Incidence of active mycobacterial infections in Brazilian patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis and negative evaluation for latent tuberculosis infection at baseline - A longitudinal analysis after using TNFa blockers

Several studies point to the increased risk of reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis (CIAs) after using tumour necrosis factor (TNF)a blockers. To study the incidence of active mycobacterial infections (aMI) in patients starting TNFa blockers, 262 patients were included in this study: 109 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 93 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 44 with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and 16 with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). All patients had indication for anti-TNFatherapy. Epidemiologic and clinical data were evaluated and a simple X-ray and tuberculin skin test (TST) were performed. The control group included 215 healthy individuals. The follow-up was 48 months to identify cases of aMI. TST positivity was higher in patients with AS (37.6%) than in RA (12.8%), PsA (18.8%) and JIA (6.8%) (p < 0.001). In the control group, TST positivity was 32.7%. Nine (3.43%) patients were diagnosed with aMI. The overall incidence rate of aMI was 86.93/100,000 person-years [95% confidence interval (CI) 23.6-217.9] for patients and 35.79/100,000 person-years (95% CI 12.4-69.6) for control group (p < 0.001). All patients who developed aMI had no evidence of LTBI at the baseline evaluation. Patients with CIA starting TNFa blockers and no evidence of LTBI at baseline, particularly with nonreactive TST, may have higher risk of aMI.

Síndrome do impacto posterior do tornozelo: um diagnóstico que deve ser lembrado pelo reumatologista. Relato de dois casos / Posterior ankle impingement syndrome: a diagnosis rheumatologists should not forget. Two case reports

O tornozelo é sítio frequente de sintomas dolorosos em atletas e não atletas. A dor localizada na região posterior pode ser o resultado final de diversas patologias, sendo um desafio diagnóstico para o reumatologista. A síndrome do impacto (pinçamento) posterior do tornozelo, também denominada síndrome os trigonum e síndrome compressiva tibiotalar posterior, é um distúrbio clínico caracterizado por dor aguda ou crônica na região posterior do tornozelo, desencadeada pela flexão plantar forçada, que promove microtrauma crônico repetitivo. A patologia do processo os trigonum-talar é a causa mais comum dessa síndrome, mas existem outras causas, como tenossinovite do flexor longo do hálux, osteocondrite de tornozelo, doença da articulação subtalar e fratura. O diagnóstico baseia-se na história clínica e exame físico, e complementado por achados na radiografia simples (RX), ultrassom (US), cintilografia, tomografia computadorizada (TC) e ressonância magnética (RM). Destacamos o RX por seu baixo custo e boa sensibilidade, o US pela possibilidade de guiar infiltrações terapêuticas e a RM pela possibilidade de avaliar partes moles adjacentes.

The ankle is a common site of painful symptoms in athletes and nonathletes. Posterior ankle pain can be the end result of several pathologies, and a diagnostic challenge for rheumatologists. The posterior ankle impingement syndrome, also known as os trigonum syndrome and posterior tibiotalar compression syndrome, is a clinical disorder characterized by acute or chronic posterior ankle pain triggered by forced plantar flexion, which causes chronic repetitive microtrauma. Pathology of the os trigonum-talar process is the most common cause of this syndrome, but there are other causes, such as tenosynovitis of the flexor hallucis longus, ankle osteochondritis, subtalar joint disease, and fracture. Diagnosis is based on clinical history and physical examination, and complemented by findings on plain radiography (RX), ultrasound (US), scintigraphy, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is worth noting that RX has low cost and good sensitivity, US can provide guidance to therapeutic infiltrations, and MRI allows the assessment of surrounding soft tissues.