Arthritis care & research
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Arthritis care & research · Mar 2013
Serious infections in a population-based cohort of 86,039 seniors with rheumatoid arthritis.
To assess risk and risk factors for serious infections in seniors with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a case-control study nested within an RA cohort. ⋯ Seniors with RA have significant morbidity related to serious infections, which exceeds previous reports among younger RA populations. Rural residence, higher comorbidity, markers of disease severity, and previous infection were associated with serious infections in seniors with RA. Our results emphasize that many RA drugs may increase the risk of infection, but glucocorticoids appear to confer a particular risk.
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Arthritis care & research · Mar 2013
Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society criteria for axial spondyloarthritis in chronic back pain patients with a high prevalence of HLA-B27.
The Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) classification criteria for axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) allow SpA classification of HLA-B27-positive patients if ≥2 specific clinical SpA features are present. We investigated the performance of these clinical ASAS criteria in a population with a high prevalence of HLA-B27. ⋯ Application of the clinical ASAS classification criteria in an area with a high prevalence of HLA-B27 leads to significant increases in the prevalence of axial SpA compared to radiologic SpA among CBP patients. This increase in the prevalence of disease is likely to have significant ramifications for patient management and health care systems.