Patients’ characteristics and LTBI screening results. Data are number (%) for categorical variables and median (interquartile range) for continuous variables.
| Characteristics | All Patients, n = 563 | RA, n = 293 | SpA, n = 270 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | 321 (57.0) | 224 (76.4) | 97 (35.9) |
| Age, yrs | 51.0 (39.0–59.0) | 56.0 (48.0–64.0) | 42.0 (33.2–52.0) |
| Disease duration, yrs | 8.0 (3.0–16.0) | 8.0 (4.0–15.0) | 8.0 (3.0–16.0) |
| Disease activity (DAS28/BASDAI) | NA | 5.0 (4.2–5.9) | 5.7 (4.4–6.9) |
| CRP (mg/dl) | 10.4 (4.0–24.7) | 12.9 (4.9–25.5) | 8.8 (3.3–23.0) |
| Immunosuppressive treatment | |||
| Previous biologics | 94 (16.7) | 71 (24.2) | 23 (8.5) |
| DMARD | 277 (49.2) | 210 (71.7) | 67 (24.8) |
| Corticosteroids | 254 (45.1) | 212 (72.3) | 42 (15.6) |
| Dosage (mg/day) | 10.0 (7.5–15.0) | 10.0 (7.5–15.0) | 10.0 (7.5–15.0) |
| NSAID | 255 (45.4) | 87 (29.7) | 168 (62.2) |
| BCG vaccination | 439 (78.0) | 201 (68.6) | 238 (88.1) |
| CRF of LTBI | 64 (11.4) | 38 (13.0) | 26 (9.6) |
| History of active TB | 13 (2.3) | 7 (2.4) | 6 (2.2) |
| History of TB contact | 41 (7.3) | 23 (7.8) | 18 (6.7) |
| Abnormal chest radiograph | 26 (4.6) | 20 (6.8) | 6 (2.2) |
| Birth in endemic zone of TB | 52 (9.2) | 27 (9.2) | 25 (9.3) |
| Tuberculin skin test | |||
| Not read | 49 (8.7) | 29 (9.9) | 20 (7.4) |
| < 5 mm | 318 (56.5) | 180 (61.4) | 138 (51.1) |
| ≥ 5 mm | 196 (34.8) | 84 (28.7) | 112 (41.5) |
| T-SPOT.TB test | |||
| Indeterminate | 88 (15.6) | 44 (15.0) | 44 (16.3) |
| Negative | 353 (62.7) | 185 (63.1) | 168 (62.2) |
| Positive | 122 (21.7) | 64 (21.9) | 58 (21.5) |
RA: rheumatoid arthritis; SpA: spondyloarthritis; DAS28: 28-joint Disease Activity Score; BASDAI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; CRP: C-reactive protein; DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug; NSAID: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug; BCG: bacillus Calmette-Guerin; TB: tuberculosis; LTBI: latent TB infection; NA: not applicable; CRF: conventional risk factors.