December 2022 to March 2023
Authors: Serena Fasano and Jean-Guillaume Letarouilly
Aouad K et al (doi: 10.1002/acr.25103) aimed to determine sex differences in disease outcomes in recent axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) over time. The authors analyzed the first 6 years of follow-up of the prospective French multicenter DESIR cohort. Both men and women showed clear improvements in ASDAS-CRP, patient global assessment (PtGA), and CRP level. Women had higher ASDAS-CRP and PtGA over time compared to men (both P < 0.0001) with overall similar CRP levels (P = 0.089), whereas structural damage increased more in men (P < 0.0001).
Gartshteyn Y et al (doi: 10.1002/acr.25107) evaluated whether platelet-bound complement activation product C4d (PC4d) levels could assess risk of future thrombosis events in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study included 418 patients. PC4d levels above the optimum cutoff of 13 mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) predicted future arterial thrombosis with a hazard ratio of 4.34 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.03-18.3) and a diagnostic odds ratio (OR) of 4.30 (95% CI 1.19-15.54). Negative predictive value of PC4d level of ≤13 MFI for arterial thrombosis was 99% (95% CI 97-100%).
Chen L et al (doi: 10.1002/acr.25084) aimed to determine whether the composition of the tophus changes during urate-lowering therapy. Serial DECT scans from 32 people with gout were obtained over 2 years of allopurinol therapy, dose-escalated to serum urate of <0.36 mmoles/liter. The mean ± SD total tophus volume reduced over the 2-year period from 5.17 ± 5.55 cm3 to 2.61 ± 2.73 cm3 (p < 0.0001). Greater reductions in tophus urate volumes than tophus soft tissue volumes were observed; the tophus urate volume decreased by 70.6%, and tophus soft tissue volume decreased by 37.8% (p < 0.0001).
Singh N et al (doi: 10.1002/acr.25087) aimed to compare obstetric/birth outcomes and rehospitalization among women with and without rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or SLE and their infants in a population-based retrospective cohort including women with RA (n = 1,223) and SLE (n = 1,354) and unexposed women with singleton births 1987-2014 in Washington State. Women with RA/SLE more often required rehospitalization, most notably at <6 months postpartum (RA: 4% versus 2%; RR 2.22 [95% CI 1.62-3.04]; SLE: 6% versus 2%; RR 2.78 [95% CI 2.15-3.59]). Maternal postpartum rehospitalization was greatest for musculoskeletal conditions (RA: HR 19.1 [95% CI 13.6-26.8]; SLE: HR 29.8 [95% CI 22.1-40.1]). Infants of women with SLE more often had malformations (9% versus 6%; RR 1.46 [95% CI 1.21-1.75]), and increased mortality at <2 years (RR 2.11 [95% CI 1.21-3.67]).
Serena Fasano
Serena is a consultant rheumatologist at Hospital San Giovanni Bosco in Naples, Italy. Her research interests include Connective tissue diseases, especially Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Systemic Sclerosis. Serena is a member of the Social Media Sub-Committee.
Jean-Guillaume Letarouilly
Jean-Guillaume is a fellow in rheumatology at Lille University Hospital in Lille, France. His main research focus on spondyloarthritis and its crosstalk with inflammatory bowel diseases and psoriasis. Jean-Guillaume is a member of the Social Media Sub-Committee.