Demographic, clinical, and serological features of Turkish patients with rheumatoid arthritis: evaluation of 165 patients

The study was designed to describe demographic, clinical, serological, and radiological characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) followed-up by a single institution. One hundred sixty-five patients, diagnosed as RA using ACR classification criteria, and followed-up in the rheumatology clinic between December 2005 and January 2010, were enrolled in the study. Of the patients, 125 were female, and 40 were male. Mean age of the patients was 52.5 years, and mean duration of the disease was 10.5 years. The most frequently involved joints were the wrist (95.2%), MCP (90.9%), and the PIP (92.6%). The knee and hip joint involvement rates were 44.8% and 23.6%, respectively. Patients (50.9%) were detected to have tenosynovitis. Involvement of the elbow joint was shown in 10.9% of the patients. The most common extra-articular manifestations were sicca symptom (40.6%) and carpal tunnel syndrome (35.7%), followed by pulmonary involvement (6.6%), vasculitis (3.6%), and Raynaud's phenomenon (1.2%). Rheumatoid nodules were detected in six patients (3.6%). One patient had Felty syndrome, and another patient had secondary amyloidosis. Patients (90.3%) had positive rheumatoid factor (RF), and 124 patients had positive anti-CCP antibody (75.2%). A more severe clinical course and a higher incidence of erosion, tenosynovitis, and deformities were detected in patients with anti-CCP antibody and positive RF (p=0.03, p=0.04, p=0.01, p= 0.04, respectively). The wrist was the most frequently involved joint in our patients, and the most frequently seen extra-articular manifestation was sicca symptom. Presence of RF and anti-CCP antibodywas associated with more severe disease including erosive and destructive arthropathy. Extraarticular involvement and presence of accompanying diseases increase the mortality.