RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 High sensitivity C-reactive protein as a disease activity marker in rheumatoid arthritis.
JF The Journal of Rheumatology
JO J Rheumatol
FD The Journal of Rheumatology
SP 1095
OP 1097
VO 31
IS 6
A1 Patrick H Dessein
A1 Barry I Joffe
A1 Anne E Stanwix
YR 2004
UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/31/6/1095.abstract
AB OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the potential contribution of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) testing in the assessment of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We recorded clinical and psychological variables, the hs-CRP, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in 146 consecutive patients with RA. We analyzed the associations between the ESR and hs-CRP versus the other recorded variables. RESULTS: The median (interquartile range) ESR (mm/h) and hs-CRP (mg/l) were 15 (7-36) and 5 (2.3-13.9), respectively. Thirty-two (22%) patients had an hs-CRP < 2 mg/l, 61 (42%) an hs-CRP of 2-8 mg/l and 53 (36%) an hs-CRP > 8 mg/l. In patients with an hs-CRP of 2-8 mg/l, the swollen joint counts and the physician disease activity scales were higher, and remission rates were lower than in patients with an hs-CRP of < 2 mg/l. The hs-CRP was consistently more closely associated with disease activity, depression, and helplessness than was the ESR. CONCLUSION: High sensitivity CRP testing reveals systemic inflammation that is generally not detectable with routine CRP assays and that is associated with disease activity in RA.