Disease activity, treatment response, and disease improvement among patients included during the first year of follow up*
| Entry | 3 Months | 6 Months | 12 Months | 24 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values are n (%). | |||||
| *At 24 months’ follow up, 172 (21%) had ceased the treatment. | |||||
| †Treatment response defined by the EULAR criteria, in relation to disease activity score at entry. At 24 months’ follow up information on treatment response was missing for 131 of 648 patients. | |||||
| ‡Disease activity score (DAS 28). Inactive disease, DAS 28 value <2.6; low, 2.6 to 3.2; intermediate, >3.2 to 5.1; high, >5.1. At 24 months’ follow up, disease activity was missing for 178 of 648 patients. | |||||
| Treatment response† | |||||
| No response | – | 150 (19.1%) | 123 (17.6%) | 90 (14.7%) | 75 (14.5%) |
| Moderate response | – | 443 (56.4%) | 361 (51.7%) | 308 (50.2%) | 243 (47.0%) |
| Good response | – | 192 (24.5%) | 215 (30.8%) | 215 (35.1%) | 199 (38.5%) |
| Disease activity score‡ | |||||
| Inactive disease | 6 (0.8%) | 115 (16.5%) | 119 (19.2%) | 133 (23.9%) | 125 (26.6%) |
| Low activity | 6 (0.8%) | 68 (9.8%) | 81 (13.0%) | 69 (12.4%) | 63 (13.4%) |
| Intermediate activity | 151 (19.8%) | 376 (54.0%) | 317 (51.0%) | 279 (50.2%) | 219 (46.6%) |
| High activity | 601 (78.7%) | 137 (19.7%) | 104 (16.7%) | 75 (13.5%) | 63 (13.4%) |