RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Characteristics of Rheumatoid Arthritis relative to HLA-DR in Saudi Arabia
JF Saudi Medical Journal
JO Saudi Med J
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 595
OP 598
VO 22
IS 7
A1 Abdurhman S. Al-Arfaj
YR 2001
UL http://smj.org.sa/content/22/7/595.abstract
AB OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis in Saudi Arabia in relation to human leukocyte antigen type.METHODS: A group of 91 rheumatoid arthritis patients, 72 females and 19 males were studied for the various clinical, laboratory and radiological parameters along with human leukocyte antigen-DR phenotypes. Since human leukocyte antigen-DR10 was most commonly associated with rheumatoid arthritis in our population, we compared those patients with human leukocyte antigen-DR10 to those without.RESULTS: The comparison yielded differences in the presence of rheumatoid nodules, erosions, corticosteroid treatment, joint involvement at presentation, hemoglobin levels, and white cell count. Only the last 3 parameters showed a statistical significance.CONCLUSION: Human leukocyte antigen type of Saudi patients with rheumatoid arthritis influenced the course of the disease but only to a limited extent.