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Table 2. Clinical symptom assessment in LCAP and control groups at 4 weeks after
the last LCAP Session

LCAP group Control group
(n = 20) (n = 31) P value
Tender joint count (range, 0–28) 5.00 ± 7.33 8.41 ± 6.82 .119
Swollen joint count (range, 0–28) 3.18 ± 3.05 6.64 ± 5.54 .009
Patient assessment of pain, VAS (range, 0–10) 2.12 ± 2.09 4.80 ± 1.79 .000
Patient assessment of global severity, VAS (range, 0–10) 2.87 ± 2.50 5.16 ± 0.22 .003
Physician assessment of global severity, VAS (range, 0–10) 2.62 ± 0.46 4.90 ± 1.46 .000
ESR (mm/h) 27.56 ± 22.93 41.77 ± 26.78 .078
CRP (mg/dL) 2.87 ± 3.32 2.74 ± 1.91 .868
DAS28 3.61 ± 1.76 5.14 ± 1.51 .003
HAQ-DI 2.50 ± 3.30 5.16 ± 3.41 .014

Table 3. Percentages of ACR20, ACR50 and ACR70 in Patients of LCAP and
Control Groups at 24 Weeks

4 weeks 24 weeks
group n ACR 20 ACR50 ACR70 n ACR20 ACR50 ACR70
LCAP group 20 11 (55.0%) 6 (30.0%) 4 (20.0%) 20 14 (70.0%) 10 (50.0%) 6 (30.0%)
Control group 31 6 (19.4%) 1 (3.2%) 0 (0.0%) 31 8 (25.8%) 4 (12.9%) 1 (3.2%)
P value .020 .022 .039 .002 .004 .022

Table 4. Changes in serum cytokine levels of patients in both groups

LCAP group Control group
Before After Before After
Bradykinin (pg/mL) 32278.0 ± 7851.0 22249.0 ± 2054.0 27396.0 ± 6529.0 19509.0± 7062.0
CXCL16 (pg/mL) 2.75 ± 1.36 2.00 ± 1.23 a 1.49 ± 1.56 2.89 ± 2.83
Serotonin (ng/mL) 14.73 ± 21.52 12.50 ± 24.76 a 18.40 ± 21.26 38.19 ± 31.22
PGE2 (pg/mL) 533.47 ± 315.58 445.97 ± 184.91 363.72 ± 269.70 294.78 ± 202.40
CCL3 (pg/mL) 13.60 ± 3.15 13.21 ± 3.15 14.62 ± 2.20 14.55 ± 2.11
HSP70 (pg/mL) 12406.0 ± 15635.0 10010.0 ± 16209.0 17178.0 ± 26260.0 11137.0 ± 23414.0

a P < .05

Note: changes within each group were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test for non-normally distributed or ordinal
data and the paired t test for normally distributed continuous data. Values are mean ± SD.

Abbreviations: LCAP, leukocytapheresis; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; CXCL16, CXC chemokine ligand-16; PGE2, prostaglandin
E2; CCL3, chemokine ligand 3; HSP70, heat shock protein 70.

40 ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, JUL/AUG 2020 VOL. 26 NO. 4 Huang—Leukocytapheresis Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis