Evolution of Pulmonary Function in a Cohort of Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease and Positive for Antisynthetase Antibodies.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the evolution of the pulmonary function in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) who are positive for at least 1 of the antisynthetase antibodies (ASAB) after medical treatment, and to compare whether the evolution of pulmonary function is associated with the type of ASAB. METHODS: Patients with ILD and positive for at least 1 of the ASAB (anti-Jo1, anti-PL7, anti-PL12, anti-EJ, or anti-OJ) were included. The clinical evolution, time until death or censoring, and improvement of lung disease were registered. RESULTS: The study included 118 patients. Most of the patients had a high extent of ground glass opacities in high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and low extent of fibrosis. In the final evaluation of pulmonary function (median 749.5 days of followup), 67% of the patients had lung disease improvement. The improvement occurred within the first 6 months after initiating medical treatment; thereafter, pulmonary function remained stable in most of the patients. A decrease of the extent of ground glass opacities was demonstrated in HRCT at followup in those patients with pulmonary improvement. No differences were observed in the percentage of patients who achieved improvement between the ASAB groups, or in survival. CONCLUSION: Improvement of pulmonary function was observed in 67% of the patients. Improvement was observed in all ASAB groups and occurred within 6 months after initiating medical treatment.

Timing of onset affects arthritis presentation pattern in antisyntethase syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if the timing of appearance with respect to disease onset may influence the arthritis presentation pattern in antisynthetase syndrome (ASSD). METHODS: The patients were selected from a retrospective large international cohort of ASSD patients regularly followed-up in centres referring to AENEAS collaborative group. Patients were eligible if they had an antisynthetase antibody testing positive in at least two determinations along with arthritis occurring either at ASSD onset (Group 1) or during the course of the disease (Group 2). RESULTS: 445 (70%; 334 females, 110 males, 1 transsexual) out of the 636 ASSD we collected had arthritis, in the majority of cases (367, 83%) from disease onset (Group 1). Patients belonging to Group 1 with respect to Group 2 had an arthritis more commonly polyarticular and symmetrical (p=0.015), IgM-Rheumatoid factor positive (p=0.035), erosions at hands and feet plain x-rays (p=0.036) and more commonly satisfying the 1987 revised classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (p=0.004). Features such as Raynaud's phenomenon, mechanic's hands and fever (e.g. accompanying findings) were more frequently reported in Group 2 (p=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: In ASSD, the timing of appearance with respect to disease onset influences arthritis characteristics. In particular, RA features are more common when arthritis occurs from ASSD onset, suggesting an overlap between RA and ASSD in these patients. When arthritis appears during the follow-up, it is very close to a connective tissue disease-related arthritis. Also, the different prevalence of accompanying features between these two groups is in line with this possibility.

[Infective endocarditis. 5-years experience in a third-level reference center in Yucatan, Mexico]. / Endocarditis infecciosa. Experiencia de 5 años en un tercer nivel de referencia en Yucatán México.

BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis is a disease with high morbidity and mortality. The clinical characteristics differ among populations. Therefore it is important to know the characteristics of the disease in our region. METHODS: This is an observational study that included all patients diagnosed with infective endocarditis from 1 January 2009 until 31 December 2014. The data are showed as frequencies and percentages altogether with medians with interquartile range. RESULTS: 10 cases were included. The median age was 34 years (IQR 26-41). Several risk factors were identified and included: previous valvular heart disease, patients with chronic kidney disease who have had a vascular access and previous history of immunological disease. The native mitral valve was the most affected. The size of vegetations had a median length of 14 mm (IQR 9.3-16). Streptococcus alpha hemolytic was the most common organism. In-hospital mortality rate was 10 %. CONCLUSIONS: The behavior of the disease is similar to other national series. We identify risk factors that could be related to the type of morbidities in the region.

Introducción: la endocarditis infecciosa es una enfermedad con elevada morbilidad y mortalidad. La expresión clínica es variable en diferentes poblaciones, por lo que es imperativo conocer las características de la enfermedad en nuestra región. Métodos: estudio observacional que incluyo la totalidad de los pacientes diagnosticados con endocarditis bacteriana entre el 1 de enero de 2009 hasta el 31 de diciembre de 2014. Los datos se presentan como frecuencias con porcentajes y medianas con rango intercuartílico, según sea el caso. Resultados: se incluyen 10 casos. La mediana de edad fue 34 años (RIC 26-41). Los factores de riesgo identificados fueron: enfermedad valvular previa, enfermedad renal crónica con acceso vascular y enfermedad inmunológica. La válvula mitral nativa fue la más afectada. La mediana de longitud de las vegetaciones fue de 14 mm (RIC 9.3-16). El estreptococo alfa hemolítico fue el microorganismo más común. La tasa de mortalidad intrahospitalaria fue del 10 %. Conclusiones: el comportamiento de la enfermedad es similar a otras series nacionales. Identificamos factores de riesgo que pueden circunscribirse a las morbilidades en la región.