Table 1 Baseline demographic, clinical, laboratory and ultrasonographic characteristics of patients according to therapeutic arm
| Â | Methotrexate alone | Methotrexate + prednisone | Pvalue |
|---|---|---|---|
n | 110 | 110 | Â |
Age (years) | 62 (51.5 to 72) | 57 (45 to 67) | 0.06 |
Sex (female/male) | 69/23 | 71/28 | 0.60 |
Symptoms duration (months) | 3.48 (2.57 to 5.70) | 2.97 (1.93 to 5.10) | 0.08 |
DAS28 | 5.2 (4.4 to 5.9) | 5 (4.2 to 5.9) | 0.78 |
VAS score for pain | 51 (46.5 to 79) | 55 (40 to 79) | 0.64 |
VAS score for PGA | 60 (48 to 75) | 60 (47 to 80) | 0.61 |
VAS score for general health status | 60 (50 to 72) | 56 (50 to 75) | 0.92 |
Swollen joints among 28 joints | 8 (4 to 12) | 9 (5 to 14) | 0.23 |
Tender joints among 28 joints | 8.5 (3.5 to 13) | 6 (3 to 12) | 0.06 |
Health Assessment Questionnaire | 1 (0.6 to 1.6) | 1.1 (0.6 to 1.6) | 0.62 |
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (mm/hour) | 23.5 (12 to 39) | 28 (16 to 48) | 0.09 |
C-reactive protein (mg/dl) | 0.7 (0.3 to 1.9) | 1.2 (0.3 to 2.7) | 0.11 |
US grey scale score | 8 (3 to 11) | 8 (4 to 12) | 0.49 |
US power Doppler positive | 57 (51) | 65 (59) | 0.27 |
US power Doppler score | 1 (0 to 6) | 2 (0 to 7) | 0.39 |