Rheumatologists' adherence to a disease activity score steered treatment protocol in early arthritis patients is less if the target is remission.

To compare rheumatologists' adherence to treatment protocols for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) targeted at Disease Activity Score (DAS) ≤2.4 or <1.6. The BeSt-study enrolled 508 early RA (1987) patients targeted at DAS ≤2.4. The IMPROVED-study included 479 early RA (2010) and 122 undifferentiated arthritis patients targeted at DAS <1.6. We evaluated rheumatologists' adherence to the protocols and assessed associated opinions and conditions during 5 years. Protocol adherence was higher in BeSt than in IMPROVED (86 and 70 %), with a greater decrease in IMPROVED (from 100 to 48 %) than in BeSt (100 to 72 %). In BeSt, 50 % of non-adherence was against treatment intensification/restart, compared to 63 % in IMPROVED and 50 vs. 37 % were against tapering/discontinuation. In both studies, non-adherence was associated with physicians' disagreement with DAS or with next treatment step and if patient's visual analogue scale (VAS) for general health was ≥20 mm higher than the physician's VAS. In IMPROVED, also discrepancies between swelling, pain, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and VASgh were associated with non-adherence. Adherence to DAS steered treatment protocols was high but decreased over 5 years, more in a DAS <1.6 steered protocol. Non-adherence was more likely if physicians disagreed with DAS or next treatment step. In the DAS <1.6 steered protocol, non-adherence was also associated with discrepancies between subjective and (semi)objective disease outcomes, and often against required treatment intensification. These results may indicate that adherence to DAS-steered protocols appears to depend in part on the height of the target and on how physicians perceive the DAS reflects RA activity.

Age affects joint space narrowing in patients with early active rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Joint space narrowing (JSN) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may be a manifestation of (primary) osteoarthritis becoming more prominent with age. We investigated the severity and predictors of JSN progression among different age groups. METHODS: 10-year follow-up data of the BeSt study, a randomised controlled treat-to-target trial in early RA were used. Annual X-rays of hands and feet were scored using the Sharp/van der Heijde score (SHS). Subgroups were defined by age at baseline: ≥55, ≥40<55 and <40 years. JSN progression predictors were assessed by Poisson regression. RESULTS: Baseline JSN scores (median (IQR)) were higher in patients ≥55 (2.0 (0.0-6.0)) compared with the other age groups: 1.0 (0.0-3.0) ≥40<55 and 0.3 (0.0-3.0) <40, p<0.001. After 10 years, total JSN and SHS were similar in all age groups. In patients ≥55 the mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) over time (relative risk 1.02 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.03)) and the combined presence of rheumatoid factor and anticitrullinated protein antibodies (RF+/ACPA+) (3.27 (1.25-8.53)) were significantly correlated with JSN progression. In patients <40 the baseline swollen joint count (SJC; 1.09 (1.01-1.18)) and ESR over time (1.04 (1.02-1.06)) were significantly associated. CONCLUSIONS: At baseline, patients with RA ≥55 years had more JSN than younger patients but after 10 years JSN scores were similar between age groups. Independent risk factors for JSN progression were baseline SJC and ESR over time in patients <40, RF+/ACPA+ and ESR over time in patients ≥55 years. This suggests that mechanisms leading to JSN progression are related to (residual) rheumatoid inflammation and vary between age groups. These mechanisms remain to be elucidated. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS: NTR262, NTR265.

Effectiveness of four dynamic treatment strategies in patients with anticitrullinated protein antibody-negative rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the most effective treatment strategy among anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA)-negative patients with early rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: In the BeSt study, 184 ACPA-negative patients were randomised to: (1) sequential monotherapy, (2) step-up therapy, (3) initial combination including prednisone, (4) initial combination including infliximab. Treatment was targeted at the disease activity score (DAS) ≤2.4. Early response and 10-year outcomes were compared between the four strategy-arms in ACPA-negative patients. RESULTS: ACPA-negative patients achieved more short-term functional improvement from initial combination therapy than when on monotherapy (at month 3, mean Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) 0.71 vs 0.98, p=0.006; at month 6, 0.59 vs 0.87, p=0.004). Functional ability over time was comparable between the strategy-arms (p=0.551) with a mean HAQ of 0.6 at year 10 (p=0.580 for comparison across the strategy-arms). 10-year radiographic progression was negligible (median 0.5) and comparable between the 4 strategy-arms (p=0.082). At year 10, remission was achieved by 11/40 (28%), 9/45 (20%), 17/56 (30%) and 17/43 patients (40%) in strategy-arms 1-4, respectively (p=0.434). Over time, similar remission percentages were achieved in all strategy-arms (p=0.815). 18%, 16%, 20% and 21% in strategy-arms 1 to 4 (p=0.742) were in drug-free remission at year 10, with a median duration of 60 months across the arms. CONCLUSIONS: Initial combination therapy with methotrexate, sulfasalazine and prednisone, or methotrexate and infliximab, is the most effective treatment strategy for ACPA-negative patients, resulting in earlier functional improvement than when on initial methotrexate monotherapy. After 10 years of targeted treatment, in all strategy-arms favourable clinical outcomes were achieved and radiographic progression was limited. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NTR262, NTR265.

Drug-free holiday in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a qualitative study to explore patients' opinion.

