A Comparative Analysis of Inflammatory Markers and Disease Activity Score between Seropositive and Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that is characterized by persistent inflammation in the joints and other tissues, leading to significant joint damage irrespective of the serogroups i.e. seropositive and seronegative RA. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are commonly used biomarkers to monitor inflammation in RA and to inform therapeutic decision-making. Methods: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between CRP and ESR levels and the severity of disease among seronegative and seropositive patients. ACR/EULAR 2010 criteria were used to recruit RA patients in the study. Clinical assessments were performed to estimate the RF, ACCP antibodies, ESR and CRP. Swollen and tender joints were also taken into account for the calculation of disease activity score-28. Results: The results indicated that significantly elevated CRP levels were consistently observed in seropositive RA, in conjunction with seronegative RA patients (p=0.036). ESR levels were found elevated between the two groups but were not found to be statistically different (p=0.885). DAS28-CRP and DAS28-ESR results showed high severity of disease (>5.1) in both seronegative and seronegative RA patients. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the diagnostic and prognostic significance of ESR and CRP levels in RA among seronegative and seropositive patients, particularly in differentiating seropositive and seronegative cases and in guiding therapeutic decisions.