2.1 Patients with RA and evaluation of disease activity
Sixty-nine patients with RA who fulfilled the 2010 American College of
Rheumatology (ACR)/European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) for RA
were given a 10-day treatment with 99Tc-MDP or and
oral glucocorticoids at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen
University in period of Feb. 2019 ~ Dec. 2020 [27].
According with different therapy regimens, they were divided into two
groups including 99Tc-MDP (n = 27, as99Tc) and combined with oral glucocorticoids (n = 42,
as 99Tc & GC) (Table1). Exclusion criteria included
the combination of other autoimmune diseases (including secondary
Sjögren’s syndrome), hematological system, liver or kidney dysfunction
(≥ 1.5 times of the upper limit of the cutoff value), pregnant women,
oral hypolipidemic drugs and receiving intra-articular injection of
corticosteroids in the last four weeks. None of the patients had
diabetes mellitus, impaired glucose tolerance, and cerebrovascular
diseases, cardiovascular disease, thyroid dysfunction, nephrotic
syndrome, alcoholism, chronic liver disease, Cushing syndrome or obesity
(body mass index > 30 kg/m2). Based on
retrospective observation, the study was approved by the Medical Ethics
Committee at the First affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University
(KY202015-034).
The disease activities of the patients with RA were evaluated by
erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP) and
disease activity score 28 for rheumatoid arthritis with ESR or CRP
(DAS28ESR, DAS28CRP).
DAS28ESR was calculated following the equations:
DAS28ESR = [0.56 × SQRT (T28) +0.28 × SQRT (SW28) +
0.70 × LN (ESR)] ×1.08 +0.16, DAS28CRP = [0.56 ×
SQRT (T28) +0.28 × SQRT (SW28) + 0.36 × LN (CRP + 1)] ×1.10 + 1.15,
where SQRT is the square root, LN is logarithm, T28 is the number of
total tender joints out of 28 joints and SW28 is the number of total
swollen joints out of 28 joints. Twenty-eight joints including bilateral
proximal interphalangeal joints, bilateral metacarpophalangeal joints,
and bilateral wrist joints, bilateral elbow joints, bilateral shoulder
joints and bilateral knee joints.