| Non-responders (n = 42) | 30% Responders (n = 24) | 50% Responders (n = 26) | 70% Responders (n = 33) | p Value | |
| Male/female (%) | 14 (33.3)/28 (66.7) | 5 (20.8)/19 (79.2) | 8 (30.8)/18 (69.2) | 10 (30.3)/23 (69.7) | 0.76 |
| ILAR category*, n (%): | |||||
| Systemic arthritis | 16 (38.1) | 5 (20.8) | 3 (11.5) | 5 (15.1) | 0.02† |
| Polyarthritis‡ | 15 (37.5) | 8 (33.3) | 14 (53.9) | 9 (27.3) | |
| Extended oligoarthritis | 11 (26.2) | 11 (45.9) | 9 (34.6) | 19 (57.6) | |
| Age at disease onset, years | 3.5 (2.1; 6.5) | 3.5 (1.7; 7.6) | 2.1 (1.4; 4.1) | 3.0 (1.7; 5.4) | 0.12 |
| Disease duration, years | 1.2 (0.5; 2.4) | 2.0 (0.9; 3.8) | 1.4 (0.6; 4.8) | 1.2 (0.5; 3.0) | 0.19 |
| Initial methotrexate dose, mg/m2 | 10.3 (10.0; 11.0) | 10.0 (9.0; 11.1) | 10.2 (10.0; 12.0) | 10.0 (10.0; 10.8) | 0.65 |
| Physician global assessment§ | 7.5 (6.0; 10.0) | 7.5 (7.0; 8.4) | 7.5 (7.0; 10.0) | 8.2 (7.0; 10.0) | 0.61 |
| Parent global assessment§ | 3.5 (2.2; 5.0) | 3.1 (3.0; 4.0) | 3.3 (2.0; 5.0) | 5.0 (3.3; 7.3) | 0.15 |
| C-HAQ score¶ | 0.73 (0.12; 1.50) | 0.25 (0.00; 0.62) | 0.81 (0.56; 1.19) | 0.75 (0.50; 1.25) | 0.02† |
| Active joint count | 7.0 (5.0; 14.0) | 10.0 (6.0; 22.5) | 7.5 (6.0; 15.0) | 7.0 (6.0; 12.0) | 0.32 |
| Restricted joint count | 4.0 (1.0; 8.0) | 4.5 (1.0; 10.5) | 5.0 (3.0; 7.0) | 6.0 (4.0; 8.0) | 0.59 |
| ESR, mm/h** | 52.0 (26.5; 70.5) | 40.0 (28.0; 73.0) | 32.0 (16.5; 55.0) | 50.0 (44.0; 70.0) | 0.10 |
| Poznanski score, units†† | –0.78 (–1.14;–0.36), n = 23 | –1.39 (–1.96;–0.13), n = 17 | –1.02 (–1.82; 0.04), n = 16 | –0.93 (–3.06;–0.14), n = 19 | 0.67 |
Values are medians (interquartile range) unless otherwise indicated.
*For purposes of the analysis, patients with ILAR categories of psoriatic arthritis (n = 4) and undifferentiated arthritis (n = 8) were classified within polyarthritis and extended oligoarthritis categories based on the number of joints affected in first 6 months of disease. † All post-hoc comparisons were statistically not significant. ‡Three rheumatoid factor-positive. §Range 0 (best) to 10 (worst). ¶Range 0 (best) to 3 (worst). **Normal<15 mm/h. ††Abnormal<–2 units.
C-HAQ, Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; ILAR, International League for Associations of Rheumatology; MTX, methotrexate.