Development of an instrument to predict proliferative histological class in lupus nephritis based on clinical and laboratory data.

Objectives: To compare the correlations of histological class inferences based on clinical manifestations and laboratory tests between rheumatologists and nephrologists, to determine the associations of clinical and laboratory data with histological classes and to develop an instrument that can assist histological class identification in lupus nephritis (LN).

Methods: Retrospective study based on medical records of 80 systemic lupus erythematosus patients (SLICC criteria classification, 2012) who underwent kidney biopsy between 2010 and 2017. Two rheumatologists and two nephrologists received clinical and laboratory data and answered questions regarding which histological class was expected on kidney biopsy.

The assessment of presenteeism and activity impairment in Behçet's syndrome and recurrent aphthous stomatitis: a multicentre study.

Objective: To evaluate key factors for presenteeism and activity impairment in multinational patients with Behçet's syndrome (BS) and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS).

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 364 BS patients from Jordan, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Turkey and 143 RAS patients from the United Kingdom and Turkey were included. The Work Productivity Activity Impairment (WPAI) scale was used for presenteeism and activity impairment.

Prevalence of cryoglobulinemia and cryoglobulinemic vasculitis in chronically HCV-infected Brazilian patients.

Introduction And Objectives: Cryoglobulinemia is one of the most frequent extrahepatic manifestations of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and it may evolve to cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CryoVas) which is a systemic vasculitis that affects small-sized vessels. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of cryoglobulinemia and CryoVas in HCV patients in São Paulo, Brazil.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and included sixty-eight viremic HCV patients, without HIV or hepatitis B coinfection.

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) mimicking Takayasu's arteritis--case report.

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is defined as a set of symptoms caused by the compression of the brachial plexus and subclavian vessels in the thoracic outlet region. Anomalies in musculoskeletal structures may be responsible for TOS, including prolonged transverse process of the seventh cervical vertebra, cervical rib, and first anomalous rib and clavicle fractures. The authors describe a case of a young woman with pain in the left forearm, accompanied by intermittent claudication, weigh loss, myalgias and ischemic lesions in the fingers, with no pulses and no measurable blood pressure in the left arm, who was initially diagnosed as Takayasu arteritis.