Table 1 Patients characteristics at baseline
Variable | Non-switchers (n = 69) | Switchers (n = 48) | P |
|---|---|---|---|
Male gender | 61/69 (88.4%) | 38/48 (79.2%) | 0.199 |
Age, years | 37.3 ± 13.2 | 38.3 ± 11.2 | 0.665 |
HLA-B27 positivity | 38/46 (82.6%) | 34/40 (85.0%) | 1.000 |
Smoking | 17/45 (37.8%) | 13/36 (36.1%) | 1.000 |
Disease duration, years | 11.4 (6.2, 17.7) | 9.2 (5.7, 19.2) | 0.840 |
Peripheral involvement | 45/69 (65.2%) | 37/48 (77.1%) | 0.218 |
Pure axial involvement | 24/69 (34.8%) | 11/48 (22.9%) | 0.218 |
BASDAI | 5.2 ± 2.0 | 5.5 ± 2.1 | 0.482 |
BASFI | 5.2 ± 2.5 | 5.9 ± 2.4 | 0.199 |
BASMI | 3.9 ± 2.8 | 4.5 ± 2.7 | 0.290 |
ASQoL | 10.4 ± 5.5 | 12.7 ± 4.7 | 0.058 |
CRP, mg/l | 21.6 (12.8, 38.0) | 20.6 (12.6, 40.0) | 0.397 |
ESR, mm/hr | 20.5 (11.0, 34.5) | 25.0 (13.1, 48.5) | 0.268 |
ASDAS – CRP | 3.8 ± 0.9 | 3.9 ± 1.0 | 0.714 |
ASDAS – ESR | 3.3 ± 0.9 | 3.6 ± 1.0 | 0.175 |
Concomitant use of: | |||
 NSAID | 50/69 (72.4%) | 41/48 (85.4%) | 0.117 |
 DMARD | 62/69 (88.9%) | 35/48 (72.9%) | 0.023* |
 SSZ only | 26/69 (37.7%) | 9/48 (18.8%) | 0.039* |
 MTX only | 13/69 (18.8%) | 8/48 (16.7%) | 0.811 |
 Cyclosporine | 1/69 (1.4%) | 1/48 (2.1%) | 1.000 |
 Leflunomide | 7/69 (10.1%) | 8/48 (16.7%) | 0.400 |
 Prednisone | 23/69 (33.3%) | 15/48 (31.2%) | 0.844 |