Does treatment strategy influence the ability to achieve and sustain DMARD-free remission in patients with RA? Results of an observational study comparing an intensified DAS-steered treatment strategy with treat to target in routine care

Table 1 Baseline characteristics

	RA patients receiving intensified treatment (n = 155)	RA patients receiving routine care (n = 124)	p value
Age, mean (SD)	53 (14)	61 (15)	< 0.001
Female gender, n (%)	106 (68)	80 (65)	0.50
Symptom duration < 12 weeks, n (%)	60 (39)	47 (38)	0.81
66-SJC, median (IQR)	6 (3–11)	7 (3–11)	0.79
68-TJC, median (IQR)	12 (7–20)	12 (6–19)	0.32
ESR, median (IQR)	25 (11–41)	31 (14–46)	0.25
DAS44, median (IQR)	3.1 (2.6–3.8)	3.0 (2.5–3.7)	0.30
ACPA-positive, n (%)*	92 (59)	50 (40)	0.003
RF-positive, n (%)*	101 (65)	60 (48)	0.005

Table depicting baseline characteristics of all patients included in the present study. Missings were as follows: ACPA (2), TJC (9), SJC (8), ESR (1), DAS44 (11). *ACPA-positive if ≥ 7 U/mL and IgM rheumatoid factor (RF)-positive if ≥ 3.5 IU/mL. RA rheumatoid arthritis, SD standard deviation, SJC swollen joint count, TJC tender joint count, IQR interquartile range, ESR erythrocyte sedimentation rate, ACPA anticitrullinated protein antibody, RF rheumatoid factor

ISSN: 1478-6362