Baseline mean level or percentage of participants randomised to placebo or prednisone
| Variable | Placebo(N = 16) | Prednisone(N = 15) |
| Demographic variables | ||
| Age (years) | 50.1 | 53.3 |
| Female (%) | 62.5% | 66.7% |
| Education (years) | 13.5 | 15.1 |
| Disease variables | ||
| Disease duration (years) | 4.4 | 8.1 |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (<28 mm/h) | 18.9 | 14.6 |
| C-reactive protein (0–10) | 8.0 | 6.3 |
| Questionnaire variables | ||
| Physical function score (0–10) | 1.02 | 1.36 |
| Pain VAS score (0–10) | 1.64 | 1.68 |
| Global VAS score (0–10) | 1.41 | 1.83 |
| RAPID3 score (0–30) | 4.07 | 4.87 |
| Fatigue VAS score (0–10) | 1.85 | 2.16 |
| Morning stiffness (minutes) | 38.8 | 21.7 |
| Medication variables | ||
| Methotrexate | 93.8% | 93.3% |
| Hydroxychloroquine | 31.3% | 33.3% |
| Leflunomide | 0% | 13.3% |
| Etanercept | 6.3% | 13.3% |
| Adalimumab | 6.3% | 0% |
No differences between groups were statistically significant (p<0.05)
RAPID3, routine assessment of patient index data 3; VAS, visual analogue scale.