Clinical and laboratory data in 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis on admission (day 1) and after four doses of prednisolone given at 7.30 am (day 5). Values are mean (SEM)
| Day 1 | Day 5 | Δ 2-159 | |
| Age (years) | 64 (5) | ||
| Disease duration (years) | 12 (4) | ||
| Morning stiffness (min) | 307 (103) | 260 (104) | −47 (19)* |
| Pain at rest (VAS) | 3.5 (0.6) | 3.4 (0.7) | −0.1 (0.4) NS |
| Lansbury index | 101 (19) | 87 (13) | −14 (15) NS |
| Ritchie index | 16 (2) | 14 (2) | −2 (1) NS |
| IL-6 (pg litre-1) | 45 (13) | 28 (8) | −17 (7)* |
| CRP (mg litre-1) | 31 (5) | 14 (1) | −17 (4)† |
| SAA (mg litre-1) | 350 (119) | 225 (79) | −125 (85) NS |
| ESR (mm/h) | 40 (5) | 31 (4) | −9 (2)‡ |
| Haptoglogin (g litre-1) | 2.4 (0.3) | 2.3 (0.3) | −0.1 (0.1) NS |
| Haemoglobin (g litre-1) | 123 (3) | 123 (3) | −0.2 (0.8) NS |
| WBC × 109 | 7.0 (0.6) | 7.7 (0.5) | +0.7 (0.2) NS |
| Polymorphonuclear WBC | 4.6 (0.4) | 4.6 (0.4) | +0.0 NS |
| Mononuclear WBC | 2.4 (0.2) | 3.1 (0.3) | +0.7 (0.1)‡ |
| Platelet count × 109 | 256 (14) | 276 (15) | +20 (6)† |
For key to abbreviations, see table1 Paired ttest: ‡P < 0.001; †P < 0.01; *P < 0.05;
↵2-159 Differences in values between days 1 and 5.