Fig. 3
Responsiveness of axillary LN ultrasonographic characteristics. a Variation of the subject-related cumulative indices for lymph node power Doppler (LNPD index), volume (LNV index), and cortical width (LNCW index) in patients with RA at earlier (4 weeks) and later (24 weeks) time points after institution of treatment with anti-TNF. Median values (circles) and 25th–75th percentiles (error bars) are presented for each time point. In patients with baseline LN indices above the threshold of healthy controls (HC) (horizontal dotted lines) significant reductions were observed after 24 weeks but not 4 weeks. *p <0.05, **p <0.01; Friedman test and post-hoc analysis for pairwise comparisons (LNPD index, n = 10; LNV index, n = 7; LNCW index, n = 8). b, c Scatter diagrams and regression lines showing the relationship between variations (Δ) from baseline of the LN indices (LNPD, LNV, LNCW) and the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28) at 4 weeks b and 24 weeks c. Each dot represents one patient (n = 30 with complete assessments at baseline, week 4, and week 24). Positive values on the axes of the graphs indicate reduction of the parameters (positive Δ). R2 linear regression’s coefficient of determination, LNCW lymph node cortical width, LNV lymph node volume, TNF tumor necrosis factor