Physician's Experience and Disease Activity Affect the Impact of Ultrasound on the Treatment Decision in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Background/objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore which factors affect the impact of musculoskeletal ultrasound (MUS) on the treatment proposal among rheumatologists with different degree of experience.

Methods: Sixteen clinical vignettes summarized data from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) outpatients; vignettes included clinical evaluation and a blank section for a first treatment proposal; MUS information was then added, based on German Ultrasound score, followed by a blank section for treatment re-consideration, if applicable. During a 6 months period, each vignette was concomitantly presented to six trainees and six senior rheumatologists (SR); three SR had ≥15 years of experience.

Prevalence and associations of anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibodies with clinical phenotypes in patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome: aPS/PT antibodies in primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Objective: The clinical significance of anti-phosphatidylserine/prothrombin (aPS/PT) in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is still controversial. We assessed the prevalence of aPS/PT antibodies, their association with other anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL) and with different APS clinical phenotypes.

Methods: We included 95 primary APS patients according to the Sydney classification criteria, and patients with thrombocytopenia and/or hemolytic anemia who also fulfilled the serological APS criteria.

Hyperviscosity in primary Sjögren's syndrome: clinical implications.

Aim: Increased serum viscosity is recognized in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS); however, a classic hyperviscosity syndrome (HVS) is rare. We compared the clinical and serological profile among three groups of pSS patients: (i) with HVS; (ii) with high serum viscosity (≥ 1.9 cP [centipoises]) but without HVS; and (iii) with normal viscosity (< 1.

Pain and pruritus in cutaneous lupus: their association with dermatologic quality of life and disease activity.

Objectives: To evaluate the association of pain and pruritus with Dermatologic Quality of Life (QoL) and cutaneous disease activity in patients with 1) specific cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) lesions, 2) non-specific CLE lesions and 3) both types of CLE lesions.

Methods: We evaluated 42 consecutive SLE patients with at least one active lesion attributed to lupus. Pain and pruritus were evaluated using a visual analogue scale, dermatologic QoL with the DLQI, clinical activity with the CLASI score and systemic activity with the SLEDAI-2K.