Annals of the rheumatic diseases
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Multicenter Study
Long-term effectiveness of antimalarial drugs in rheumatic diseases.
The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term effectiveness between chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). ⋯ After adjusting for time and several confounders HCQ was less toxic but less effective than CQ. Only one case of probable/possible retinopathy was found. Therefore, we propose a careful baseline ophthalmological evaluation by an expert and then one or every two years if proper doses are used.
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To evaluate radiographic features of osteoarthritis (OA) to determine which is more closely associated with knee pain and hence might be used as a radiographic definition of OA in the community. To evaluate joint space width in normal subjects. ⋯ Among men and women in the community, osteophyte is the radiographic feature that associates best with knee pain. Radiographic assessment of both TFJ and PFJ should be included in all community studies. Joint space loss is not a feature of asymptomatic aging, and there is not a biological cut off for joint space width below which the likelihood of knee pain markedly increases.