Fig. 7

Comparison of marker levels among antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and infectious diseases. The serum levels of each marker were compared among patients with active AAV (n = 169), patients with active RA (n = 30), patients with active SLE (n = 21), and patients with infectious diseases (n = 25). The 25 patients with bacterial infections had bacterial pneumonia (n = 15), urinary infection (n = 4), acute cholecystitis (n = 5), and enterocolitis (n = 1). Each dot represents one patient. Box plots show median and IQR. Whiskers indicate most extreme points within 1.5 times the IQR of the box. p Values were determined by analysis of covariance adjusted for age and sex. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001. CRP C-reactive protein, LRG1 Leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein 1, MMP9 Matrix metalloproteinase 9, TIMP1 Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1, TKT Transketolase, TNC Tenascin C