Publications by authors named "Rouached Leila"

Background: Deficiency in vitamin D is widely prevalent around the world. Oral vitamin D supplementation is suggested for older adults to sustain appropriate 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels throughout the year. At present, cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) and ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) are the most commonly used compounds.

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COVID-19, caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), can lead to severe infection and has been suggested to induce autoimmune phenomena. We report three cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurring after COVID-19 infection and we present a systematic review of the literature of cases of RA post COVID-19. Our findings suggest that RA may be trigged by COVID-19 infection in genetically predisposed individuals.

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Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease frequently associated with comorbidities such as cardiovascular diseases. RA patients are more prone to physical inactivity than the general population.

Aim: Our study aimed to evaluate physical activity (PA) in patients with RA and to assess barriers that influence it in RA characteristics.

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Introduction: Foot problems are very common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Podiatric intervention through therapeutic education of RA patients on the different potential foot problems could improve patients' knowledge and management of their foot problems. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of RA patients on podiatric problems related to their illness and foot care practices.

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Objectives: Nail unit is one of the targets of ultrasound (US) assessment. We aimed to compare ultrasound parameters of clinically normal nail unit in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients with healthy controls (HC) and evaluate their correlations with disease activity.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including patients with PsA and matched HC.

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Introduction: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a common rheumatic inflammatory disease and can impact patients' work productivity. We aimed to evaluate the impact of pain catastrophizing and central sensitization on work outcomes in young SpA patients and determine the predictive factors of work productivity loss.

Material And Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study over 6 months.

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Article Synopsis
  • TNF alpha blockers like infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA) are effective for inflammatory diseases but about 30% of patients don't respond, possibly due to anti-drug antibodies (ADAbs).
  • A study involving 197 patients found that 40% of those on IFX and 25% on ADA tested positive for ADAbs, with varying rates across conditions (RA, SpA, and CD).
  • Despite the presence of ADAbs being linked to lower drug levels, they did not correlate with disease activity, suggesting that other factors besides immunogenicity may influence treatment failures.
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Introduction: Medical education has progressed considerably. Information and communication technologies have been adopted as a learning tool.

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the contribution of an educational video in the acquisition of knowledge on the measurement of the Schöber index in young medical students.

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Osteogenesis imperfecta is an inherited clinically heterogeneous disorder of bone metabolism characterized by bone and skeletal fragility and an increased risk of fractures. Pamidronate infusion was the standard treatment, but zoledronic acid is increasingly used to treat children with osteogenesis imperfecta. We conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous zoledronic acid in the treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta in pediatric patients.

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Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a multifaceted inflammatory disease that has a strong negative impact on the quality of life (QoL) of patients. The Psoriatic Arthritis Quality of Life (PsAQoL) questionnaire was the first disease-specific patient-derived instrument developed to measure the QoL in patients with PsA. Our objective was to translate the PsAQol into Arabic language and evaluate its reliability and validity in patients with PsA.

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Introduction: The aim of this study was to identify the associated factors with lower self-esteem and restriction in community reintegration in SpA patients.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study including SpA patients (ASAS criteria) aged 18-50 years. The level of self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES).

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Introduction: We aimed to screen the presence of silent myocardial ischaemia, in established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, using a stress test then to evaluate its association with the disease activity and the cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and Heartscore.

Methods: It is a transversal study in a rheumatologic centre in Tunisia. One hundred three RA patients, asymptomatic for CV diseases, were submitted to a stress test.

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Objective: To assess central sensitization in young patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and to study the associated factors with higher central sensitization scores.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including patients with SpA (ASAS criteria) aged less than 50 years. For all patients, we collected the sociodemographic and disease characteristics data.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of Fc-gamma receptors (FcgRs) may affect the response to TNF-inhibitors (TNFi) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in Tunisia.
  • Researchers analyzed 47 RA patients over six months, focusing on the effectiveness of TNFi treatments like etanercept, adalimumab, and infliximab while genotyping specific SNPs.
  • Results indicated that low-affinity FcgRs were linked to better treatment outcomes, while high-affinity variants were associated with poorer responses, highlighting the potential role of these genetic markers in personalizing RA treatment.
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Background: Knee osteoarthritis, a chronic degenerative disease, is becoming a public health problem around the world due to increasing life expectancy.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the impact of knee osteoarthritis on the quality of life (QoL) of the patients and to identify factors associated with impaired QoL.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional monocentric study including patients with knee osteoarthritis.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates whether variations in Fc-γ receptors caused by specific genetic changes (single nucleotide polymorphisms) affect how well therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are cleared from the body and influence the development of anti-drug antibodies.
  • Conducted on Tunisian rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with various biologic drugs, the study measured serum drug levels and the presence of anti-drug antibodies while genotyping patients for specific Fc-γ receptor variations.
  • Results indicate that while most patients had serum drug levels within the therapeutic range, a minority developed anti-drug antibodies, with a notable association between the high affinity FcgR2A R131H receptor and antibody development, prompting recommendations for further research with larger sample sizes.
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Background: A higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk was observed in spondyloarthritis (SpA). The relationship between disease-related factors structural damage and subclinical atherosclerosis is still unknown.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of subclinical atherosclerosis with radiographic structural damage in patients with SpA.

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Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is commonly associated with higher rates of comorbidities. Recent recommendations highlight screening comorbidities during the disease course because of their impact on patients' ability to function, on disease outcome, but also on treatment choices. Hence the interest of our study that aimed to quantify the impact of comorbidities among RA patients using a validated tool the Rheumatic Disease Comorbidity Index (RDCI) and to explore the association between comorbidities and disease characteristics.

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This is the case of a 50-year-old patient suffering from inflammatory low back pain. Radiological exploration showed posterior vertebral damage compatible with discovertebral pseudo-tumor tuberculosis. Pathological examination found no malignant cells, but caseous necrosis was present.

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Sarcopenia is a syndrome defined by generalized and progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function. Besides affecting elderly population, it is actually common among inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) patients. We performed a systematic literature review with a meta-analysis to investigate the influence of biologic and target synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs/tsDMARDs) on sarcopenia in IRD.

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Background: This study aimed to assess the benefits of associating rehabilitation with therapeutic patient education (TPE) to decrease fear-avoidance belief and pain and improve function in adults with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Methods: This randomized controlled study included 100 patients with CLBP according to the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guidelines. The patients were divided into two teams: group A that participated in the TPE in association with rehabilitation and group B that received rehabilitation only.

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Background: The objective of the study was to assess clinical and imaging features of rheumatoid arthritis associated with atlantoaxial dislocation (RA-AAD) in comparison to RA without AAD (RA-C) and to identify the associated factors to AAD.

Methods: This was a retrospective comparative study including RA patients over 18 years old. The control group of RA-C was matched according to age (±2 years), gender, and RA duration (±2 years).

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Background: Foot function is usually assessed using self-reported outcome measures which remain subjective in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Physical performance tests were recommended for functional assessment in lower limb osteoarthritis. However, foot function assessment's guidelines in RA are lacking.

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Background: Calcium-pyrophosphate-dihydrate-disease (CPPD) is a crystal-induced arthropathy. The lumbar-spinal involvement is rare and often under-diagnosed. This study aimed to report the case of a lumbar spine CPPD involvement and to perform a systematic review of clinical, imaging features of lumbar involvement in CPPD patients, and treatments that have been implemented.

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