MRI and ultrasonography for detection of early interphalangeal osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the interest of MRI and ultrasonography (US) in identifying early and advanced interphalangeal (IP) OA. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study including patients with symptomatic hand OA (n=33) and young healthy volunteers (n=26). Proximal and distal IP joints were graded according to Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grades. In OA patients, we separated IP joints into 2 groups: "at risk of OA" joints (potential early pre-radiographic OA joints, KL=0) and OA joints (KL=2-4). All IP joints from healthy participants were KL=0 and were considered strictly normal IP joints. Concurrently, synovitis, effusion, erosions, osteophytes, bone marrow lesions, cysts and cartilage space loss were graded by MRI and/or US. We assessed their prevalence, severity and diagnostic performance in hand OA and then compared normal IP joints from healthy participants and "at risk of OA" IP joints from OA patients as well as "at risk of OA" and OA IP joints from OA patients. RESULTS: The prevalence and grade of most MRI/US-detected lesions were higher in IP joints from OA patients than healthy participants. Except for osteophyte assessment, MRI seemed more sensitive than US. We found more MRI/US-detected lesions in "at risk of OA" IP joints than normal joints but also in OA than "at risk of OA" joints from OA patients. US appeared both sensitive and specific for detecting osteophytes in joints without radiographic abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: MRI and US give good performance for detecting radiographic and pre-radiographic OA lesions and could be interesting tools to identify early hand OA.

Increased prevalence and severity of radiographic hand osteoarthritis in patients with HIV-1 infection associated with metabolic syndrome: data from the cross-sectional METAFIB-OA study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine radiographic hand osteoarthritis (HOA) prevalence in patients with HIV-1 infection in comparison with the general population and to address whether metabolic syndrome (MetS) may increase the risk of HOA during HIV-1 infection. PATIENTS: Patients with HIV-1 infection and MetS (International Diabetes Federation, IDF criteria) aged 45-65 years were matched by age and gender to HIV-1-infected subjects without MetS and underwent hand radiographs. Framingham OA cohort was used as general population cohort. METHODS: Radiographic HOA was defined as Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) score ≥2 on more than one joint. Radiographic severity was assessed by global KL score and number of OA joints. HOA prevalence was compared with that found in the Framingham study, stratified by age and sex. Logistic and linear regression models were used to determine the risk factors of HOA in patients with HIV-1 infection. RESULTS: 301 patients (88% male, mean age 53.4±5.0 years) were included, 152 with MetS and 149 without it. Overall, HOA prevalence was 55.5% and was higher for those with MetS than those without it (64.5% vs 46.3%, p=0.002). When considering men within each age group, HOA frequency was greater in patients with HIV-1 infection than the general population (all ages: 55.8% vs 38.7%; p<0.0001), due to the subgroup with MetS (64.9%; p<0.0001), as well as the subgroup without MetS, although not significant (46.6%; p=0.09). Risk of HOA was increased with MetS (OR 2.23, 95% 95% CI 1.26% to 3.96%) and age (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.25). HOA severity was greater for patients with MetS than those without. HOA was not associated with previous or current exposure to protease inhibitors or HIV infection-related markers. CONCLUSIONS: HOA frequency is greater in patients with HIV-1 infection, especially those with MetS, than the general population. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02353767.

Brief Report: Monoclonal Gammopathy and Risk of Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma in Patients With Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the link between monoclonal gammopathy (MG), disease activity, and incidence of malignant hematologic disorders (MHDs), including lymphoma and multiple myeloma (MM), in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS). METHODS: Screening for the presence of MG was performed in 352 primary SS patients. Each patient with MG was paired with 2 age- and sex-matched primary SS controls without MG. Their characteristics were compared for the presence of risk factors for MG and for the relationship between MG and MHD. RESULTS: Twenty-six of the 352 primary SS patients (7.4%) had MG; 88% were women, with a median age of 62.7 years (interquartile range [IQR] 50.3-69.1 years) and a median disease duration of 7.8 years (IQR 3.6-12.8 years). The parameters associated with MG on multivariate analysis were higher disease activity, as measured by either the European League Against Rheumatism Sjögren's Syndrome Disease Activity Index (ESSDAI; adjusted odds ratio [OR] 9.7, P = 0.0002) or the Clinical ESSDAI (adjusted OR 6.7, P = 0.001), and low C4 level (adjusted OR 3.4, P = 0.04). After a median follow-up of 6.3 years (IQR 3.1-9.5 years), 10 patients with MG had developed an MHD (38.5%; 4 had lymphomas and 6 had MM), as compared with 4 patients in the control group (7.7%; all had lymphomas) (OR 7.5, P = 0.002). The only factor associated with the risk of MHDs was the presence of MG (adjusted OR 5.5, P = 0.02), which was principally associated with an increased risk of MM (23% versus 0%; P = 0.0009), but not lymphoma (15% versus 8%; P = 0.3). CONCLUSION: The presence of MG was associated with higher disease activity and an increased risk of MHD in primary SS. In the presence of MG, the risk of MM was even higher than the risk of lymphoma. These results suggest that regular monitoring of primary SS patients with MG for the emergence of both lymphoma and MM is necessary.

One case of Felty's syndrome efficiently treated with rituximab.

Felty's syndrome (FS) is a rare association of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), neutropenia and splenomegaly. Mechanisms of neutropenia in FS are unclear but involve both innate and humoral immunity, impaired granulopoiesis and decreased granulocyte half-life. Several treatments have been used without clear efficiency. We report a patient with FS efficiently treated with rituximab (RTX), the monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody. A literature review of FS treated with RTX was performed.