Baseline demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, and changes in treatment over time for each of the four treatment groups
| Variable and range of values | HCQ (n = 169) | im Gold (n = 163) | MTX (n = 166) | Pyramid (n = 64) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Values are means (SD) for continuous variables and n (%) for categorical variables. | ||||
| DMARD, disease modifying antirheumatic drug; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HAQ, health assessment questionnaire; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; im, intramuscular; MTX, methotrexate; NA, not applicable; VAS, visual analogue scale. | ||||
| Age (years) | 57 (14) | 55 (15) | 56 (14) | 56 (14) |
| Sex (n (%) female) | 120 (71%) | 112 (69%) | 114 (69%) | 46 (72%) |
| Morning stiffness (min) (0 to 720) | 122 (158) | 97 (96) | 120 (145) | 90 (137) |
| VAS general wellbeing (mm) (0 to 100 = worst score) | 50 (27) | 51 (25) | 50 (25) | 49 (27) |
| VAS pain (0 to 100 = worst score) | 48 (28) | 46 (28) | 46 (27) | 42 (27) |
| Joint score (Thompson) (0 to 534 = worst score) | 144 (107) | 148 (102) | 152 (105) | 130 (106) |
| ESR (mm/h) (1 to 140) | 40 (27) | 42 (27) | 43 (30) | 38 (28) |
| Rheumatoid factor (n (%) of patients testing positive) | 114 (68%) | 98 (61%) | 111 (68%) | 38 (60%) |
| Functional disability (HAQ) (0 to 3 = worst score) | 1.4 (0.7) | 1.3 (0.8) | 1.2 (0.7) | 1.3 (0.7) |
| Radiological damage (Sharp/van der Heijde) (0 to 448) | 5 (8) | 4 (5) | 5 (9) | 4 (7) |
| Replacement of initial DMARD: | ||||
| Second defined DMARD in protocol (n (%)) | 50 (30%) | 42 (26%) | 27 (16%) | NA |
| DMARD other than defined in protocol (n (%)) | 56 (33%) | 39 (24%) | 37 (22%) | 52 (81%) |
| No DMARD (n (%)) | 23 (14%) | 51 (31%) | 38 (23%) | NA |
| Continuation of the first DMARD (n (%)) | 40 (24%) | 31 (19%) | 64 (39%) | 12 (19%) |
| Time until start of: | ||||
| Second DMARD (months) | 12 (6) | 11 (4) | 17 (12) | NA |
| DMARD other than defined in protocol (months) | 22 (18) | 25 (16) | 30 (24) | 14 (13) |
| No DMARD (months) | 23 (14) | 19 (14) | 25 (18) | NA |
| Duration of initial DMARD use (months) | 55 (26) | 48 (21) | 55 (25) | 21 (22) |
| Percentage of follow up time during which patients use the initially allocated DMARD | 49 (36) | 45 (34) | 63 (37) | 36 (35) |