Table 1

Patients' drugs and disease activity at baseline, one year, and two years

	Baseline (n=42)	1 Year (n=42)	2 Years (n=40)
Drugs
NSAID^1-150 (No (%))	38 (90)	25 (60)	24 (60)
DMARD^1-150 (No (%))	21 (50)	30 (71)	29^1-151 (73)
Sulfasalazine (1–3 g/day)	18	16	13
Methotrexate (7.5–17.5 mg/week)	1	10	13
Hydroxychloroquine (400 mg/day)	2	3	7
Penicillamine (375 mg/day)		1	1
Azathioprine (100 mg/day)			1
Prednisone (1–10 mg/day) (No (%))	5 (12)	10 (24)	8 (20)
Disease activity (median (range))
Ritchie index	13.5 (0–37)	5.5 (0–25)	6 (0–26)
Swollen joint count	14.5 (0–38)	2 (0–21)	2 (0–18)
Pain score	3.3 (0.7–9.3)	2.3 (0–7.4)	2.2 (0–6.5)
HAQ^1-150 score	0.6 (0–1.8)	0.1 (2–4)	0.2 (0–1.5)
DAS^1-150	4.2 (1.3–7.6)	1.3 (0.3–2.8)	2.4 (0.9–4.4)
ESR^1-150 (mm/1st h)	29 (10–131)	16 (1–113)	19 (3–113)
CRP^1-150 (mg/l)	18 (0–150)	5 (0–147)	9 (0–86)

↵1-150 NSAID = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; DMARD = disease modifying antirheumatic drug; HAQ = Health Assessment Questionnaire; DAS = disease activity score; ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP = C reactive protein.
↵1-151 Combination DMARD treatment in five patients.