Clinical trials have shown that in patients with long-standing low disease activity, tapering and/or stopping antirheumatic medication is a realistic option. The objective of this study is to explore patients' opinion about tapering and discontinuing antirheumatic drugs. This qualitative study is based on interviews with 20 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) about RA treatment and treatment discontinuation through structured interviewing. Interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and screened by three assessors independently for meaning units. Not only positive emotions about drug discontinuation such as hope, happiness, and relief, but also fear and disappointment were mentioned. Some patients expect that drug discontinuation will be possible in other patients and/or themselves, while others do not expect this. The concept of increase in disease activity after discontinuing medication was mentioned, and while patients expect that disease activity will decrease again after restarting medication, they expect that this will take (too much) time. Positive emotions about the option to taper and discontinue antirheumatic medication, with negative expectations is a common combination in these RA patients. In particular, patients expect that disease activity will flare and that improvement upon restarting medication will take time. Patients' expectations and feelings should be addressed before drug tapering is attempted in a clear strategy of continued monitoring of disease activity.

Craniocervical neurenteric cyst without associated abnormalities.

Spinal neurenteric (NE) cyst is an uncommon congenital cyst and frequently found in the cervical region. The clinical symptoms associated with this entity depend on the site of the lesion and are not typical for all such cysts. A definitive diagnosis can only be made by biopsy and histological examination. MRI can confirm these cystic masses and is the method of choice for their imaging investigation. They are often connected by a fibrous tract, fistula or cleft to structures derived from the primitive gut in the thoracic or abdominal cavities and are commonly associated with anterior spina bifida or other vertebral anomalies. We report a case of craniocervical NE cyst without associated abnormalities and discuss the implications for clinical diagnosis and management by a thorough review of the literature.

Surgical management of syringomyelia-Chiari complex.

Great variety exists in the indications and techniques recommended for the surgical treatment of syringomyelia-Chiari complex. More recently, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has increased the frequency of diagnosis of this pathology and offered a unique opportunity to visualize cavities inside the spinal cord as well as their relationship to the cranio-cervical junction. This report presents 18 consecutive adult symptomatic syringomyelia patients with Chiari malformation who underwent foramen magnum decompression and syringosubarachnoid shunting. The principal indication for the surgery was significant progressive neurological deterioration. All patients underwent preoperative and postoperative MRI scans and were studied clinically and radiologically to assess the changes in the syrinx and their neurological picture after surgical intervention. All patients have been followed up for at least 36 months. No operative mortality was encountered; 88.9% of the patients showed improvement of neurological deficits together with radiological improvement and 11.1% of them revealed collapse of the syrinx cavity but no change in neurological status. None of the patients showed further deterioration of neurological function. The experience obtained from this study demonstrates that foramen magnum decompression to free the cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) pathways combined with a syringosubarachnoid shunt performed at the same operation succeeds in effectively decompressing the syrinx cavity, and follow-up MR images reveal that this collapse is maintained. In view of these facts, we strongly recommend this technique, which seems to be the most rational surgical procedure in the treatment of syringomyelia-Chiari complex.

Prognostic value of serum neuron-specific enolase levels after head injury.

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a dimeric cytoplasmic enzyme detected in high levels in neurons and acts in the glycolytic pathway. It is known that there is a quantitative relationship between the concentration of serum NSE and the degree of cell damage in the central nervous system. We examined serum levels of NSE by enzyme immunoassay in 89 patients with head injury and aimed to evaluate its relationship with neurological status and prognosis of the patients.

Cranio-cerebral erosion: delayed diagnosis and treatment.

Cranio-cerebral erosion is a well-known complication of calvarian fracture with underlying dural tear and cerebral injury in infancy and early childhood. The anatomy, pathogenesis and natural evolution of these lesions remain obscure. The common clinical symptoms are seizures, focal neurological deficits, impairment of consciousness and a soft subgaleal mass. Three patients of cranio-cerebral erosion who underwent delayed surgery in their adult lives are presented to illustrate the common and uncommon features, and their long-term outcome is discussed.

Intraventricular atrial natriuretic peptide for acute intracranial hypertension.

The effect of intraventricular atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) was evaluated in a rodent model of global ischemia and reperfusion. ANP administration into the lateral ventricle 30 minutes after reperfusion statistically significantly reduced ICP compared with both vehicle treated animals (p < 0.001) and pretreatment pressures (p < 0.001). The ICP effects of ANP did not coincide with specific changes in regional perfusion parameters measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry. Two different vehicles for ANP were used to verify that the changes in ICP observed were independent of the sodium content administered in the vehicle. Based on the reductions observed in ICP, ANP deserves further evaluation as a treatment modality for the acute elevations in ICP associated with ischemic brain injury.

The value of MR imaging in prevention of unsuccessful back surgery. A case report.

MR imaging helped in diagnosing a spinal schwannoma, and intradural space surgery was thus avoided.

The outcome of urological findings in operated tethered cord patients.

We studied the urological aspects of the tethered cord syndrome before and after untethering. Presenting urological symptoms include incontinence in 10 (38%), voiding difficulty in 8 (30%), stool soilage in 7 (27%), pollakiuria in 8 (30%) and urgency and symptomatic urinary tract infection in 9 patients (34%). All patients had presacral skin lesion. In all cases cystometric study was done preoperatively and postoperatively. In this study, we noted that the overall clinical symptomatology and urodynamic parameters improved in 67.0% and 49.0%, respectively. Although no patient became normal after surgery, we found better improvement in patients treated promptly by neurosurgical intervention.

Cervical laminar exostosis in multiple hereditary osteochondromatosis: anterior stabilization and fusion technique for preventing instability.

Multiple hereditary osteochondromatosis is a genetically transmitted disorder consisting of multiple projections of bone capped by cartilage, which are called exostoses. Spinal cord compression due to expansion of a laminar osteochondroma is rare but well recognized. Surgical decompression usually improves the patient's neurological status but, in cervical exostosis, post-laminectomy kyphosis and instability problems, especially in the high-risk adolescent group, form the most significant potential difficulties in the postoperative period. We report a case of cervical laminar exostosis that was treated by anterior stabilization and fusion and discuss the benefits of this technique.