How Did the Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect the Outcomes of the Patients with Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases in Lithuania?

: the COVID-19 pandemic globally caused more than 18 million deaths over the period of 2020-2021. Although inflammatory rheumatic diseases (RD) are generally associated with premature mortality, it is not yet clear whether RD patients are at a greater risk for COVID-19-related mortality. The aim of our study was to evaluate mortality and causes of death in a retrospective inflammatory RD patient cohort during the COVID-19 pandemic years.

Association between Androgen Deprivation Therapy and the Risk of Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases in Men with Prostate Cancer: Nationwide Cohort Study in Lithuania.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the association between androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and the risk of inflammatory rheumatic diseases in men with prostate cancer. Methods: Patients with prostate cancer between 2012 and 2016 were identified from the Lithuanian Cancer Registry and the National Health Insurance Fund database, on the basis of rheumatic diseases diagnoses and information on prescriptions for androgen deprivation therapy. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) to compare the risks of rheumatic diseases caused by androgen deprivation therapy exposure in groups of prostate cancer patients.

The manifestation of myositis in tick-borne encephalitis as a prophet of severe disease course: a rare case report.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is one of the most serious neurological tick-transmitted diseases. The initial phase usually occurs with non-specific symptoms such as fever, headache, and muscular pain. The clinical spectrum of the second phase of the disease typically ranges from mild meningitis to severe meningoencephalitis.

Mortality in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases: Lithuanian National Registry Data and Systematic Review.

Despite significant improvement in survival, rheumatic diseases (RD) are associated with premature mortality rates comparable to cardiovascular and neoplastic disorders. The aim of our study was to assess mortality, causes of death, and life expectancy in an inflammatory RD retrospective cohort and compare those with the general population as well as with the results of previously published studies in a systematic literature review. Patients with the first-time diagnosis of inflammatory RD during 2012-2019 were identified and cross-checked for their vital status and the date of death.

Incidence of Tuberculosis in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases: Results from a Lithuanian Retrospective Cohort Study.

With an increase in survival rates among rheumatic patients, comorbidities and infections, in particular, have gained more importance, especially after the introduction of biologicals to the treatment algorithms. Tuberculosis (TB) infection has always been given a special attention in patients with rheumatic diseases (RD). Although Lithuanian population has one of the highest TB incidence rates among European countries, the incidence of TB in the rheumatic patients' population is still unknown.

Clinical characteristics and long-term survival differences of the ANCA-associated vasculitis group: a cross-sectional study of 27 patients.

Objective: The goal of this study was to describe long-term patient survival and possible prognostic factors of a group of patients diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) hospitalized at the tertiary Rheumatology Centre in Vilnius.

Material And Methods: A cross-sectional study of 27 patients hospitalized at the Rheumatology Centre of Santaros klinikos of Vilnius University Hospital from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2015 with diagnoses of GPA and MPA were carried out. Data on demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score were collected.

The fact not to ignore: Mean blood pressure is the main predictor of increased arterial stiffness in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases.

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the association between carotid-radial pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AIx), and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery and factors potentially influencing them in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Material And Methods: 316 patients diagnosed with RA (32%), SLE (20%), SSc (16%) and 156 controls (32%) were included in the study. Parameters of arterial stiffness AIx and PWV were obtained using applanation tonometry.

Tumour-induced osteomalacia: a literature review and a case report.

Tumour-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome characterised by severe hypophosphataemia and osteomalacia, with renal phosphate wasting that occurs in association with tumour. The epidemiology likewise aetiology is not known. The clinical presentation of TIO includes bone fractures, bone and muscular pains, and sometimes height and weight loss.