ± 26.9 | 66.33 ± 24.99 | NS |
| ESR, mm/hour | 37.8 ± 28.4 | 34.47 ± 25.95 | NS |
| CRP, mg/liter | 17.6 ± 27.1 | 21.13 ± 27.97 | 0.01 |
| ACPA positive, %c | 64.2 | 75.3 | 0.03 |
| RF positive, % | 65.5 | 71.4 | NS |
| No. of conventional synthetic DMARDs received, % | NA | ||
| 0 | 100 | 2.4 | |
| 1 | 0 | 67.7 | |
| 2 | 0 | 21.3 | |
| 3 | 0 | 8.4 | |
| Receiving steroids at the time of biopsy, % | 0 | 42.2 | NA |
| Joint biopsied, % | NS | ||
| Wrist | 64.8 | 60.4 | |
| Knee | 18.2 | 23.8 | |
| MCP | 13.9 | 11 | |
| Other | 3.1 | 4.8 | |
| Joint size, % | NS | ||
| Large | 25.2 | 27.4 | |
| Small | 74.8 | 72.6 | |
| Synovial sampling technique, % | NA | ||
| US‐guided | 100 | 86 | |
| Arthroscopy | 0 | 14 |
a
Except where indicated otherwise, values are the mean ± SD. RA = rheumatoid arthritis; TNFi‐IR = inadequate response to tumor necrosis factor inhibitors; NS = not significant; DAS28 = Disease Activity Score in 28 joints; VAS = visual analog scale; ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP = C‐reactive protein; RF = rheumatoid factor; DMARDs = disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs; NA = not applicable; MCP = metacarpophalangeal; US = ultrasound.
b
By chi‐square test or Mann‐Whitney test.
c
Anti–citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) were measured using a clinically available standard pathology laboratory anti–cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody 2 assay.