Summary of the outcomes according to the three different referral centres therapeutic approaches
| EAC 1 | EAC 2 | EAC 3 | p Value 1 vs 2 | p Value 1 vs 3 | p Value 2 vs 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, female | 78.8% | 68.6% | 74.5% | 0.02 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| Age, years | 53.8±13.5 | 54.2±8.8 | 57.3±14.8 | 0.8 | 0.01 | 0.003 |
| Disease duration (months) | 5.8±3.4 | 7.7±2.5 | 5.5±7.0 | <0.001 | 0.001 | <0.001 |
| VERA (≤12 weeks) | 32.6% | 1% | 49.6% | <0.001 | 0.01 | <0.001 |
| RF, % positive | 67.8% | 35.7% | 51.2% | <0.001 | 0.002 | 0.01 |
| Anti-CCP, % positive | 68.6% | 26.7% | 38.2% | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.1 |
| DAS28 T0 | 5.4±1.3 | 5.8±0.7 | 5.0±1.1 | <0.001 | 0.008 | <0.001 |
| DAS28 T12 | 2.8±1.3 | 4.0±1.3 | 3.0±1.1 | <0.001 | 0.03 | <0.001 |
| HAQ T0 | 1.2±0.7 | 1.1±0.4 | 1.2±0.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| HAQ T12 | 0.4±0.5 | 0.7±0.4 | 0.4±0.6 | <0.001 | 0.6 | <0.001 |
| DMARD only T12 (% of patients) | 78.5% | 58.6% | 98.6% | 0.006 | <0.01 | <0.001 |
| Anti-TNF therapy T12 (% of patients) | 31.5% | 41.4% | 1.4% | 0.14 | <0.001 | <0.001 |
| DAS28 remission T12 (% of patients) | 49% | 19.5% | 36.6% | <0.001 | 0.09 | 0.006 |
| ACR remission T12 (% of patients) | 20.6% | 13.3% | 8.5% | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.4 |
It can be seen that the approach was substantially different in the three early arthritis clinics.
ACR, American College of Rheumatology; CCP, cyclic citrullinated protein; DAS28, disease activity score in 28 joints; DMARD, disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; EAC, early arthritis clinic; HAQ, health assessment questionnaire; RF, rheumatoid factor; TNF, tumour necrosis factor; T0, baseline; T12, 12-month follow-up; VERA, very early rheumatoid arthritis.