Brief Report: Influence of Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis on Radiographic Progression of Concomitant Interphalangeal Joint Osteoarthritis.

Objective: Distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints are commonly considered to be unaffected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Despite synovitis and bone marrow edema being associated with radiographic progression in hand osteoarthritis (OA) and hand RA, radiographic courses differ substantially. This study was undertaken to analyze incidence and progression of radiographically evident DIP joint OA in RA patients, in relation to RA activity and patient characteristics.