Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.)
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Dec 2015
Brief Report: Pulmonary Function Tests: High Rate of False-Negative Results in the Early Detection and Screening of Scleroderma-Related Interstitial Lung Disease.
Validated methods for the screening and early diagnosis of systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma)-related interstitial lung disease (ILD) are needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) compared with that of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest for the detection of SSc-related ILD in clinical practice, and to identify predictors of lung involvement that is functionally occult but significant on HRCT. ⋯ The derived evidence-based data reveal a high risk of missing significant SSc-related ILD when relying solely on PFTs. More comprehensive screening algorithms for early detection are warranted. In particular, additional imaging investigations for the early detection of SSc-related ILD should be considered in ACA-negative patients with normal FVC values.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Nov 2015
Symptom assessment in knee osteoarthritis needs to account for physical activity level.
Pain is not always correlated with severity of radiographic osteoarthritis (OA), possibly because people modify activities to manage symptoms. Measures of symptoms that consider pain in the context of activity level may therefore provide greater discrimination than a measure of pain alone. We undertook this study to compare discrimination provided by a measure of pain alone with that provided by combined measures of pain in the context of physical activity across radiographic OA severity levels. ⋯ Symptom assessments incorporating pain and physical activity did not exhibit a floor effect and were better able to discriminate radiographic severity than an assessment of pain alone, particularly in milder disease. Pain in the context of physical activity level should be used to assess knee OA symptoms.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Nov 2015
Differences in sedentary time and physical activity between female patients with fibromyalgia and healthy controls: the al-Ándalus project.
To characterize the levels of objectively measured time spent in sedentary activities (sedentary time) and physical activities in female patients with fibromyalgia and compare them with the levels in age-matched healthy control women. ⋯ Female patients with fibromyalgia spent more time in sedentary behaviors and were less physically active than age-matched controls. The low proportions of female patients with fibromyalgia and control subjects who met the physical activity and step count recommendations is worrisome.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Oct 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe efficacy and safety of subcutaneous clazakizumab in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to methotrexate: results from a multinational, phase IIb, randomized, double-blind, placebo/active-controlled, dose-ranging study.
Clazakizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to the interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine. This study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and safety of clazakizumab in combination with methotrexate (MTX) or clazakizumab monotherapy versus MTX alone in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an inadequate response to MTX. ⋯ In patients with RA and an inadequate response to MTX, treatment with clazakizumab in combination with MTX or clazakizumab monotherapy was well tolerated, and patients achieved significant improvements in disease activity, including higher rates of remission, as compared with patients receiving MTX alone.
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Arthritis Rheumatol · Oct 2015
Total joint arthroplasty and the risk of myocardial infarction: a general population, propensity score-matched cohort study.
To replicate recent findings indicating that total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) surgery will substantially reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular events among patients with osteoarthritis. ⋯ These findings provide the first general population-based evidence to indicate that TKA and THA among osteoarthritis patients are associated with a substantially increased risk of MI during the immediate postoperative period. However, the overall long-term impact of these surgeries was null, unlike the risk of venous thromboembolism, which remained elevated years after patients had undergone the procedure.