Assessment of enthesopathy in conventional pelvis radiography: Another tool for spondyloarthritis diagnosis beyond sacroiliitis.

Introduction/objectives: Enthesitis is a cardinal feature of spondylarthritis (SpA), and the pelvis is a common site of enthesitis. This study aimed to establish the association between pelvic enthesis involvement on pelvic X-ray and SpA diagnosis through a radiographic enthesis index (REI) and to assess the reliability and accuracy of this REI.

Materials And Methods: The participants were SpA patients and a control group composed of patients with chronic lumbar pain without SpA.

Association of ERAP2 polymorphisms in Colombian HLA-B27+ or HLA-B15+ patients with SpA and its relationship with clinical presentation: axial or peripheral predominance.

Objective: To determine the association between endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase (ERAP)1 and ERAP2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and human leukocyte antigens (HLA)-B27+ or HLA-B15+ patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA).

Methods: 104 patients with SpA according to Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society criteria were included in the study. HLA typing was performed by PCR.

The impact of smoking on disease activity, disability, and radiographic damage in rheumatoid arthritis: is cigarette protective?

The ojective of this study is to assess the effect of tobacco smoking on disease activity, functional ability, and joint damage in a cohort of patients with early onset rheumatoid arthritis (EORA). 129 EORA patients attending the Rheumatology Unit of the School of Medicine of the "Universidad Nacional de Colombia" and the "Clínica de Artritis y Rehabilitación" in Bogota, Colombia, were enrolled in a prospective observational cohort study with 3-year follow-up. Clinical, biological, immunogenetics, and radiographic data were analyzed.

The Role of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D as a Predictor of Clinical and Radiological Outcomes in Early Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: The aims of this study were to compare the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in patients with early-onset rheumatoid arthritis (EORA) versus a healthy control group and to assess the association of 25(OH)D deficiency and the BsmI polymorphism of the vitamin D receptor gene with clinical, radiological, and laboratory parameters.

Methods: Early-onset RA Colombian patients were enrolled in a 3-year follow-up study. Vitamin D deficiency was diagnosed for 25(OH)D levels of less than 20 ng/mL.

Radiographic changes of the distal phalangeal tuft of the hands in subjects with systemic sclerosis. Systematic review.

Objective: To determine abnormal plain radiograph findings of the distal phalanx tuft of the hand (DPTH) associated with systemic sclerosis in adults.

Methods: A systematic review was developed following the parameters of the PRISMA guidelines in databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIREME, Scielo, Google Scholar and others including as primary outcomes alterations of DPTH (erosions, resorption, sclerosis and proliferation) detected by simple radiography in subjects with systemic sclerosis. The prevalence of radiographic findings was synthesized using the fixed effects model.

Does non-erosive rheumatoid arthritis exist? A cross-sectional analysis and a systematic literature review.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with non-erosive rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: First, a cross-sectional analytical study was performed. Non-erosive disease, defined as the absence of any erosion on X-rays after 5 years of RA, was evaluated in 500 patients.

Familial disease, the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope and anti-CCP antibodies influence time at appearance of substantial joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) progresses more rapidly in some patients than in others and diverse factors influence radiographic progression in a specific population. Thus, we searched for variables that are associated with an early appearance of substantial joint damage in patients with RA by using radiographic assessments. A cohort of 157 consecutively enrolled Colombian RA patients was followed for an average of 3.