Total Cohort, N = 62 | RTX, n = 28 | CYC, n = 34 | P | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Demographics | ||||
Age | 54 (45–63) | 54 (44–63) | 54 (45–60) | 0.85 |
Sex (M/F) | 14/48 | 7/21 | 7/27 | 0.77 |
Disease duration before RTX or CYC, mos | 38.5 (10.7–71.3) | 46.7 (13.7–80.1) | 30.2 (2–53.3) | 0.12 |
Previous lines of treatment | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) | 1 (0–2) | 0.004 |
Previous treatments, % | CS (96); AZA (57); IVIG (36); MTX (39); MMF (46); CSA (7); anti–TNF-α (7); CYC (43) | CTC (100); AZA (32); IVIG (9); MTX (24); MMF (24); SSZ (6); anti–TNF-α (3); RTX (3) | ||
Clinical features, % | ||||
Myalgia | 82 | 86 | 79 | 0.68 |
Muscle weakness | 71 | 75 | 68 | 0.63 |
Arthralgia/arthritis | 76 | 86 | 68 | 0.23 |
Cutaneous involvement | 55 | 57 | 53 | 0.78 |
Heart involvement | 10 | 7 | 12 | 0.76 |
Fever | 61 | 64 | 59 | 0.72 |
Cough | 87 | 82 | 91 | 0.55 |
MMT8 | 78 (71–80) | 78 (59–80) | 77 (53–80) | 0.43 |
Immunological features, % | ||||
Jo1 | 69 | 82 | 59 | 0.12 |
PL7 | 18 | 14 | 21 | 0.59 |
PL12 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 0.68 |
Ro52 | 53 | 54 | 53 | 0.97 |
Laboratory features | ||||
Hb | 12.4 (11.2–13.3) | 12 (11–12.8) | 12.6 (11.6–13.3) | 0.45 |
CK | 722 (188–1683) | 735 (210–1491) | 766 (340–2032) | 0.85 |
Albumin (n = 31) | 34 (31–38) | 35 (33–38) | 33 (31–36) | 0.49 |
CRP | 13 (3–35) | 11 (0–30) | 13 (8–36) | 0.19 |
Values are median (IQR) unless otherwise specified. AZA: azathioprine; CK: creatine kinase; CRP: C-reactive protein; CS: corticosteroids; CYC: cyclophosphamide; CSA: cyclosporine; Hb: hemoglobin; IVIG: intravenous immunoglobulin; MMF: mycophenolate mofetil; MMT8: Manual Muscle Testing of Eight Muscles; MTX: methotrexate; PH: pulmonary hypertension; RTX: rituximab; SSZ: sulfasalazine; TNF-α: anti–tumor necrosis factor-α.