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Preliminary Study on Acupuncture Combined with Grain-sized Moxibustion for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis with Finger Joint Pain
Published on: May 16, 2025
Fibromyalgia with elevated rheumatoid factor is associated with poor therapeutic response but not with progression to
Freddy Liñán Ponce1, Juan Leiva Goicochea1, David Sevilla Rodríguez1
1Servicio de Reumatología, Hospital Víctor Lazarte Echegaray, Trujillo, Peru.
Objetive:
Evaluate response to treatment and progression to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) associated with elevated rheumatoid factor (RF).
Material And Methods:
Prospective cohort study. The sample consisted of 124 patients with FM: 62 with high RF (>20 U/mL) and 62 with negative RF (0-20 U/mL). All patients were evaluated using FM treatment improvement score (FIQR) and progression to RA according to EULAR/ACR 2010 criteria at 6 and 12 months. Pearson's χ2 test for homogeneity was used to relate variables of improvement to FM treatment and progression to RA.
Results:
The response to treatment was lower in the high RF group (24 and 20 patients improved at 6 and 12 months, respectively, compared to 45 and 38 patients in the negative RF group), with a significant difference. Progression to rheumatoid arthritis was similar in both groups (5 in the high RF group and 4 in the negative RF group), with a non-significant relationship.
Conclusions:
FM with elevated RF is associated with a poor therapeutic response but not with progression to RA.
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