Table 1.
Characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the two treatment groups
| Treatment | ||
| Patients | Infliximab | Etanercept |
| No. | 32 | 17 |
| Age (years)a | 56.7 (23.5–80.9) | 55.3 (23.2–70.4) |
| Female/male | 25/7 | 10/7 |
| Duration of disease (years)a | 12.9 (3.0–55.5) | 13.7 (2.5–41.0) |
| Serum CRP at baseline (mg/l)a | 20 (1–84) | 36 (1–85) |
| Serum COMP at baseline (u/l)a | 11.3 (5.5–19.2) | 12.2 (8.1–29.7) |
| DAS28 at baselinea | 5.3 (2.4–8.1) | 5.9 (3.7–7.5) |
| HAQ at baselinea | 1.4 (0.4–2.8) | 1.6 (0.3–2.8) |
| Monotherapy/combination therapy 5/27 | 3/14 | |
| Prednisolone/no prednisolone | 20/12 | 11/6 |
| ACR20 response at 3 months | 16 (50%) | 11 (65%) |
There were no significant differences between the groups. aMedian (range). ACR20 = 20% improvement according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria; CRP = C-reactive protein; COMP = cartilage oligomeric matrix protein; DAS = disease activity score; HAQ = health assessment questionnaire.