Table 5.

Predictors of early inflammatory arthritis.

Variable	OR	95% CI	p
1. Duration less than 12 mos	6.16	3.21–11.84	< 0.001
2. Patient-reported joint swelling	3.80	1.70–8.54	0.001
3. Referring physician classifies diagnosis as inflammatory	2.48	1.10–5.61	0.0293
4. Referring physician reported referral as urgent	2.21	1.23–3.96	0.008
5. Positive RF	1.88	1.01–3.48	0.046
6. Morning stiffness > 60 min	1.79	1.02–3.14	0.044
7. Patient > 60 yrs of age^*	0.25	0.07–0.93	0.038
8. Patient previously assessed by a rheumatologist^*	0.24	0.10–0.55	0.001

↵* Protective, less likelihood of early inflammatory arthritis. RF: rheumatoid factor.