Clinical outcomes at the 18-month follow-up visit of 38 patients with reactive arthritis regarding time from symptom onset to the start of TNF inhibitor therapy.
| Outcome | N* | < 12 Mos | N | > 12 Mos | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total N | 8 | 30 | |||
| CRP | 6 | 2.5 (2.3; 3.0) | 16 | 6.8 (1.0; 7.0) | 0.97 |
| SJC 28-joint | 6 | 0.3 (0.0; 0.0) | 16 | 0.5 (0.0; 0.0) | 0.87 |
| TJC 28-joint | 6 | 0.5 (0.0; 0.8) | 16 | 1.1 (0.0; 0.5) | 1.00 |
| Patient VAS pain | 6 | 22 (4.8; 33) | 17 | 23 (7.0; 45) | 0.89 |
| Patient VAS fatigue | 6 | 41 (15; 64) | 17 | 24 (4.0; 46) | 0.18 |
| DAS28-CRP | 6 | 2.1 (1.5; 2.3) | 16 | 2.2 (1.3; 2.8) | 0.66 |
| CDAI | 5 | 2.6 (1.0; 4.0) | 15 | 5.2 (1.2; 6.2) | 0.66 |
| HAQ | 6 | 0.25 (0.00; 0.09) | 17 | 0.38 (0.00; 0.75) | 0.72 |
| Responders**, defined by: | |||||
| VAS, SJC, TJC | 5 | 4 responders (80%) | 16 | 11 responders (69%) | |
| DAS28-CRP | 5 | 4 responders (80%) | 15 | 13 responders (87%) |
↵* N denotes number of patients with data available for each variable. Data presented as means (25%; 75% quartiles).
↵** Responders defined as having 30% or more reduction in VAS pain, SJC, and TJC, or a DAS28-CRP score decrease by 1 or more disease activity categories. The Kruskal-Wallis test did not find a significant difference for the variables. CRP: C-reactive protein; CDAI: Clinical Disease Activity Index; DAS28: 28-joint count Disease Activity Score; HAQ: Health Assessment Questionnaire; SJC: swollen joint count; TJC: tender joint count; TNF: tumor necrosis factor; VAS: visual analog scale.