Dataset Information

Finger Joint Cartilage Evaluated by Semiquantitative Ultrasound Score in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) includes both bone and cartilage lesions. Since joint space narrowing (JSN) is not a direct evaluation of cartilage using radiography, we aimed to examine the validity of ultrasound (US) cartilage evaluation using a semiquantitative method in patients with RA.

Methods

We enrolled 103 patients with RA who were in remission or showing low disease activity and 42 healthy subjects. The cartilage thickness of the bilateral metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints of the second to fifth fingers was measured by US, and the recorded images were scored semiquantitatively using a scale of 0-2. In addition, the JSN of the corresponding joints was scored using a hand radiograph. The relationships between total cartilage thickness, its semiquantitative score, and JSN score were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients.

Results

Total cartilage thickness was significantly thinner in patients with RA compared to healthy subjects for both the MCP and PIP joints (both P < 0.001). The semiquantitative sum of 16 joints ranged from 2 to 26 (median 8) in patients with RA, which was significantly greater than the 0-11 (median 4) in healthy subjects (P < 0.001). In patients with RA, the semiquantitative score showed a significant negative correlation with cartilage thickness (? = -0.64, P < 0.001) and a significant positive correlation with JSN score (? = 0.66, P < 0.001). Furthermore, these scores showed a significant correlation with RA disease duration.

Conclusion

A simplified and direct evaluation of finger joint cartilage damage by semiquantitative US score is valid and useful for patients with RA.

SUBMITTER: Ogura T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7898608 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Finger Joint Cartilage Evaluated by Semiquantitative Ultrasound Score in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Ogura Takehisa T Hirata Ayako A Hayashi Norihide N Imaizumi Chihiro C Ito Hideki H Takenaka Sayaka S Inoue Yuki Y Takakura Yuto Y Mizushina Kennosuke K Katagiri Takaharu T Kameda Hideto H

Arthritis care & research 20210201 2

<h4>Objective</h4>Joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) includes both bone and cartilage lesions. Since joint space narrowing (JSN) is not a direct evaluation of cartilage using radiography, we aimed to examine the validity of ultrasound (US) cartilage evaluation using a semiquantitative method in patients with RA.<h4>Methods</h4>We enrolled 103 patients with RA who were in remission or showing low disease activity and 42 healthy subjects. The cartilage thickness of the bilateral metaca ...[more]

PMID: 31651103

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Project description:PurposeWith the current use of biologics in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), there is a need to monitor ongoing structural joint damage due to the dissociation of articular cartilage damage from disease activity of RA. This study longitudinally analyzed levels of serum cartilage biomarkers during 54 weeks of infliximab therapy, to evaluate the feasibility of biomarkers for monitoring structural joint damage.MethodsSubjects comprised 33 patients with early RA and 33 patients with established RA. All patients received 3 mg/kg of infliximab and methotrexate for 54 weeks. Levels of the following serum cartilage markers were measured at baseline and at weeks 14, 22, and 54: hyaluronan (HA); cartilage oligometric matrix protein (COMP); type II collagen (CII)-related neoepitope (C2C); type II procollagen carboxy-propeptide (CPII); and keratin sulfate (KS). Time courses for each biomarker were assessed, and relationships between these biomarkers and clinical or radiographic parameters generally used for RA were investigated.ResultsLevels of CRP, MMP-3, DAS28-CRP, and annual progression of TSS were improved to similar degrees in both groups at week 54. HA and C2C/CPII were significantly decreased compared to baseline in the early RA group (p<0.001), whereas HA and COMP, but not C2C/CPII, were decreased in the established RA group. Strikingly, serum C2C/CPII levels were universally improved in early RA, regardless of EULAR response grade. Both ?HA and ?C2C/CPII from baseline to week 54 correlated significantly with not only ?CRP, but also ?DAS28 in early RA. Interestingly, when partial correlation coefficients were calculated by standardizing CRP levels, the significant correlation of ?HA to ?DAS28 disappeared, whereas correlations of ?C2C/CPII to ?DAS28, ?JNS, and ?HAQ remained significant. These results suggest a role of ?C2C/CPII as a marker of ongoing structural joint damage with the least association with CRP, and that irreversible cartilage damage in established RA limits restoration of the C2C/CPII level, even with tight control of joint inflammation.ConclusionThe temporal course of C2C/CPII level during anti-TNF therapy indicates that CII turnover shifts toward CII synthesis in early RA, but not in established RA, potentially due to irreversible cartilage damage. ?C2C/CPII appears to offer a useful marker reflecting ongoing structural joint damage, dissociated from inflammatory indices such as CRP and MMP-3.

Project description:BackgroundAutoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), which is characterized by an increased presence of thyroid autoantibodies (TAbs), such as antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPOAbs) and antibodies against thyroglobulin (TgAbs), has been reported to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) because AITD and RA both involve autoimmunity. However, few data are available on the incidence of TAbs in Chinese RA patients, and studies on the association between TAbs and joint damage as well as synovitis in RA patients remain sparse. Here, we aimed to evaluate the incidence of TAbs in a consecutive Chinese RA cohort and to investigate whether the elevated presence of TAbs is associated with joint damage and synovitis in RA patients.MethodsA total of 125 hospitalized RA patients were consecutively recruited. Clinical data and available synovial tissues were collected at baseline, and TAbs and thyroid function were detected by chemiluminescent immunoassay. Patients who tested positive for TPOAbs or TgAbs were classified as the TAbs-positive group, and patients who tested positive for neither TPOAbs nor TgAbs were recruited as the TAbs-negative group. Disease activity was assessed using DAS28-ESR (the disease activity score in 28 joints and including the erythrocyte sedimentation rate). X-ray assessment of the hand/wrist was performed according to the Sharp/van der Heijde-modified Sharp score (mTSS), and patients with an mTSS score >10 were defined as having radiographic joint damage (RJD). Serial tissue sections were stained immunohistochemically for CD3, CD15, CD20, CD34, CD38, and CD68, and synovitis were assessed according to Krenn's synovitis score.ResultsA total of 44 (35%) patients were positive for either TPOAbs or TgAbs. Importantly, there was a significantly greater percentage of patients with RJD in the TAbs-positive group versus the TAbs-negative group (68% vs. 42%, p = 0.005). Compared with the TAbs-negative group, significantly more CD38-positive plasma cells infiltrated the TAbs-positive synovium, and a higher percentage of patients with high-grade synovitis were observed in the TAbs-positive group (5/8, 63% vs. 5/14, 36%). Moreover, RF positivity and disease activity indicators, including TJC28, DAS28-ESR, and CDAI, were significantly higher in the TAbs-positive group (all p < 0.05). Adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that positive TAbs (OR 2.999, 95% CI [1.301-6.913]; p = 0.010) and disease duration (OR 1.013, 95% CI [1.006-1.019]; p < 0.001) were independently associated with RJD, and an odds ratio of 2.845 (95% CI [1.062-7.622]) was found for RJD in women with positive TAbs (n = 37) compared with those without TAbs (n = 59) (p = 0.038).ConclusionOur data showed that joint destruction was amplified in RA patients with an elevated presence of TAbs, which supports the importance and necessity of TAbs and thyroid function screening and monitoring in RA patient management in clinical practice.

Dataset Information

Finger Joint Cartilage Evaluated by Semiquantitative Ultrasound Score in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Finger Joint Cartilage Evaluated by Semiquantitative Ultrasound Score in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Similar Datasets

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