Avaliação clínico-laboratorial de pacientes com artrite reumatóide : análise comparativa do fator reumatóide e de anticorpos anticitrulina

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory, chronic and auto-immune disease that develops in degrees of articular destruction and extra-articular changes being able to lead to functional disability. Besides clinical assessment the diagnosis is based on the determination of the rheumatoid factor being this one also positive in healthy people as well as in other infectious and auto-immune diseases. Anticyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies have been used in diagnosis of rheumaoid arthritis (RA) and seen to be superior to rheumatoid factor (RF) in early onset RA diagnosis. The target of the study is to demonstrate the presence of anticitrulline antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis diagnostic comparing with laboratory, clinical parameters and with the assessment of the quality of life of these patients. The “Health Assessment Questionnaire” has been used to assess the quality of life. We performed an immunoturbidimetry test for detection of RF (Roche,Indianopolis, USA) and an ELISA for anti-CCP antibodies (Inova, San Diego, USA) in 69 patients presenting, at least, 4 of the American College of Rheumatology criteria for classification of RA and in 20 healthy controls. For statistical analysis we used thr Fisher exact test and the Spearmann test Significance was reached wuth P<0.05. RA patients were aged between 18-75 years (mean = 43.9 years), 66 (95.7%) of then were female, controls age ranged between 20-60 years.The period of RA onset varied from 4 to 384 months (mean = 74.0 and median = 48.0). RF was positive in 48 (69.6%) patients and in 1 (0,5%) control. The anti-CCP was positive in 36 (52.2%) patients and in 2 (10%) controls. A significant correlation of RF and anti-CCP tests was observed with P< 0,0001 and this study suggests that anti-CCP was not superior to RF in diagnosis of established RA.