Long-Term Retention Rate of Golimumab in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, and Spondyloarthritis in a Real-Life Setting.

Methods: We conducted a single-center, medical records review study of all patients with RA, PsA, and SpA on GLM treatment attending a large rheumatology department from 2010 to 2017. Times from start to end of GLM treatment were collected, as well as sociodemographic, clinical, and safety variables. Golimumab retention rate was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparison across diseases was analyzed with the Mantel-Haenszel statistic (log-rank test).

Clinical impact of nailfold capillaroscopy in daily clinical practice.

Introduction: Nailfold capillaroscopy (NC) is useful in the evaluation of Raynaud's phenomenon, associated with some connective tissue diseases and in the follow-up of patients with systemic sclerosis. Our study evaluates the impact of NC in the diagnosis, according to the reason for the request and profile of autoantibodies in daily clinical practice.

Material And Methods: All patients that undergone at least one NC between June 2012 and December 2017 were included.

Performance of ultra-high-frequency ultrasound in the evaluation of skin involvement in systemic sclerosis: a preliminary report.

Objective: High frequency ultrasound allows visualization of epidermis, dermis and hypodermis, precise measurement of skin thickness, as well as assessment of skin oedema, fibrosis and atrophy. The aim of this pilot cross-sectional observational study was to assess the performance and multiobserver variability of ultra-high-frequency (UHF) (50 MHz) ultrasound (US) in measuring skin thickness as well as the capacity of UHF-derived skin features to differentiate SSc patients from healthy controls.

Methods: Twenty-one SSc patients (16 limited and five diffuse SSc) and six healthy controls were enrolled.

Hormonal Dependence and Cancer in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Objective: To estimate the incidence and analyze any cancer-associated factors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), differentiating between hormone-sensitive (HS) and non-HS cancers.

Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter study of a patient cohort from the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Registry of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology. Included were the first cancer post-SLE diagnosis, clinical and sociodemographic information, cumulative damage, severity, comorbidities, treatments, and refractoriness.

Salivary gland ultrasound is linked to the autoimmunity profile in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: Salivary gland ultrasound (SGU) is a reliable technique for assessing the salivary glands in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS). The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between SGU findings and autoimmunity in patients with pSS.

Methods: Patients with pSS underwent an SGU assessment.

An exploratory study to determine whether infliximab modifies levels of rheumatoid factor and antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum infliximab (IFX) levels and changes of RF and ACPA levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) [Promonitor® IFX R1 (version 2) (Progenika Biopharma, Spain)] were used to measure drug levels and antidrug-antibodies (ADAb) in IFX RA-treated patients (n=19). Disease activity was assessed using DAS28.

The feet in systemic lupus erythematosus; are we underestimating their involvement and functional impact?

Objectives: To evaluate biomechanical and ultrasound (US) abnormalities in SLE patients as compared with controls and to assess the relationship between these abnormalities and SLE activity.

Methods: Fifty-four consecutive female patients with SLE with and without foot pain and 60 female controls (30 with foot pain and 30 without foot pain) were recruited. SLE activity was assessed by the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI).

Ultrasound-detected joint inflammation and B cell count: related variables for rituximab-treated RA patients?

This cross-sectional observational study aimed to explore the relationship between B cell count and ultrasound (US)-detected synovitis, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with rituximab. Thirty-seven consecutive RA patients treated with RTX were recruited for the study. The patients underwent clinical [i.

Structural damage in rheumatoid arthritis: comparison between tendon damage evaluated by ultrasound and radiographic damage.

Objective: To compare structural damage assessed by conventional radiography and tendon damage assessed by musculoskeletal US (MSUS) at wrist and ankle in RA patients.

Methods: We evaluated 72 consecutive patients [56 (77.8%) females] with RA.

Ultrasound-detected activity in rheumatoid arthritis on methotrexate therapy: Which joints and tendons should be assessed to predict unstable remission?

The aim of the study was to investigate the predictive value of different reduced joint ultrasound (US) assessments of synovitis and tenosynovitis in relation to unstable remission in a cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients on methotrexate therapy. Forty-seven RA patients (38 women, 9 men), being treated with methotrexate (MTX), in clinical remission as judged by their consultant rheumatologist were evaluated for disease activity according to the Disease Activity Score (DAS) 28 at baseline and 6 months. Sustained remission and unstable remission were defined according to the baseline and 6-month DAS28 and changes in RA therapy during the follow-up.

Predictive value of Doppler ultrasound-detected synovitis in relation to failed tapering of biologic therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of synovitis detected by Doppler US in relation to failed tapering of biologic therapy (BT) in RA patients in sustained clinical remission.

Methods: A total of 77 RA patients (52 women, 25 men) in sustained clinical remission, treated with a stable dosage of BT were prospectively recruited. BT was tapered according to an agreed strategy implemented in clinical practice (i.

Comparison between full and tapered dosages of biologic therapies in psoriatic arthritis patients: clinical and ultrasound assessment.

The primary objective of this study was to describe and compare clinical and musculoskeletal (MS) ultrasound (US) features between psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients treated with full and tapered dosage of biologic (b) disease-modified antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). The secondary objective was to compare clinical and MSUS features between PsA patients treated with bDMARDs with and without concomitant synthetic (s) DMARDs. We evaluated 102 patients with PsA treated with bDMARDs.

Ultrasound joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis in clinical remission: how many and which joints should be assessed?

Objective: To investigate the sensitivity for detecting subclinical synovitis of different reduced joint ultrasound (US) assessment models as compared with a comprehensive US assessment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in clinical remission.

Methods: Sixty-seven RA patients (50 women, 17 men) in clinical remission as judged by their consultant rheumatologist and treated with methotrexate were prospectively recruited. Patients were evaluated for disease activity according to the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) and the Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) by the same investigator.