Clinical and laboratory data in 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis on admission (day 1) and after four doses of prednisolone given at 2.00 am (day 5). Values are mean (SEM)
| Day 1 | Day 5 | Δ 1-159 | |
| Age (years) | 62 (4) | ||
| Disease duration (years) | 10 (3) | ||
| Morning stiffness (min) | 242 (38) | 53 (27) | −189 (25)¶ |
| Pain at rest (VAS) | 4.0 (0.7) | 1.5 (0.4) | −2.5 (0.5)‡ |
| Lansbury index | 130 (23) | 33 (7) | −97 (21)¶ |
| Ritchie index | 21 (3) | 10 (2) | −11 (2) ¶ |
| IL-6 (pg litre-1) | 50 (12) | 10 (2) | −40 (10)† |
| CRP (mg litre-1) | 34 (8) | 16 (3) | −18 (5) † |
| SAA (mg litre-1) | 562 (184) | 223 (63) | −339 (170) NS |
| ESR (mm/h) | 47 (9) | 36 (5) | −11 (6) NS |
| Haptoglobin (g litre-1) | 2.8 (0.3) | 2.7 (0.3) | −0.1 (0.05) NS |
| Haemoglobin (g litre-1) | 115 (5) | 118 (5) | +3.0 (1.1) † |
| WBC × 109 | 6.9 (0.4) | 7.1 (0.4) | +0.2 (0.3) NS |
| Polymorphonuclear WBC | 4.7 (0.3) | 5.3 (0.3) | +0.6 (0.3) NS |
| Mononuclear WBC | 2.2 (0.2) | 1.8 (0.1) | −0.4 (0.1)‡ |
| Platelet count × 109 | 308 (19) | 336 (24) | +28 (8)* |
VAS, visual analogue score; IL-6, interleukin-6; CRP, C reactive protein; SAA, serum amyloid protein A; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; WBC, white blood cell count Paired ttest: ¶P << 0.001; ‡P < 0.001; †P < 0.01; *P < 0.05;
↵1-159 Differences in values between days 1 and 5