Insight into the Epidemiology of the Adult-onset Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases in Egypt: A Descriptive Study of 8690 Patients.

Background/objective: Although systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs) seem to be ubiquitous, Africa and the Middle East seem to be a remarkable exception with scarcity of data compared with the developed countries. Furthermore, most of the studies addressed a particular disease. This work aimed to shed light on the relative frequency and epidemiology of the different adult-onset SARDs in Egypt.

Assessment of the Role of Urinary Heparanase in Lupus Nephritis Patients and Its Correlation with Disease Activity.

Assessing the activity of lupus nephritis (LN) with novel biomarkers is a promising noninvasive diagnostic tool for managing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We assessed the ability of urinary heparanase to identify LN and its relation to the disease's activity. This crosssectional study had 90 subjects: 70 patients with SLE and 20 healthy controls.

Ultrasound abnormalities of the major salivary glands in Egyptian patients with systemic sclerosis.

Introduction/objectives: systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disorder with multiple organs destruction. This study aimed to identify the ultrasonographic changes of major salivary glands in Egyptian scleroderma patients and to detect their association to different disease manifestations.

Methods: Forty-seven SSc patients and 43 apparent healthy volunteers were enrolled.

Association of IL-8-251T/A (rs4073) gene polymorphism with Systemic lupus erythematosus in a cohort of Egyptian patients.

Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility was found to be correlated with genetic polymorphisms. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the association of the IL-8-251 T/A polymorphism with the risk of SLE.

Methods: A total of 135 SLE patients and 75 controls were enrolled in our study.

Metabolic Syndrome in Behçets Disease Patients: Keep an Eye on the Eye.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by insulin resistance, high blood pressure/ sugar, dyslipidemia, and obesity. Whether MetS and its components affect the development of Behçet's Disease (BD) remains unclear.

Aims: The aim was to determine the frequency of MetS among BD patients and to study its relationship with disease characteristics.

Aging and entheses: An ultrasonographic probing of degenerative enthesopathy in a cohort of 147 healthy subjects.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence and features of degenerative enthesopathic changes in a large cohort of healthy individuals by musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) and their relation to age and other demographic features.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 147 healthy subjects (1470 entheses) were examined by MSUS according to the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology guidelines: Achilles tendon, plantar fascia, patellar, and quadriceps insertions of both lower limbs.

Results: The mean age (±SD) of the participants was 43.

Development and validation of a Behçet's Disease Damage Index for adults with BD: An Explicit, Composite and Rated (ECR) tool.

Background: Behçet's disease (BD) is a chronic multisystem variable vessel vasculitis. Disease damage is irreversible and permanent. Validated tools evaluating damage are limited.

Development of an Arabic version of the Behçet's Disease Current Activity Form (Ar-BDCAF): cross-cultural adaptation and validation initiative in Egypt.

Background: Behçet's disease (BD), commonly seen in the Silk road countries, is a variable vessel vasculitis with no specific investigation that reflects disease activity. The Behçet's Disease Current Activity Form (BDCAF) is the most famous and acceptable clinical activity score.

Purpose: To develop a cross-cultural adaptation of the BDCAF to the Arabic language (Ar-BDCAF)-Egyptian dialect-across the country and to consider preliminary evaluation of its reliability in assessment of BD activity.

Urinary Tumor Necrosis Factor-Like Weak Inducer of Apoptosis (uTWEAK) and Urinary Monocyte Chemo-attractant Protein-1 (uMCP-1): Promising Biomarkers of Lupus Nephritis Activity?

There is no single biomarker to detect lupus nephritis (LN) activity. Renal biopsy is still the gold standard method but it is invasive and mainly used in the initial assessment of the patients. Urinary tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (uTWEAK) and urinary monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1 (uMCP-1) can be secreted in the urine of active LN.

Adult systemic lupus erythematosus in Egypt: The nation-wide spectrum of 3661 patients and world-wide standpoint.

Objective: The aim of this study was to present the epidemiology, clinical manifestations and treatment pattern of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Egyptian patients over the country and compare the findings to large cohorts worldwide. Objectives were extended to focus on the age at onset and gender driven influence on the disease characteristics.

Patients And Method: This population-based, multicenter, cross-sectional study included 3661 adult SLE patients from Egyptian rheumatology departments across the nation.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on rheumatoid arthritis from a Multi-Centre patient-reported questionnaire survey: influence of gender, rural-urban gap and north-south gradient.

During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic there were several barriers to treatment access and medication adherence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. There is no information regarding the RA patient health status in Egypt during the COVID-19. Thus,the aim of this work was to study the impact of the pandemic on RA patients through a patient-reported questionnaire and to determine the influence of gender, geographic regions.

Characteristics, evolution, and outcome of patients with non-infectious uveitis referred for rheumatologic assessment and management: an Egyptian multicenter retrospective study.

Objective: To investigate the characteristics, evolution, and visual outcome of non-infectious uveitis.

Methodology: Records of 201 patients with non-infectious uveitis (136 (67.7%) males and 84 (41.

Rheumatologists' practice during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: a survey in Egypt.

The aim of this work is to trace how rheumatologists all over Egypt are approaching the COVID-19 pandemic and what changes it has brought about in the patients' care with special attention to its effect on vulnerable rheumatic disease (RD) patients. This survey further aims to help inform the rheumatology community about the changes in practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey included 26 questions distributed to University staff members across Egypt members of the Egyptian College of Rheumatology (ECR).

Is Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HB s Ag) Enough Alone as a Screening Test for HBV Infection in Rheumatic Disease Patients Before Starting Immunosuppressive Therapies? A Cross-sectional Study.

Background & Objectives: Prevalence of hepatitis B virus in patients with rheumatic diseases has been reported differently among studies. The loss of immune control in these patients may result in the reactivation of HBV replication within hepatocytes. Considering the lifelong use of multiple anti-rheumatic drugs, screening for HBV is recommended before starting immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory therapy.

The Importance of Log Ferritin and Transferrin /Log Ferritin in Differentiating Iron Deficiency Anemia from Anemia of Chronic Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.

The most common types of anemia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and anemia of chronic disease (ACD).The differentiation between both is important and challenging. Our objective is to select the most accurate method that differentiates IDA from ACD in RA patients.

Correction to: Behçet's disease in Egypt: a multicenter nationwide study on 1526 adult patients and review of the literature.

The author wishes to correct the record and clarify that in the original version of this article in the Discussion section under "Prevalence over the country governorates" inadvertently presented incorrect data cited in the reference [30].

Shedding light on vasculitis in Egypt: a multicenter retrospective cohort study of characteristics, management, and outcome.

Objectives: The frequency of different vasculitides and their characteristics vary among different regions. The identification of geographic disparities of disease phenotypes helps the development of international criteria, allowing the classification of patients of different ethnicities. This study aimed to describe the frequency, characteristics, course, response to treatment, and outcome of the different adulthood vasculitides in Egypt.