Complications after orthopaedic surgeries in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with Janus kinase inhibitors: A retrospective observational study.

Objectives: The current study compared the outcome after orthopaedic surgeries in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) versus biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs).

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Sixty-two patients with rheumatoid arthritis using JAKi preoperatively underwent orthopaedic surgeries.

Risk factor analysis of perioperative complications in patients with rheumatoid arthritis undergoing primary cervical spine surgery.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often causes cervical spine lesions as the disease condition progresses, which induce occipital neuralgia or cervical myelopathy requiring surgical interventions. Meanwhile, patients with RA are susceptible to infection or other complications in the perioperative period because they frequently have comorbidities and use immunosuppressive medications. However, the risk factors or characteristics of patients with RA who experience perioperative complications after cervical spine surgery remain unknown.

Factors affecting patient satisfaction related to cost and treatment effectiveness in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the multicenter observational cohort study, FRANK Registry.

Background: To further improve rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment, it is necessary to understand each RA patient's satisfaction and to identify the factors affecting their satisfaction. Despite the rise in medical costs for RA, little is known about the factors that influence patient satisfaction with the cost of treatment in RA patients.

Methods: This is a multicenter observational study of Japanese RA patients from the FRANK Registry with data analyzed from March 2017 to August 2020.

Have the radiographic characteristics of total knee arthroplasty recipients in rheumatoid arthritis changed after the induction of biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs?

Objectives: Whether the characteristics of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have changed in the era of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) is unclear. We compared the radiographic findings of the knees in TKA recipients with RA before and after the introduction of bDMARDs.

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent primary TKA between 1999 and 2002 (115 knees; 79 patients, group A) and between 2013 and 2017 (117 knees; 95 patients, group B) were retrospectively evaluated.

Bone fragility via degradation of bone quality featured by collagen/apatite micro-arrangement in human rheumatic arthritis.

Although increased bone fragility is a well-recognized consequence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the essential cause of degenerate bone strength remains unknown. This study aimed to determine factors contributing to bone dysfunction in RA by focusing on the bone matrix micro-arrangement, based on the preferential orientation of collagen and the related apatite c-axis as a bone quality index. The classical understanding of RA is limited to its severe pathological conditions associated with inflammation-induced bone loss.

Relationship between the physician-based clinical scale for foot and ankle surgery and patient-reported outcomes in patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis: Results from a multicenter prospective observational cohort study.

Objectives: To validate and establish targets for the physician-based clinical scale for foot surgery in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients based on patient-reported outcomes from a multicenter prospective cohort.

Methods: We collected data on demographics, values from the RA foot and ankle scale by the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Foot (JSSF-RA), and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) including the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) before (baseline) and 6 and 12 months after joint surgery. Target values for JSSF-RA were determined according to the lower limit of the 95% CI of JSSF-RA in patients with HAQ-DI ≤0.

Does Preparation of the Subtalar Joint for Primary Union Affect Clinical Outcome in Patients Undergoing Intramedullary Nail for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hindfoot and Ankle?

This study aimed to evaluate whether preparation of the subtalar joint affects the clinical outcomes after tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis using an intramedullary nail with fins for rheumatoid ankle/hindfoot deformity. Fifty-three joints in 51 patients who underwent tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis using an intramedullary nail with fins for rheumatoid arthritis at 2 institutions were included. Ten patients were male and 41 were female, with a mean age at surgery and follow-up period of 61.

Preoperative Japanese Society for the Surgery of the Foot Lesser toe score and erythrocyte sedimentation rate influence wound healing following rheumatoid forefoot surgery.

Objectives: Delayed wound healing is one of the most common complications following forefoot surgery in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. We aimed to identify the risk factors for delayed wound healing following rheumatoid forefoot surgery.

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent primary rheumatoid forefoot surgery (86 feet; 53 patients) between April 2008 and February 2019 were retrospectively evaluated.

Influence of dioxin-related compounds on physical function in Yusho incident victims.

Purpose: Few studies have examined the influence of dioxin-related compounds on human physical function, and existing results are inconsistent. In 1968, accidental human exposure to rice oil contaminated with dioxin-related compounds resulted in the development of Yusho oil disease in Japan. We aimed to determine whether the degree of exposure to dioxin-related compounds was associated with physical function in Yusho patients.

Suppression of joint destruction with subcutaneous tocilizumab for Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis in clinical practice.

To investigate the efficacy of suppressing joint destruction with subcutaneous tocilizumab (TCZ-SC) for Japanese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in the real-world clinical setting. This 1-year prospective, multicenter study included 110 RA patients in whom TCZ-SC was newly initiated. Primary endpoint was the change from baseline in vdH-modified total Sharp score (mTSS) at week 52.

