Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Aug 2003
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical TrialLimited versus severe Wegener's granulomatosis: baseline data on patients in the Wegener's granulomatosis etanercept trial.
To report baseline data on 180 patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) enrolled in the WG Etanercept Trial (WGET), and to examine demographic and clinical differences between patients with limited disease and those with severe disease. ⋯ There are significant differences between patients with limited WG and those with severe WG with regard to sex, age, the likelihood of recurrent disease, the risk of damage in certain organ systems, and, possibly, etiologic factors. These differences (and perhaps other differences that are currently unrecognized) in patient subsets may have implications for mechanisms of pathogenesis, prognosis, response to treatment, and the design of future clinical investigations.