Therapeutic drug monitoring of teriflunomide: do plasma concentrations predict response to leflunomide in patients with rheumatoid arthritis?

Objectives: Leflunomide is a commonly used treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. It acts by inhibiting dihydroorotate dehydrogenase through its active metabolite teriflunomide. The objective of the study was to investigate the relation between plasma-concentration of teriflunomide and disease-activity in rheumatoid arthritis.

Involvement of foot in patients with spondyloarthritis: Prevalence and clinical features.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the foot involvement in a group of patients with spondyloarthritis in regard to symptoms, type and frequency of deformities, location and radiological changes.

Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study including 60 patients with spondyloarthritis over a period of six months. Anamnesis, clinical examination, podoscopic examination, biological tests and X-rays of feet were done for each patient.

The epidemiology of tuberculous dactylitis: A case report and review of literature.

The literature on tuberculous dactylitis is poor, and most literature consists of isolated case reports. The aim of this case series is to study the particularities and the epidemiological aspects of tuberculous dactylitis in Tunisian patients. Google and Medline search was done using key words "tuberculous dactylitis" and "spina ventosa.

Clinical and Radiographic Features of Knee Osteoarthritis of Elderly Patients.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis is a common pathology, characterized by a prevalence that increases with age. Absence of anatomo-clinical correlation is a complex management, particularly in a geriatric setting where it is not well studied.

Objective: The aim of the present study is to investigate the epidemio-clinical profile, functional impairment and radiographic features of knee osteoarthritis in the old patients versus younger patients (<65 years).

Osteoarticular tuberculosis dactylitis: Four cases.

Tuberculosis dactylitis is exceptional. We report 4 cases of osteoarticular tuberculous dactylitis in 3 women and 1 man. The diagnosis was suspected on chronic and insidious clinical presentation, and confirmed by histology.

[Safety and Efficacy of Etanercept in Rheumatoid Arthritis With End-stage Chronic Renal Failure].

The use of etanercept in rheumatoid arthritis patients with end-stage renal failure has not been well reported. We report here the case of 58-years-old patient who was treated with 50 mg of etanercept once a week to control the activity of her disease. The patient improved after starting the treatement.

Collagenous colitis and spondylarthropathy.

Collagenous colitis is a recent cause of chronic diarrhea. Cooccurrence with spondylarthropathy is rare. We describe two cases: one man and one woman of 33 and 20 years old were suffering from spondylarthropathy.

[Procedural pain assessment after spinal injections of corticosteroid].

Background: Spinal injections of corticosteroid are commonly performed by rheumatologists in their daily practice but little is known about the frequency, the intensity and the management of procedural pain observed in these osteoarticular injections in daily practice.

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence and intensity of pain caused by spinal injections.

Methods: In this observational prospective study, data were collected over 6 months, for up to 44 procedures (corticosteroid spinal injection).

[Obesity has a protective effect on radiographic joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis].

Background: Obesity is a state of chronic low-grade inflammation that predisposes people to several diseases and that is increasingly prevalent. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is marked by the presence of proinflammatory cytokines and, in general, the presence of high levels of inflammatory markers is associated with a severe disease course and joint damage.

Aim: To assess the impact of obesity on disease activity, quality of life and articular damage in patients with established RA.