Polyarticular Joint Pain in Adults: Evaluation and Differential Diagnosis.

Polyarticular joint pain involves five or more joints and can be inflammatory or noninflammatory. Two of the most common causes of chronic polyarthritis are osteoarthritis, especially in older patients, and rheumatoid arthritis, which affects at least 0.25% of adults worldwide. The initial evaluation should include a detailed history of the patient's symptoms, with a focus on inflammation, location of pain, duration of symptoms, the presence of systemic symptoms, and any exposures to pathogens that could cause arthritis. Redness, warmth, or swelling in a joint is suggestive of synovitis and joint inflammation. A systematic approach to the physical examination that assesses for a pattern of joint involvement and presence of synovitis can help narrow the differential diagnosis. Laboratory tests, joint aspiration, and imaging studies should be used to confirm a suspected diagnosis. Rheumatoid factor and cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody tests are helpful when there is concern for rheumatoid arthritis. Although magnetic resonance imaging is highly sensitive in identifying erosive bony changes and inflammation, conventional radiography remains the standard for the initial imaging evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis. Point-of-care musculoskeletal ultrasonography can also be a useful tool to detect findings that support a diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis.

Corticosteroid Injections for Common Musculoskeletal Conditions.

Family physicians considering corticosteroid injections as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for musculoskeletal diagnoses will find few high-quality studies to assist with evidence-based decision making. Most studies of corticosteroid injections for the treatment of osteoarthritis, tendinopathy, bursitis, or neuropathy include only small numbers of patients and have inconsistent long-term follow-up. Corticosteroid injections for the treatment of adhesive capsulitis result in short-term improvements in pain and range of motion. For subacromial impingement syndrome, corticosteroid injections provide short-term pain relief and improvement in function. In medial and lateral epicondylitis, corticosteroid injections offer only short-term improvement of symptoms and have a high rate of symptom recurrence. Corticosteroid injections for carpal tunnel syndrome may help patients avoid or delay surgery. Trigger finger and de Quervain tenosynovitis may be treated effectively with corticosteroid injections. Patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis may have short-term symptom relief with corticosteroid injections.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids and testosterone precursors: ergogenic aids and sport.

This article reviews the recent literature on the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) for performance enhancement. Recent studies utilizing supraphysiologic doses of testosterone have demonstrated increases in strength and improvements in body composition, despite earlier assertions by the medical community that steroids were ineffective as ergogenic aids. Although data that support the theory of conversion of prohormones, such as androstenediol, to testosterone in the body is available, support for testosterone precursors alone as ergogenic aids is lacking. Drug testing laboratories are utilizing new techniques that analyze carbon-13 levels of urinary steroids to detect exogenously administered steroids as well as the use of urine-manipulating agents. Investigations that seek to refute athletes' various claims for positive drug tests are ongoing. The recent discovery, characterization, and development of a urine test for tetra-hydro-gestrinone, a designer steroid, has brought the issue of performance enhancement once again into the public spotlight. Increasing attention is also being paid to the long-term effects of AAS abuse, as more authors characterize the changes to hematologic, hepatic, lipid, and hormone profiles as a result of years of steroid use. Although the understanding of AAS and testosterone precursors as performance-enhancing drugs continues to advance, there are likely to be more revelations as scientific investigations continue.