Table 1.
Characteristics of patients included within the analysis.
| Demographic | RA remission (BioRRA) (n = 66) |
Active RA (NEAC) (n = 146) |
Seronegative non-inflammatory arthralgia (NEAC) (n = 82) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | p | Value | p | ||
| Female: n (%) | 38 (58) | 87 (60) | 0.88 | 68 (95) | <0.01 |
| Age: median (IQR) [range] | 66 (56–71) [35–82] | 59 (53–70) [17–88] | 0.07 | 39 (32–50) [20–80] | <0.01 |
| Years since symptom onset: median (IQR) [range] | 6 (4–12) [1–40] | 0 (0–0) [0–1] | <0.01 | 0.5 (0–1) [0–4] | <0.01 |
| RhF positive: n (%) | 40 (61) | 87 (56) | 1.00 | n/a | |
| ACPA positive: n (%) | 38 (58) | 81 (55) | 0.88 | n/a | |
| RhF or ACPA positive: n (%) | 47 (71) | 97 (66) | 0.53 | n/a | |
| RhF and ACPA positive: n (%) | 31 (47) | 71 (49) | 0.88 | n/a | |
| Total SGS score: median (IQR) [range] | 5 (3–6) [1–10] | 5 (2–7) [0–14] | 0.85 | 1 (0–2) [0–9] | <0.01 |
| Total SPD score: median (IQR) [range] | 0 (0–1) [0–7] | 3 (1–5) [0–12] | <0.01 | 0 (0–0) [0–4] | 0.07 |
| Total TGS score: median (IQR) [range] | 0 (0–1) [0–3] | nr | nr | ||
| Total TPD score: median (IQR) [range] | 0 (0–0) [0–5] | nr | nr | ||
| Number of joints with erosion: median (IQR) [range] | 1 (0–2) [0–5] | 0 (0–0) [0–1] | <0.01 | 0 (0–0) [0–0] | <0.01 |
| Swollen (28) joint count: median (IQR) [range] | 0 (0–0) [0–2] | 2 (1–6) [0–24] | <0.01 | 0 (0–0) [0–4] | 0.75 |
| Tender (28) joint count: median (IQR) [range] | 0 (0–0) [0–2] | 6 (3–10) [0–26] | <0.01 | 5 (3–9) [0–24] | <0.01 |
| Patient VAS (mm): median (IQR) [range] | 5 (1–13) [0–35] | 51 (31–75) [0–100] | <0.01 | 60 (40–75) [8–100] | <0.01 |
| CRP in mg/L: median (IQR) [range] | 0 (0–0) [0–13] | 12 (5–28) [0–203] | <0.01 | 0 (0–8) [0–156] | <0.01 |
| ESR in mm/hr: median (IQR) [range] | 9 (5–17) [1–77]* | 27 (13–42) [1–122] | <0.01 | 9 (5–22) [2–73] | 0.57 |
| DAS28-CRP: median (IQR) [range] | 1.09 (0.99–1.59) [0.96–2.34] | 4.34 (3.51–5.29) [2.50–7.51] | <0.01 | n/a | |
| ACR/EULAR Boolean remission: n (%) | 40 (61) | 0 (0) | n/a | n/a | |
| Total DMARDs since diagnosis: median [range] | 2 [1–4] | 0 [0–0] | <0.01 | n/a | |
| Current methotrexate use: n (%) | 55 [83%] | n/a | n/a | ||
P values are presented for comparison with RA remission group (continuous/ordinal data: Mann–Whitney U test; categorical data: Fisher’s exact text).
One patient had an elevated ESR of 77 at baseline due to hypergammaglobulinaemia from secondary Sjögren’s syndrome.
ACPA, anti-citrullinated peptide antibody; ACR, American College of Rheumatology; BioRRA, Biomarkers of Remission in Rheumatoid Arthritis study; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28-CRP, disease activity score in 28 joints with C-reactive protein; DMARD, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; EULAR, European League Against Rheumatism; IQR, interquartile range; n/a, not applicable; NEAC, Newcastle Early Arthritis Clinic; nr, not recorded; RhF, rheumatoid factor; SGS, synovial greyscale; SPD, synovial power Doppler; TGS, tenosynovial greyscale; TPD, tenosynovial power Doppler; VAS, visual analogue score.