Background: Early detection of extra-articular symptoms [ExRA] in RA patients is crucial, and lifesaving. This study examined the relationship between Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide [Anti-CCP] and Anti-Mutated Citrullinated Vimentin [Anti-MCV] positivity and extra-articular symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis patients
Patients and Methods: The present investigation included 50 rheumatoid arthritis patients: 25 had extra-articular symptoms [group 1] and 25 did not [group 2]. All patients underwent a complete history taking, clinical, and rheumatological assessment, followed by laboratory tests including anti-CCP/anti-MCV measurements.
Results: As regard to anti-CCP, it ranged from 4 to 530 IU/ml; and there was no significant increase in group 1 when compared to group 2. On the other hand, anti-MCV ranged from 8 to 500 IU/ml; and there was statistically significant increase of anti-MCV in group 1 when compared to group 2 [272.44±117.61 vs 91.08±125.71 respectively]. In diagnosing extra-articular manifestations, anti-CCP antibodies had lower predictability [0.72] than anti-MCV antibodies [0.85], which had higher sensitivity [96%], specificity [76%], and cut off point > 90 IU/ml.
Conclusion: Rheumatoid arthritis patients with anti-MCV antibodies exhibited strong extra-articular manifestation predictors. Anti-CCP is a powerful diagnostic marker of rheumatoid arthritis, especially in early stages, but it had no significant connection with extra-articular symptoms.