Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie
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Without proper treatment rheumatoid arthritis can lead to pain, instability and destruction of the elbow joint. As with artificial knee replacement various designs are available and in general non-constrained and semi-constrained designs are preferred. ⋯ Restrictions in load-bearing and mobility are among the major problems after elbow arthroplasty in patients with rheumatoid arthritis which have to be discussed with the patient before surgery. Future studies will have to evaluate the effectiveness of new modular designs.
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The use of biologicals in the therapy of rheumatic diseases allows more effective treatment of patients with very active disease. Such regimens, however, can induce a more severe treatment-related immunosuppression and, as a consequence, opportunistic infections that are rarely seen with conventional immunosuppressive therapy appear to occur more frequently. ⋯ Therefore, such treatments should be used with caution in patients who have been or are being treated with combined immunosuppressive therapy including corticosteroids. Elderly patients are specifically at risk for this "normal" side effect.