Table 4.
Baseline characteristics of our control cohort; p values were obtained using ANOVA (+), the Kruskal–Wallis test (*) or Fisher’s exact test (#).
| TRF | IFN | GLAT | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patients, n | 33 | 41 | 48 | n/a |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 28.8 (5.1) | 27.2 (5.3) | 26.3 (5.2) | 0.111+ |
| Male patients, n (%) | 14 (42.4) | 14 (34.1) | 13 (27.1) | 0.343# |
| Previous relapses, n (%) | 0.919# | |||
| 0 | 19 (57.6) | 25 (61.0) | 30 (62.5) | |
| 1 | 14 (42.4) | 16 (39.0) | 18 (37.5) | |
| Duration since first demyelinating event, months, median (IQR) | 8 (6–11) | 7 (4–9) | 9 (7–11) | 0.332* |
| Affected function system, n (%) | 0.585# | |||
| Pyramidal | 20 (60.6) | 20 (48.8) | 21 (43.8) | |
| Sensory | 5 (15.2) | 11 (26.8) | 17 (35.4) | |
| Cerebellar | 5 (15.2) | 5 (12.2) | 6 (12.5) | |
| Brainstem | 3 (9) | 5 (12.2) | 4 (8.3) | |
| EDSS at relapse peak, median (IQR) | 2.5 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 0.798* |
| Number of MRI T2 lesions at baseline, median (IQR) | 7 (5–9) | 7 (5–9) | 7 (5–9) | 0.754* |
| Number of contrast-enhancing lesions at baseline, n (%) | 0.917# | |||
| 0 | 10 (30.3) | 9 (22.0) | 13 (27.1) | |
| 1 | 13 (39.4) | 22 (53.7) | 21 (43.8) | |
| 2 | 7 (21.2) | 8 (19.5) | 11 (22.9) | |
| 3 | 3 (9.1) | 2 (4.9) | 3 (6.3) | |
| Time to initiation of IVMPS since relapse onset, days, mean (SD) | 4.4 (2.3) | 4.8 (2.6) | 4.7 (2.5) | 0.779+ |
| Time to initiation of DMT from discharge, days, mean (SD) | 32.1 (4.9) | 30.2 (3.6) | 30.8 (4.2) | 0.156+ |
| Patients with confirmed improvement of disability at month 12, n (%) | 14 (42.4) | 15 (37.5) | 18 (36.6) | 0.892# |
ANOVA, analysis of variance; DMT, disease-modifying treatment; EDSS, expanded disability status scale; GLAT, glatiramer acetate; IFN, interferon-beta; IQR, interquartile range; IVMPS, intravenous methyl prednisolone; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; SD, standard deviation; TRF, teriflunomide.