Comparison of clinical characteristics between patients who considered phone consultation useful and those who did not
| Overall population N=220 | Patients who considered phone consultation to be useful n=116 | Patients who did not consider phone consultation to be useful n=104 | P value | |
| Gender (female) | 159/218 (72.9%) | 86/115 (74.8%) | 73/103 (70.9%) | 0.517 |
| Age | 46.6 (13.6) | 44.9 (14.3) | 48.4 (12.6) | 0.059 |
| SpA or PsA | 110/220 (50.0%) | 53/116 (45.7%) | 57/104 (54.8%) | 0.177 |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 47/220 (21.4%) | 23/116 (19.8%) | 24/104 (23.1%) | 0.557 |
| Autoimmune diseases | 30/220 (13.6%) | 18/116 (15.5%) | 12/104 (11.5%) | 0.280 |
| Osteoarthritis or osteoporosis | 11/220 (5.0%) | 8/116 (6.9%) | 3/104 (2.9%) | 0.173 |
| Fibromyalgia | 14/220 (6.4%) | 8/116 (6.9%) | 6/104 (5.8%) | 0.732 |
| Other diagnosis | 8/220 (3.6%) | 6/116 (3.6%) | 2/104 (1.9%) | 0.392 |
| NSAID use | 130/220 (59.1%) | 67/116 (57.8%) | 63/104 (60.6%) | 0.671 |
| csDMARD use | 83/220 (37.6%) | 48/116 (41.4%) | 35/104 (33.7%) | 0.238 |
| bDMARD use | 95/220 (43.2%) | 47/116 (40.5%) | 48/104 (46.2%) | 0.399 |
| VAS peripheral pain | 51.6 (29.7) | 48.6 (30.5) | 54.9 (28.6) | 0.116 |
| VAS axial pain | 57.9 (31.8) | 52.4 (32.8) | 63.7 (29.8) | 0.011 |
| VAS peripheral stiffness | 51.5 (29.5) | 47.2 (29.4) | 56.1 (29.0) | 0.032 |
| VAS axial stiffness | 54.7 (31.9) | 47.6 (32.7) | 62.1 (29.5) | 0.001 |
| VAS fatigue | 57.1 (29.9) | 54.5 (29.2) | 59.8 (30.5) | 0.208 |
| VAS anxiety | 50.4 (30.1) | 46.9 (30.5) | 54.3 (29.4) | 0.098 |
| VAS depression | 49.4 (31.4) | 46.5 (31.8) | 52.5 (30.8) | 0.194 |
Univariate comparisons using chi-square or T-test.
Results are reperesented as mean and standard deviation (continous variables) or as absolute frequency and percentage (qualitative variables).
bDMARD, biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; csDMARD, conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug; NSAID, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; PsA, psoriatic arthritis; SpA, spondyloarthritis; VAS, visual analogue scale (0–100 scale).