Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies and Severity of Interstitial Lung Disease in Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Table 2

Comparison of cardiopulmonary scales and Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire between patients with rheumatoid arthritis and interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) and patients with RA only.

Variable	RA-ILD; = 39	RA only; = 42
Pulmonary symptoms
Cough, (%)^*	31 (66.0)	0 (0%)	—
Phlegm, (%)^*	10 (21.3)	0 (0%)	—
Wheezing, (%)^*	3 (6.4)	0 (0%)	—
Bilateral inspiratory/expiratory crackles, (%)^*	33 (70.2)	0 (0%)	—
Breathlessness, (%)^*	19 (40.4)	0 (0%)	—
Cardiopulmonary scales
6MWT, meters	310.0 (170.0–549.0)	410.0 (270.0–549.0)	<0.001
Pre-6MWT VAS modified Borg scale	1.0 (0–3.1)	0 (0–2.0)	—
Post-6MWT VAS modified Borg scale	2.0 (0.5–8.0)	1.0 (0–5.0)	<0.001
Development of dyspnea, (%)	19 (23.8)	7 (16.7)	0.002
SGRQ, %
Symptoms	14.0 (0–30.0)	3.0 (0–24.0)	<0.001
Activity	10.0 (0–38.0)	4.0 (0–27.0)	<0.001
Impact	10.0 (0–38.0)	3.5 (0–13.0)	<0.001
Total	13.0 (0–37.0)	5.0 (0–25.0)	<0.001
Lung function
FVC (% of predicted)	71.0 (52.0–91.0)	86.0 (80.0–99.0)	<0.001
Restrictive patterns, (%)^*	32 (68.1)	0 (0%)	—

Qualitative variables were expressed in frequency (%); quantitative variables were expressed in medians (ranges); FVC: forced vital capacity; 6MWT: six-minute walk test; VAS: visual analogue scale; SGRQ: Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire. ^*This variable is not accepted for evaluation by the program. values were computed as follows: for quantitative variables with Mann-Whitney test and for qualitative variables with chi-square (or Fisher exact test if required).