The relationship between clinical measures of remission, imaging detected synovitis and function and quality of life outcomes
| Swollen joints | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | No (n=88) | Yes (n=40) | Test result, p value |
| Disease duration | 96 (60–168) | 84 (60–120) | U=1497.0, p=0.175 |
| TJC28 | 0 (0–0) | 0 (0–1) | U=1524.0, p=0.070 |
| CRP | 0.0 (0.0–5.9) | 0.0 (0.0–3.8) | U=1480.5, p=0.094 |
| HAQ | 0.38 (0.00–1.13) | 0.13 (0.00–0.72) | U=1439.0, p=0.093 |
| RAQoL | 4.0 (1.0–10.0) | 1.0 (0.0–4.0) | U=1378.0, p=0.047 |
| Total GS score | 3.0 (1.0–6.8) | 4.5 (2.3–7.0) | U=1384.0, p=0.052 |
| Total PD score | 0.0 (0.0–2.0) | 1.0 (0.0–3.8) | U=1295.5, p=0.010 |
| GS=0 and PD=0: n (%) | 18 (20.5) | 4 (10.0) | χ2=2.11, p=0.146 |
| GS≤1 and PD≤1: n (%) | 54 (61.4) | 18 (45.0) | χ2=2.99, p=0.084 |
| PD=0: n (%) | 50 (56.8) | 13 (32.5) | χ2=6.51, p=0.011 |
| PD≤1: n (%) | 73 (83.0) | 28 (70.0) | χ2=2.77, p=0.096 |
| Max PD n (%):0 | 50 (56.8) | 13 (32.5) | L×L χ2=5.41, p=0.020 |
| 1 | 23 (26.1) | 15 (37.5) | |
| 2 | 12 (13.9) | 10 (25.0) | |
| 3 | 3 (3.4) | 2 (5.0) | |
| Joints PD n (%): 0 | 544/616 (88.3) | 221/280 (78.9) | NA |
| 1 | 50/616 (8.1) | 43/280 (15.4) | |
| 2 | 19/616 (3.1) | 14/280 (5.0) | |
| 3 | 3/616 (0.5) | 2/280 (0.7) | |
| Tender joints | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | No (n=105) | Yes (n=23) | Test result, p value |
| Disease duration | 96 (60–162) | 120 (72–156) | U=1108.0, p=0.563 |
| SJC28 | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | U=1028.5, p=0.175 |
| CRP | 0.0 (0.0–5.8) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | U=926.0, p=0.042 |
| HAQ | 0.25 (0.00–1.00) | 0.63 (0.13–1.38) | U=917.0, p=0.066 |
| RAQoL | 2.0 (0.0–7.0) | 6.0 (3.0–14.0) | U=737.5, p=0.003 |
| Total GS score | 3.0 (1.0–6.5) | 3.0 (1.0–11.0) | U=1205.5, p=0.990 |
| Total PD score | 0.0 (0.0–2.0) | 1.0 (0.0–2.0) | U=1128.0, p=0.597 |
| GS=0 and PD=0: n (%) | 18 (17.1) | 4 (17.4) | χ2=0.00, p=0.977 |
| GS≤1 and PD≤1: n (%) | 59 (56.2) | 13 (56.5) | χ2=0.00, p=0.977 |
| PD=0: n (%) | 53 (50.5) | 10 (43.5) | χ2=0.37, p=0.543 |
| PD≤1: n (%) | 85 (81.0) | 16 (89.6) | χ2=1.47, p=0.225 |
| Max PD n (%):0 | 53 (50.5) | 10 (43.5) | L×L χ2=0.46, p=0.499 |
| 1 | 32 (30.5) | 6 (26.1) | |
| 2 | 15 (14.3) | 7 (30.4) | |
| 3 | 5 (4.8) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Joints PD n (%): 0 | 631/735 (85.9) | 134/161 (83.2) | NA |
| 1 | 76/735 (10.3) | 17/161 (10.6) | |
| 2 | 23/735 (3.1) | 10/161 (6.2) | |
| 3 | 5/735 (0.7) | 0/161 (0.0) | |
| CRP | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | <5 (n=82) | >=5 (n=46) | Test result, p value |
| Disease duration | 96 (72–168) | 84 (48–138) | U=1626.0, p=0.195 |
| SJC28 | 0.0 (0.0–1.0) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | U=1623.5, p=0.112 |
| TJC28 | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | U=1587.0, p=0.026 |
| HAQ | 0.38 (0.00–1.12) | 0.13 (0.00–1.00) | U=1644.0, p=0.221 |
| RAQoL | 3.0 (0.8–8.0) | 3.0 (0.0–10.0) | U=1818.0, p=0.733 |
| Total GS score | 4.0 (2.0–7.0) | 3.0 (0.8–6.0) | U=1588.5, p=0.137 |
| Total PD score | 1.0 (0.0–2.0) | 0.0 (0.0–1.3) | U=1640.0, p=0.190 |
| GS=0 and PD=0: n (%) | 11 (13.4) | 11 (23.9) | χ2=2.28, p=0.131 |
| GS≤1 and PD≤1: n (%) | 39 (47.6) | 33 (71.7) | χ2=7.00, p=0.008 |
| PD=0: n (%) | 37 (45.1) | 26 (56.5) | χ2=1.53, p=0.216 |
| PD≤1: n (%) | 60 (73.2) | 41 (89.1) | χ2=4.51, p=0.034 |
| Max PD n (%):0 | 37 (45.1) | 26 (56.5) | L×L χ2=4.55, p=0.208 |
| 1 | 23 (28.0) | 15 (32.6) | |
| 2 | 18 (22.0) | 4 (8.7) | |
| 3 | 4 (4.9) | 1 (2.2) | |
| Joints PD n (%): 0 | 484/574 (84.3) | 281/322 (87.3) | NA |
| 1 | 63/574 (11.0) | 30/322 (9.3) | |
| 2 | 23/574 (4.0) | 10/322 (3.1) | |
| 3 | 4/574 (0.7) | 1/322 (0.3) | |
Values are median (first–third quartile) unless otherwise indicated.
ACR rem, American College of Rheumatology remission; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS28, disease activity score using the 28 joint count; GS, grey scale synovitis; HAQ, health assessment questionnaire score; L×L, linear by linear test of association; Max PD, maximum PD score observed in any joint; PD, power Doppler signal; RAQoL, rheumatoid arthritis quality of life score; SDAI, simplified disease activity score; SJC, swollen joint count; TJC, tender joint count; U, Mann–Whitney U test.