Baseline patient characteristics of analysed patient groups
| Patients treated with RTX | Control group | RA (SF analysis*) | OA (SF analysis) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||||
| No. of patients | 50 | 14 | 67 | 24 |
| Female, no. (%) | 36 (72) | 7 (50) | 49 (73) | 15 (63) |
| Age, median (range), years | 58 (22–84) | 45 (23–73) | 61 (26–80)† | 62 (44–83) |
| Disease status | ||||
| D(sease duration, median (range), years | 12 (1–50) | 19 (2–55)† | 5 (2–34) | |
| ESR, mean (±SD) mm/h | 43.7 (±27.0) | 50.8 (±40.7)† | NA | |
| CRP, mean (±SD) mg/litre | 35.2 (±30.2) | 47.8 (±65.3)† | NA | |
| DAS28, mean (±SD) | 6.5 (±1.1) | NA | NA | |
| RF+ (%) | 41 (82) | 41 (61) | – | |
| IgM-RF, mean (±SD) IU/ml | 205.1 (±310.6) | NA | NA | |
| IgG-ACPA, mean (±SD) IU/ml | 1172 (±2268) | NA | NA | |
| Medications | ||||
| Number of previous DMARDs, median (range) | 5 (2–10) | NA | ||
| Number of previous biological agents, median (range) | 2 (0–4) | NA | ||
| Biologicals (aTNF n=9, Anak n=1, RTX n=5) | 9 (13) | |||
| Methotrexate, n (%) | 41 (82) | 29 (43) | ||
| Methotrexate dosage, median (range) mg/week | 15 (5–30) | NA | ||
| Other DMARDs (HChl n=6, Sul n=2, Lef n=6, Aur n=1) | 17 (20) | |||
| No DMARDs | 9 (10) | |||
| Corticosteroids, n (%) | 34 (68) | 23 (34) | ||
| Prednisone dosage, median (range) mg/day | 10 (5–15) | NA | ||
↵* Average (±SD) age, disease duration, ESR and CRP of these 12 patients were 57.2 (9.4), 16.2 (15.9), 29.8 (24.6) and 17.8 (8.8), respectively.
↵† Paired samples of synovial fluid and serum were analysed from 12 patients.
ACPA, anti-citrullinated protein antibody; aTNF, anti-TNF; Anak, anakinra; Aur, auromyose; CRP, C reactive protein; DAS28, disease activity score based on 28 joints; DMARDs, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HChl, hydroxychloroquine; Lef, leflunomide; NA, not available; OA, osteoarthritis; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; RF, rheumatoid factor; RTX, rituximab; Sal, salazosporine; Sul, sulfasalazine; TNF, tumour necrosis factor.