HIV Infection and Osteoarticular Tuberculosis: Strange Bedfellows.

We report the case of a 47-year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis and HIV infection presenting with a 3-week history of a painful swollen knee, increased serum inflammatory markers, and a low CD4 lymphocyte count. The diagnosis of TB arthritis was made by synovial fluid culture, GeneXpert/PCR, and confirmed by histopathology of a synovial biopsy. A mini literature review suggests that although HIV infection is associated with extrapulmonary TB, osteoarticular TB is a relatively unusual presentation in an HIV positive patient. The diagnostic utility of the GeneXpert test is explored. We also describe the patient's good response to an intra-articular corticosteroid injection in combination with standard anti-TB therapy.

Infections in the management of rheumatic diseases: An update.

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic conditions have an increased risk of infection. While this could be the result of the underlying disease, it may also be caused by the use of immunosuppressive therapies, which are needed to treat these disorders. An increasing number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis or other rheumatic diseases are using biologic therapies (biologics) in addition to the synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. The side-effects and complications of these relatively new agents are unknown to many specialists (outside of rheumatology) and general practitioners. This article highlights updates on the most important infections encountered in the daily management of patients with rheumatic diseases and discusses how these may be prevented.

Progression of hand osteoarthritis over 2 years: a clinical and radiological follow-up study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the course of hand osteoarthritis over 2 years by currently available outcome measures. METHODS: 189 participants of the Genetics, Arthrosis and Progression (GARP) study with hand osteoarthritis were followed for 2 years. Self-reported hand pain and functional limitations were assessed with the Australian/Canadian osteoarthritis hand index (AUSCAN LK 3.0). Pain intensity upon lateral pressure in the interphalangeal and thumb base joints was graded on a four-point scale. Osteophytes (0-3) and joint space narrowing (JSN) (0-3) was scored at baseline and after 2 years in interphalangeal and thumb base joints. Standardised response means (SRM) were calculated. RESULTS: 172 (91%) patients completed the 2-year follow-up (mean age 60.5 years, 78.5% women). Statistically significant increases in self-reported pain and function scores, in pain intensity scores as well as in osteophyte and JSN total scores were seen over 2 years. SRM were 0.25, 0.23, 0.67, 0.34 and 0.35, respectively, for self-reported pain and function scores, pain intensity scores, osteophyte and JSN total scores. Radiological progression was not associated with changes in self-reported pain and function. Women in an early post-menopausal stage were especially at risk of progressing radiologically. CONCLUSIONS: Currently available outcome measures were able to assess progression over the relatively short time period of 2 years. Radiographic outcomes were more responsive than self-reported outcomes. Pain intensity upon lateral pressure seems to be a responsive measure but needs validation.

Effect of medial tibial plateau alignment on serial radiographs on the capacity to predict progression of knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of medial tibial plateau (MTP) alignment of serial radiographs on the capacity to detect associations between baseline characteristics and progression of joint space narrowing (JSN) in knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Standardised posteroanterior weight-bearing knee radiographs of 83 knee OA patients were obtained at baseline and after 24 months using the non-fluoroscopic fixed-flexion protocol. Minimum joint space width (JSW) of the medial tibiofemoral joint spaces was measured manually in paired radiographs. Progression of JSN was defined by a change in JSW larger than the smallest detectable difference (0.4mm). Satisfactory MTP alignment was present if the distance between the anterior and posterior margins of the MTP was < or = 1mm. Standardised questionnaires were used to record age, sex and body mass index. Medial tibiofemoral JSN and osteophyte severity at baseline were graded with the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) atlas. RESULTS: Progression of JSN was observed in 31 (28.4%) of 109 OA knees. In the sub sample of 48 (44%) OA knees with satisfactory MTP alignment on baseline and 24-month radiographs, 18 (37.5%) knees progressed. Stronger (statistically significant) associations were found between sex, generalised OA, JSN and osteophyte severity at baseline and progression of JSN in the sub sample of radiographs with serial satisfactorily MTP alignment than in all radiographs together. CONCLUSION: Insufficient quality of MTP alignment on serial radiographs could prevent detection of associations between baseline characteristics and progression of JSN in knee OA. These findings may have implications for longitudinal knee OA studies using the fixed-flexion protocol.

