History of the rheumatology

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of cardiovascular atherosclerotic plaque monosodium urate deposits with the occurrence of major cardiovascular events in gout and hyperuricemia patients. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included patients with clinically suspicion of gout, who performed a dual energy computed tomography of the affected limb and thorax between June 1st, 2012 and December 5th, 2019. Clinical and laboratory parameters were retrieved from patientś charts...

BACKGROUND: Non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE) is a rare condition marked by sterile vegetations on cardiac valves, often linked to rheumatologic diseases, autoimmune disorders, and advanced solid malignancies. An early diagnosis and treatment of the associated clinical condition are mandatory, although they do not usually eliminate valvular vegetations, making anticoagulation essential to prevent embolic events. Despite variability, the prognosis of NBTE is usually unfavorable due to recurrent embolic events and the severity of the primary condition, typically advanced cancer...

Introduction Understanding the different opioid pain relief requirements between patients with upper limb fractures can be useful in forming specific evidence-based guidelines and balancing patient-clinician prescribing discussions with opioid stewardship. We investigated the predictors for opioid requirements in upper limb fractures. Methods We retrospectively investigated all upper limb fractures from the shoulder to the wrist treated at a major trauma center from January 2015 to January 2022. The data collected consisted of fracture location, demographics, comorbidities, and management options...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the trends in remission rates among RA patients in the OPAL dataset, spanning from 2009 to 2022, and provide insights into the effectiveness of evolving RA management approaches in real-world clinical settings. METHODS: Patients with a physician diagnosis of RA and at least 3 visits between 1 January 2009 and December 2022 were identified in the OPAL dataset, an aggregated collection of data extracted from the electronic medical records of patients managed by 117 Australian rheumatologists...

To external validate the risk assessment model (RAM) of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in multicenter internal medicine inpatients. We prospectively collected 595 internal medical patients (310 with VTE patients, 285 non-VTE patients) were from Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, and the respiratory department of Beijing Tsinghua Changgeng Hospital from January 2022 to December 2022 for multicenter external validation. The prediction ability of Caprini RAM, Padua RAM, The International Medical Prevention Registry on Venous Thromboembolism (IMPROVE) RAM, and Shijitan (SJT) RAM were compared...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the predictive value of four cardiovascular (CV) risk algorithms for identifying high-risk psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients. METHODS: Evaluation of patients with PsA enrolled in the Spanish prospective project CARdiovascular in RheuMAtology. Baseline data of 669 PsA patients with no history of CV events at the baseline visit, who were followed in rheumatology outpatient clinics at tertiary centres for 7.5 years, were retrospectively analysed to test the performance of the Systematic Coronary Risk Assessment (SCORE), the modified version (mSCORE) European Alliance of Rheumatology Associations (EULAR) 2015/2016, the SCORE2 algorithm (the updated and improved version of SCORE) and the QRESEARCH risk estimator version 3 (QRISK3)...

PURPOSE: Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are a heterogeneous group of diseases with variable clinical phenotypes. This study was conducted to describe the epidemiology, clinical presentations, treatment, and outcome of IEI in Jordanian children. METHODS: A retrospective data analysis was conducted for children under 15 years diagnosed with IEI from the pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology Division-based registry at Queen Rania Children's Hospital, Amman, Jordan, between 2010 and 2022...

BACKGROUND: Dupilumab and tralokinumab are interleukin-binding monoclonal antibodies used to treat systemic atopic disease. Use of these medications in management of atopic dermatitis (AD) is known to cause conjunctivitis. Dupilumab therapy has also been associated with more severe ocular surface disease, which has not previously been described in association with tralokinumab. This report describes a case of tralokinumab-associated conjunctivitis and peripheral ulcerative keratitis and reviews the spectrum and proposed mechanisms of ocular surface disease triggered by these medications...

OBJECTIVE: To determine how serologic responses to COVID vaccination/infection in immunemediated inflammatory disease (IMID) are affected by time since last vaccination and other factors. METHODS: Post-COVID-19 vaccination, data and dried blood spots/sera were collected from adults with rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, systemic lupus, ankylosing spondylitis/spondylarthritis and psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis. First sample was at enrolment and then 2-4 weeks and 3, 6, and 12 months after latest vaccine dose...

