Clinical and serological characteristics of Ecuadorian patients with rheumatoid arthritis

BACKGROUND Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease, wherein late diagnosis and treatment leads to deformities and disability. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to assess and describe the clinical and immunological characteristics, activity status of the disease, and functional capacity in a cohort of Ecuadorian patients with RA. METHODS This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted on a population of patients with prediagnosed RA from public and private Ecuadorian rheumatology clinics. This study investigated 400 patients with a mean age of 50 years, 353 (82.25%) of which were female. RESULTS The study showed that 44.3%, 83.5%, 60.3%, 41.8%, 37.5%, and 11.5% had an acute onset of the disease, symmetrical polyarthritis, morning stiffness exceeding 1 h, dry eyes, dry mouth, and rheumatoid nodules, respectively. A total of 89.7% presented with positive rheumatoid factor, and 96.5% were anti-citrullinated protein antibody positive. CONCLUSION This is the largest Ecuadorian cohort of patients with RA; clinical features are similar to those of other Latin American populations.