Innate production of tumour necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 10 is associated with radiological progression of knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Inflammation may contribute to progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, we investigated whether innate differences in the inflammatory response regarding cytokine production were associated with radiological progression of knee OA. METHODS: Symptomatic patients with knee OA (n = 89) were included. Standardised posteroanterior knee radiographs were obtained at baseline and after 24 months. Medial and lateral tibiofemoral joint space narrowing (JSN) was graded with the Altman atlas. Radiological progression was defined as an increase of at least one score in JSN total scores. Whole blood samples were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (10 ng/ml). Relative risks (RR) with 95% CIs of OA progression in relation to quartiles of innate ex vivo production of interleukin (IL)1beta, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)alpha, IL1 receptor antagonist (Ra) and IL10 were calculated. RESULTS: Progression of JSN was present in 29 (33.7%) of 86 followed patients after 2 years. Patients in the highest quartile of TNFalpha production had a sixfold increased risk of JSN progression (age, sex and body mass index adjusted RR 6.1, 95% CI 1.4 to 9.8) and patients in the highest quartile of IL10 production had a fourfold increased risk of JSN progression (age, sex and body mass index adjusted RR 4.3, 95% CI 1.7 to 6.2), both in comparison with those patients in the lowest quartile. No significant associations were found between variations in IL1beta and IL1Ra production and JSN progression. CONCLUSION: The innate capacity to produce TNFalpha and IL10 upon LPS stimulation is associated with radiological progression of knee OA, even over a relatively short follow-up period of 2 years.

Fixed-flexion knee radiography: the sensitivity to detect knee joint space narrowing in osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: Independent reports on the longitudinal performance of non-fluoroscopic fixed-flexion knee radiography have not been published. Therefore, we evaluated the sensitivity of fixed-flexion radiography to detect knee joint space narrowing (JSN) over 2 years in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and compared the effect of reproducibility and quality of medial tibial plateau (MTP) alignment on sensitivity to JSN. METHODS: Fixed-flexion radiographs of both knees of 193 OA patients were obtained at baseline and after 24 months. Minimum joint space width (JSW) of the medial tibiofemoral joint spaces was measured manually in paired digitised radiographs without knowledge of the chronology. The degree of MTP alignment was assessed by measuring the distance between the anterior and posterior margins of the MTP (intermargin distance [IMD]). Accurate repositioning was achieved if, in the 24-month radiograph, the IMD was reproduced to within 1mm. The quality of MTP alignment was satisfactory if the IMD was

Activity limitations in the lower extremities in patients with osteoarthritis: the modifying effects of illness perceptions and mental health.

OBJECTIVES: Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as framework, we evaluated modifying effects of illness perceptions and mental health on the association between impairments in body structures and functions due to osteoarthritis (OA) and limitation in activities in the lower extremities. METHODS: Self-reported limitation in activities was assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA index (WOMAC) function subscale in 316 patients with knee or hip pain or evidence of OA on knee or hip radiographs. Body structures and functions were evaluated during clinical and radiological assessments. Illness perceptions and mental health were assessed with the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) and the mental component summary score of the RAND 36-item Health Survey, respectively. For each patient an expected WOMAC function score was calculated, using an equation based on a multivariate model of the association of body structures and functions with limitation in activities. RESULTS: The median (interquartile) self-reported WOMAC function score was 22.2 (9.6-43.5). Ninety-one patients reported more and 120 patients reported less limitation in activities than expected. Patients with lumbar spine degeneration, physical or exercise therapy and high IPQ-R identity, consequences and chronic timeline scores had an increased risk to report more limitation in activities than the expected range. Low IPQ-R identity, consequences and emotional representation scores and better mental health were associated with reporting less limitation in activities than the expected range. CONCLUSION: Illness perceptions and mental health modify the association between self-reported limitation in activities and calculated limitation in activities based on impairments in body structures and functions due to OA.

Reading radiographs in pairs or in chronological order influences radiological progression in osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of the order in which a series of radiographs were read on the sensitivity to change over a 2-yr follow-up period in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) at multiple sites. METHODS: Radiographs of 20 patients with OA in at least two joint sites were obtained at baseline and after 2 yr, and scored according to the consensus of two readers. Joint space narrowing (JSN) and osteophytes were graded (0-3) in the hand, hip and tibiofemoral joints. The cervical (C2-7) and lumbar spine disc spaces (L1-S1) were graded (0-3) for disc space narrowing (DSN) and anterior osteophytes. Films were read by two different procedures: in pairs, with an unknown time sequence and in chronological order. Radiological progression was defined as an increase of at least one grade in JSN, DSN or osteophyte total scores. The two procedures were compared using standardized response means (SRM). RESULTS: The SRM for changes in JSN or DSN progression scores in the hands, hips, knees and spine were, respectively, 0.00, 0.00, 0.32, 0.13 and 0.38, 0.32, 0.56, 0.18 for the paired and chronological readings. The SRM for changes in osteophyte progression scores in the hands, hips, knees and spine were, respectively, 0.39, 0.20, 0.32, 0.38 and 0.41, 0.37, 0.56, 0.66 for the paired and chronological readings. CONCLUSION: When assessing radiological progression in OA, reading a series of radiographs in chronological order tended to be more sensitive to change over a 2-yr follow-up period than reading in pairs with an unknown time sequence.