A comparison of disease burden in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to compare disease burden in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (ax-SpA).

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all the RA (1093), PsA (365) and ax-SpA (333) patients who visited the out-patient clinic of the Hospital of Southern Norway Trust during the year 2013 were included; the RA patients all had a RA diagnosis verified by the treating rheumatologist, the PsA patients all fulfilled the ClASsification for Psoriatic ARthritis (CASPAR) criteria and the ax-SpA patients all fulfilled the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) classification criteria for ax-SpA. Patient-reported health status, demographic variables, medications, and composite scores of disease activity were assessed.

Lyme arthritis in Southern Norway--an endemic area for Lyme borreliosis.

Background: Despite Southern Norway is an endemic area for Lyme borreliosis there is a lack of data on Lyme arthritis (LA). In the literature controversies exist if acute LA can develop into chronic arthritis. Our objective was to identify and characterize patients with LA in Southern Norway and explore disease course after antibiotic treatment.