Target setting for lower limb joint surgery using the Timed Up and Go test in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A prospective cohort study.

Objective: This prospective observational cohort study aimed to set targets for lower limb joint surgery based on the Timed Up and Go test (TUG), an objective functional outcome measure, in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We validated TUG as an outcome measure of lower limb joint surgery and compared it with changes in patient-reported outcomes, including the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) and European Quality of life scale with five dimensions (EQ-5D). Changes in these outcomes were compared by performed surgery and by achievement of the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for EQ-5D using univariate analysis of variance.

Mid-term clinical outcome of constrained condylar knee prosthesis for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

This study retrospectively investigated the mid-term outcome of Legacy constrained condylar knee (LCCK) prosthesis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) having severe varus/valgus deformity, instability, and/or bone loss. Between January 2000 and December 2015, LCCK prostheses had been performed in 32 knees of 25 patients with RA, and 23 knees of 17 patients of the postoperative follow-up minimum 2 years were analyzed in this study (Primary: 14 knees, Revision: 9 knees). The average of follow-up duration was 6.

Reconstruction of Acute Patellar Tendon Rupture after Patellectomy.

Acute rupture of the knee extensor mechanism after patellectomy is extremely rare. We present the case of a patient with acute patellar tendon rupture who had undergone patellectomy 53 years before. Twelve days after the injury, the ruptured patellar tendon was repaired with end-to-end suture.

Validation and reliability of the Timed Up and Go test for measuring objective functional impairment in patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional study.

Aim: This study aimed to validate the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) for measuring objective functional impairment in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on a prospective observational cohort of RA patients undergoing joint surgery.

Methods: We collected data on demographics, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI), and associations between TUG and HAQ-DI and other patient-reported outcomes, including European Quality of life scale (EQ-5D) were determined. Cut-off values of TUG for HAQ remission (HAQ-DI ≤0.

Characteristics of patients with fragility hip fractures in the northern Kyushu district in Japan: a multicenter prospective registry based on an electronic data capture system.

Osteoporosis has become a worldwide public health problem, in part due to the fact that it increases the risk of fragility hip fractures (FHFs). The epidemiological assessment of FHFs is critical for their prevention; however, datasets for FHFs in Japan remain scarce. This was a multicenter, prospective, observational study in the northern district of Kyushu Island.

Characteristics of functional impairment in patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis based on range of motion of joints: Baseline data from a multicenter prospective observational cohort study to evaluate the effectiveness of joint surgery in the treat-to-target era.

Objective: To explore the characteristics of functional impairment in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) based on the range of motion (ROM) of joints in a prospective observational study of RA patients undergoing joint surgery.

Methods: We collected data on demographics, Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI), and the ROM of large joints including the shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle. Associations between the ROM of each joint and disability in the eight HAQ-DI categories were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and logistic regression analyses.

Minimum 10-year results of cementless total hip arthroplasty in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: To retrospectively evaluate the long-term results of cementless total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and postoperative patient mortality after THA.

Methods: This study included 191 hips in 149 RA patients who underwent cementless THA between 1998 and 2005. Mean age at surgery was 54.

Clinical and Genetic Features of Patients With TNFRSF1A Variants in Japan: Findings of a Nationwide Survey.

Objective: To elucidate the clinical and genetic features of patients with TNFRSF1A variants in Japan using data obtained from a nationwide survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare of Japan study group for tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS).

Methods: Inquiries were sent to 2,900 departments of internal medicine and pediatrics in all hospitals with more than 200 beds in Japan, asking whether they had patients in whom TRAPS was suspected. Genetic tests for TNFRSF1A, MEFV, and MVK were performed on 169 patients.

Impact of methotrexate dose on efficacy of adalimumab in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Results from registered data analyses.

Objective: Upper limit of methotrexate (MTX) for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was recently increased from 8 to 16 mg/week in Japan. We therefore examined the effect of concomitant MTX dose on the efficacy of adalimumab (ADA) in clinical practice.

Method: Sixty-one consecutive RA patients treated with ADA were followed for minimum 52 weeks and retrospectively compared by MTX dose; patients receiving concomitant MTX of 10 mg/week or more (MTX ≥10 mg group) and <10 mg/week (MTX <10 mg group).

Mid-term clinical results of primary total knee arthroplasty using metal block augmentation and stem extension in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Despite recent advancements in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pharmacotherapy, surgeons still encounter severely damaged knees. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the mid-term clinical results of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with metal block augmentation and stem extension.

Methods: A total of 26 knees in 21 patients who underwent primary TKA with metal block augmentation and stem extension were retrospectively reviewed.