Annals of the rheumatic diseases
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To estimate the risk of tuberculosis (TB) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) both with and without exposure to biological therapy and to directly compare the risks between therapies. ⋯ In the past decade, the risk of TB has decreased among biological-exposed RA patients but remains higher than in biological-naïve RA patients. Most cases of TB in RA occur in biological-naïve RA patients, underscoring the elevated risk also in these patients.
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The phase of arthralgia is the earliest moment to clinically recognize patients who may develop Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Previous imaging studies in the arthralgia phase have shown that inflammation precedes RA development. It is unknown which symptoms/characteristics relate to subclinical joint inflammation as measured by MRI. Among all patients with arthralgia, those with clinically suspect arthralgia (CSA) are suspected to progress to arthritis according to the clinical judgement of their rheumatologists. We determined the symptoms/characteristics of patients with CSA who had inflammation on MRI. ⋯ Subclinical inflammation as measured by MRI is present in 44% of patients with CSA. A combination of symptoms/characteristics incompletely differentiated patients with and without MRI inflammation.
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Observational Study
Effects and safety of rituximab in systemic sclerosis: an analysis from the European Scleroderma Trial and Research (EUSTAR) group.
To assess the effects of Rituximab (RTX) on skin and lung fibrosis in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) belonging to the European Scleroderma Trial and Research (EUSTAR) cohort and using a nested case-control design. ⋯ The comparison of RTX treated versus untreated matched-control SSc patients from the EUSTAR cohort demonstrated improvement of skin fibrosis and prevention of worsening lung fibrosis, supporting the therapeutic concept of B cell inhibition in SSc.