Baseline patient characteristics
| Characteristic | Group A | Group B | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infliximab + placebo (n = 176) | Infliximab + betamethasone (n = 179) | ||
| Women (%) | 71 | 80 | 0.05 |
| Mean age (years) | 52.3 | 53.2 | 0.47 |
| Mean weight (kg) | 65.5 | 68.3 | 0.08 |
| Mean number of swollen joints | 10.6 | 10.7 | 0.89 |
| Mean number of tender joints | 14.5 | 14.8 | 0.68 |
| Mean morning stiffness (min) | 116.5 | 118.9 | 0.81 |
| Mean ESR (mm/1st h) | 34.0 | 35.4 | 0.60 |
| Mean CRP (mg/l) | 35.4 | 30.5 | 0.17 |
| Mean disease duration (years) | 10.9 | 11.4 | 0.58 |
| Patients with surgical interventions (%) | 43.2 | 49.7 | 0.22 |
| Mean number of interventions | 3.2 | 2.9 | |
| Mean number of DMARDs for RA | 3.9 | 3.9 | 0.86 |
| Associated drugs (%) | |||
| Methotrexate | 81.2 | 85 | 0.36 |
| Azathioprine | 2.3 | 1.6 | |
| Leflunomide | 16.5 | 13.4 | |
| Oral corticosteroids | 84.7 | 77.1 | 0.07 |
| Presence of one atopy (%) | 23.9 | 22.9 | 0.83 |
| Eczema (%) | 10.8 | 14 | 0.40 |
| Hay fever (%) | 11.4 | 8.9 | 0.45 |
| Rhinitis or allergic rhinitis or conjunctivitis (%) | 2.3 | 4.5 | 0.25 |
| Food allergy (%) | 3.4 | 5.0 | 0.45 |
| Confirmed asthma (%) | 6.3 | 4.5 | 0.46 |