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.