Baseline characteristics of patients in each treatment group
| Intravenous steroid (n=57) | IFX (n=55) | |
|---|---|---|
| Site: | ||
| Leeds | n=45 | n=44 |
| Huddersfield | n=3 | n=3 |
| Harrogate | n=6 | n=5 |
| Bradford | n=3 | n=3 |
| Age (years): | ||
| mean (SD), range | 52.9 (12.8), 19 to 77 | 53.7 (13.0), 28 to 78 |
| Female: | ||
| n (%) | 41 (71.9) | 36 (65.5) |
| Disease duration (months): | ||
| median (IQR) | 1.2 (0.7, 2.1) | 1.2 (0.7, 1.7) |
| Symptom duration (months): | ||
| median (IQR) | 6.9 (4.8, 9.8) | 7.2 (5.1, 10.7) |
| ESR: | ||
| median (IQR) | 47 (21, 80) (n=56) | 35 (19, 52) (n=54) |
| CRP (mg/L): | ||
| median (IQR) | 18 (10, 51) | 16 (7, 61) |
| DAS44: | ||
| mean (SD) | 3.56 (0.98) | 4.05 (1.04) |
| RF positive: | ||
| n (%) | 34/56 (60.7) | 27 (49.1) |
| ACPA positive: | ||
| n (%) | 39/52 (75.0) | 32/50 (64.0) |
| HAQ-DI: | ||
| mean (SD) | 1.339 (0.539) (n=56) | 1.426 (0.527) (n=55) |
| RAQoL: | ||
| mean (SD) | 15.9 (4.7) (n=56) | 17.9 (5.3) (n=53) |
| ERO: | ||
| mean (SD) | 3.51 (8.73) (n=50) | 1.36 (2.91) (n=43) |
| median (IQR) | 0.50 (0.00, 3.50) | 0.00 (0.00, 1.50) |
| JSN: | ||
| mean (SD) | 5.72 (9.93) (n=50) | 4.69 (8.38) (n=43) |
| median (IQR) | 2.00 (0.50, 7.00) | 2.00 (0.00, 7.50) |
| mTSS: | ||
| mean (SD) | 9.23 (18.31) (n=50) | 6.05 (10.83) (n=43) |
| median (IQR) | 2.50 (1.00, 10.00) | 3.00 (0.50, 9.50) |
*Not adjusted for site because for at least 1 site the outcome was the same for all patients therefore OR could not be calculated.
ACPA, anti-citrullinated protein antibody; CRP, C-reactive protein; DAS44CRP, 3-variable disease activity score based on CRP, RAI and SJC44; ERO, erosion; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; HAQ-DI, Rasch-transformed health assessment questionnaire disability index score; IFX, infliximab + methotrexate; intravenous steroid, intravenous methylprednisolone/placebo + methotrexate; JSN, joint space narrowing; mTSS, van der Heijde modified total Sharpe score; RAQoL, Rasch-transformed rheumatoid arthritis quality of life score; RF, rheumatoid factor.