[Atraumatic splenic rupture in Legionella pneumonia].

A 48-year-old male patient was admitted to hospital with Legionella pneumonia. He developed a splenic rupture 1 day after admission, which was surgically treated. Retrospectively, the splenomegaly could already be seen by sonography on admission.

[Head-to-head studies on connective tissue diseases and vasculitides].

Head-to-head (H2H) studies enable the direct comparison of several alternative therapeutic approaches and thus provide the evidence-based foundation for the relative position of one treatment as compared to others for a specific indication. These trials constitute an important addition to placebo-controlled clinical trials. Among the controlled clinical trials not performed by the pharmaceutical industry, there are a relevant number of H2H trials for connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and vasculitides, particularly for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc), and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV).

Ultrasonographic findings in diabetic cheiroarthropathy: a pilot study.

Objective: Diabetic cheiroarthropathy (DCA) is one of the musculoskeletal manifestations of diabetes mellitus. It is clinically diagnosed using the prayer and tabletop signs. The clinical appearance, however, mimics autoimmune-mediated polyarthritis of the hands and fingers.

Pulmonary function in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Background And Aim: Although pulmonary manifestations occur frequently in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV), empirical evidence of their impact on pulmonary function is scarce. This study analyzed pulmonary function test (PFT) data from a large cohort of patients with AVV. Results were correlated with findings from diagnostic imaging and disease activity.