Pattern of joint involvement and other disease characteristics in 634 patients with arthritis of less than 16 weeks' duration.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the distribution of joint involvement in a cohort of patients with very recent onset arthritis and describe the disease characteristics in these patients.


METHODS
A very early arthritis clinic (NOR-VEAC) was established as a multicenter study. General practitioners were asked to refer patients presenting with at least 1 swollen joint of maximum 16 weeks' duration. Clinical and laboratory markers were examined.


RESULTS
We included 634 patients during the first 3 years, with mean (25th-75th percentile) arthritis duration of 30 (11-63) days. Monoarthritis was present in 243 (38.3%) patients, 216 (34.1%) had oligoarthritis, and 175 (27.6%) polyarthritis. Patients with polyarthritis were older, had longer duration of arthritis, and were more frequently anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody and rheumatoid factor-positive. Patients in all 3 joint pattern groups (mono-/oligo-/polyarthritis) reported substantial effect on physical function, pain, and fatigue and had elevated levels of acute-phase reactants. Knee or ankle arthritis was most frequent in patients with mono- and oligoarthritis, whereas small joint involvement was most frequent in patients with polyarthritis.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with recent-onset arthritis report a substantial influence on health status. Mono- and oligoarthritis are at least as frequent as polyarthritis. Polyarthritic patients more frequently exhibit features associated with a worse outcome.
Mjaavatten
Maria Dahl
MD
Department of Rheumatology, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, 0319 Oslo, Norway. maria.mjaavatten@diakonsyk.no
Haugen
Anne Julsrud
AJ
Helgetveit
Knut
K
Nygaard
Halvor
H
Sidenvall
Göran
G
Uhlig
Till
T
Kvien
Tore Kristian
TK
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001168:Arthritis / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010147:Pain Measurement; D013997:Time Factors
D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D002097:C-Reactive Protein