OBJECTIVES: To report up to 3-year safety and effectiveness of certolizumab pegol (CZP) in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis from a postmarketing surveillance study. METHODS: Patients enrolled previously completed 24 weeks of CZP in the 24-week postmarketing surveillance study. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were recorded for patients who received ≥1 CZP dose. Effectiveness outcomes were 28-joint Disease Activity Score with erythrocyte sedimentation rate and European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology response...

We present a case where a 63-year-old right-handed man who presented with a 6-month history of progressive asymmetrical sensorimotor symptoms in lower limbs. This was associated with concomitant rash on the lower limbs, and mild sicca symptoms. MRI spine showed focal T2 hyperintensity in the left hemicord at C3-4 level. Skin biopsy of the rash revealed urticarial vasculitis, and lip biopsy revealed lymphocytic sialadenitis. Initial anti-Ro antibody was negative, but subsequent Ro52 antibody testing returned positive...

OBJECTIVES: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is frequently observed in Takayasu's arteritis (TAK). Our objective is to calculate the prevalence and severity of CAC in TAK, while evaluating the influence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, glucocorticoid exposure, and disease activity on CAC. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 155 TAK patients. We measured the Agatston score by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and categorised all patients into groups with or without CAC (41 vs...

In rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and other forms of inflammatory arthritis, the immune system targets certain joints but not others. The pattern of joints affected varies by disease and by individual, with flares most commonly involving joints that were previously inflamed. This phenomenon, termed joint-specific memory, is difficult to explain by systemic immunity alone. Mechanisms of joint-specific memory include the involvement of synovial resident memory T cells that remain in the joint during remission and initiate localized disease recurrence...

A 52-year-old woman with no significant medical history was referred to our hospital for expedited workup of progressive dysarthria and ataxia over the past year. Prior CT angiography of the head and neck showed no relevant neurologic findings but did reveal miliary lesions in the lung apices, which was later confirmed via dedicated CT chest scan (Fig 1). Review of systems was negative for any respiratory, constitutional, or rheumatologic symptoms, except for new xanthelasma-like lesions over her forehead. She previously had smoked with 20 pack-years and had no TB risk factors...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and risk factors of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: The clinical data of RA patients who were hospi-talized in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of Aerospace Center Hospital from May 2015 to September 2021 was retrospectively analyzed, including demographic characteristics, concomitant diseases, laboratory examinations (blood routine, biochemistry, coagulation, inflammatory markers, rheumatoid factor, antiphospholipid antibodies and lupus anticoagulant, etc ...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to employ echocardiography for measuring the markers of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function to investigate the effects of family history of gout on the LV diastolic function in patients with primary gout. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty-four patients with primary gout who visited the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College from September 2020 to July 2022 were selected and their family history of gout, general information, and laboratory markers were recorded...

OBJECTIVES: To examine the cross-sectional association between health literacy and gout characteristics. METHODS: In a primary care cohort of adults living with gout, the prevalence of poor health literacy was defined using the Single-Item Literacy Screener (SILS). Multiple logistic regression was used to obtain adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for the cross-sectional associations between health literacy and individual gout characteristics (frequency of flares, age at gout onset, history of oligo-/polyarticular flares, allopurinol use, allopurinol dose and serum urate level) with 95% CIs and adjustment for age, sex, deprivation and further education...

BACKGROUND: Since 2021 a recombinant adjuvanted anti-Herpes Zoster vaccine(Recombinant Zoster Vaccine, RZV) is offered in Italy to high-risk patients. Few real-life data about RZV safety are available in target populations. OBJECTIVES: This study investigates Adverse Events Following Immunization(AEFIs), baseline disease flare-ups, and Herpes Zoster (HZ) episodes occurring after RZV administration in a heterogeneous population of fragile patients to design its safety profile...

People with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are vulnerable group to experience mood disorders. It is crucial to identify factors that contribute to depression and anxiety in order to improve outcomes. This study seeks to determine the rates of depression and anxiety in Syrian AS patients, as well as identify potential predictors for these conditions. This cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling at the Biological Treatment Unit of the Rheumatology Department of the Damascus Hospital. Data were collected from face-to-face interviews with patients using validated structural questionnaire...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Hyperlipidemia is the major cardiovascular morbidity and mortality risk factor. Statins are the first-line treatment for hyperlipidemia. Statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS) are the main reason for the discontinuation of statins among patients. The purpose of this review is to guide clinicians to recognize the difference between self-limited and autoimmune statin myopathy in addition to the factors that potentiate them. Finally, treatment strategies will be discussed...