Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Dalin, Chiayi 62247, Taiwan.
Department of Medical Research, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Dalin, Chiayi 62247, Taiwan.
Medicina (Kaunas). 2020 Oct 17;56(10):545. doi: 10.3390/medicina56100545.
: To investigate the serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) without active infection compared with healthy controls and to understand the relationship of PCT with RA disease activity, and treatment received by patients. : Patients aged 20 years and above with clinician-confirmed diagnosis of RA and healthy volunteers were included during regular outpatient visits, and those with active infection symptoms and signs were excluded. RA disease activity was measured using the Disease Activity Score-28 for Rheumatoid Arthritis with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR). Medications received by the patients were also recorded. : A total of 623 patients with RA and 87 healthy subjects were recruited in this study. The mean PCT were significantly higher in patients with RA (6.90 ± 11.81 × 10 ng/mL) compared with healthy controls (1.70 ± 6.12 × 10 ng/mL) ( < 0.001) and the difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for age and sex. In addition, multiple linear regression analysis showed that a lower rank-transformed PCT serum level was significantly correlated with the use of biologics ( = 0.017) and a high DAS28-ESR score ( = 0.028) in patients with RA. : Patients with RA have a significantly higher serum PCT levels compared with healthy controls. The use of biologics and an active RA disease activity were associated with a lower level of PCT in patients with RA. Further investigation is required to determine the optimal cutoff value of PCT among patients with RA and its association with disease activity and biologic usage.
: 目的：比较类风湿关节炎（RA）患者与健康对照者血清降钙素原（PCT）水平，探讨 PCT 与 RA 疾病活动度及患者接受的治疗之间的关系。：纳入在常规门诊就诊时经临床医生确诊为 RA 且无活动性感染的 20 岁及以上患者和健康志愿者，并排除有活动性感染症状和体征的患者。采用红细胞沉降率（erythrocyte sedimentation rate，ESR）校正的 28 关节疾病活动评分（DAS28-ESR）评估 RA 疾病活动度。同时记录患者接受的药物治疗。：本研究共纳入 623 例 RA 患者和 87 名健康对照者。RA 患者的平均 PCT 显著高于健康对照者（6.90±11.81×10ng/ml 比 1.70±6.12×10ng/ml）（<0.001），且在校正年龄和性别后差异仍有统计学意义。此外，多元线性回归分析显示，RA 患者中 PCT 血清水平较低与使用生物制剂（=0.017）和 DAS28-ESR 评分较高（=0.028）显著相关。：RA 患者的血清 PCT 水平明显高于健康对照者。生物制剂的使用和 RA 疾病活动度高与 RA 患者 PCT 水平降低相关。需要进一步研究以确定 RA 患者 PCT 的最佳截断值及其与疾病活动度和生物制剂使用的关系。
