Page 160 - THE EVOLUTION OF EARLY ARTHRITIS AND CARDIOVASCULAR RISK Samina A. Turk

CHAPTER 8
<0.05 were considered significant.
RESULTS
Of the 65 patients that completed the 26-week visit in January 2016, 47 patients completed the normality scale at baseline and after 13 weeks of treatment, 44 patients after 26 weeks of treatment. The demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients are depicted in Table 1. At baseline, the mean normality score was 20 ± 7, mean DAS28 was 4.5 ± 1.1, median PtGA was 58 (38;75), median AssGA was 49 (34;58), median patient pain was 60 (35;75), and the median HAQ was 0 (0;0.5).
Table 1. Patient characteristics at baseline (n=47)
Characteristics
Baseline
Females (%)
34 (72)
Age
50 ± 14
DAS28
4.5 ± 1.1
- Tender joint count (44 joints, Ritchie Articular Index)
7 [4;12]
- Swollen joint count (44 joints)
6 [4;13]
- Patient global assessment (0-100)
58 [38;75]
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (mm/hr)
20 [8;53]
- C-reactive protein (mg/L)
10 [4;33]
Assessor global assessment (0-100)
49 [34;58]
Patient pain (0-100)
60 [35;75]
Health Assessment Questionnaire (0-3)
0 [0;0.5]
Normality score (7-35)
20 ± 7
Remission:
- Patient self-reported remission (%)
6 (13)
- Boolean remission (%)
0 (0)
Values are reported as mean ± SD, median [IQR] or frequency (%)
From baseline, the normality score increased significantly to 23 ± 8 in week 13 (p=0.001) and 24 ± 8 in week 26 (p<0.001). Correspondingly, DAS28 decreased significantly to 2.5 ± 1.0 in week 13 (p<0.001) and 2.2 ± 0.7 in week 26 (p<0.001), PtGA to 12 (2;49) (p<0.001) and 15 (3;35) (p<0.001), AssGA to 20 (5;30) (p<0.001) and 16 (6;24) (p<0.001), patient pain to 10 (1;40) (p<0.001) and 10 (2;33) (p<0.001), and HAQ to 0 (0;0.3) (p=0.003) and 0 (0;0.1) (p=0.01), respectively. The number of patients with a normality score of at least 30 increased from 6 (13%) at baseline to 17 (36%) at week 26, with 4 (9%) scoring the maximum of 35.
Remission was self-reported by 6, 30 and 31 patients at baseline and after 13 and 26 weeks of therapy respectively; 3 patients were in self-reported remission at all three
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