Cystic fibrosis arthritis. A report of five cases.

In a retrospective study of 206 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), five cases of CF arthritis were recorded. This is a frequency of 2.5% and of 4.5% in patients aged over 10. Four patients had episodic arthritis, which was related to the course of pulmonary disease in two cases. In three patients, synovial fluid examination revealed minimal evidence of inflammation. In one of these three cases, synovial biopsy revealed a mild and non-specific synovitis. The fifth patient had chronic arthropathy and was positive for rheumatoid factor, but did not fulfil the criteria for rheumatoid arthritis. There were no radiographic abnormalities in any of these cases. CF arthritis is a rare syndrome of unknown pathogenesis.

[Arthritis in mucoviscidosis. 4 new cases and review of the literature]. / Les arthrites de la mucoviscidose. 4 nouvelles observations et revue de la littérature.

Arthritis in mucoviscidosis has been described as aseptic arthritis with the picture of oligo or polyarticular intermittent rheumatism, independent of the pulmonary course of the disease, often accompanied by skin signs, sometimes in the form of vasculitis, and without radiological signs. Chronic forms with the presence of rheumatoid factor and/or radiological signs have also been described. The authors found 4 cases of arthritis (incidence 2%) in a retrospective study of 208 patients with mucoviscidosis. These included one case of typical intermittent rheumatism, one of chronic arthritis of the wrist with positive rheumatoid factor, one case associated with purpura, the course of which was linked to pulmonary secondary infections, and one case of polyarthritis with spinal pain which was difficult to classify. Arthritis in mucoviscidosis appears to be a clinically heterogeneous entity, the pathophysiology of which could involve various immune reactions, secondary to a chronic bacterial stimulus of bronchopulmonary origin.

[Joint tolerance of pefloxacin and ofloxacin in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis]. / Tolérance articulaire de la péfloxacine et de l'ofloxacine chez les enfants et adolescents atteints de mucoviscidose.

Retrospective analysis of 63 patients with mucoviscidosis (age: 11 to 21 years), treated with pefloxacine, shows the occurrence of arthropathies ascribed to pefloxacine in 9 patients (age: 9 to 20 years), or 14% of the patients under treatment. The dose of pefloxacine was normal (9 to 16 mg/kg/day) in all cases, except one case of overdose (29 mg/kg/day). Mechanical arthralgias, affect the knees, elbows and wrists, resulting in functional discomfort, and frequently accompanied by mechanical synovial extravasation. They always subside after pefloxacine is discontinued. The role of age is essential as the incidence of arthropathies reaches 45% when pefloxacine is first administered between the ages of 15 and 20 years. Retrospective analysis of 37 patients with mucoviscidosis (age: 2 to 20 years), treated with ofloxacine, failed to show any joint complication. In this study, the best joint tolerance of ofloxacine, compared with pefloxacine is statistically significant. Arthropathies induced by pefloxacine represent an original entity which seems related to the cartilage toxicity of quinolones, observed in animal experiments, during growth.

[Iron chelate treatment of hereditary sideroblastic anemia complicated by hemochromatosis]. / Traitement chélateur du fer dans l'anémie sidéroblastique héréditaire compliquée d'hémochromatose.

In a child with sideroblastic anemia complicated with hemochromatosis, iron overload was successfully treated with slow subcutaneous perfusion of deferoxamine. A 28 month-treatment resulted in the inversion of iron balance, which became negative, and the normalization of serum ferritin and abdominal CT scan. These results indicate that deferoxamine perfusion 12/24 hrs is able to restrict or even to remove the iron overload, previously responsible for hemochromatosis, a factor of mortality in this disease.

[Micromethod of estimation of total bilirubin using a single stable reagent (author's transl)]. / Microméthode de dosage de la bilirubine totale utilisant un réactif unique et stable.

The authors propose a method of estimation of total bilirubin characterised by the use of a single stable reagent, excellent reproducibility and a particularly narrow correlation (r = 0.993) with Michaelsson's method. They study the influence of protein, reduced glutathion and hemoglobin on the reaction.