Sicca syndrome in systemic sclerosis: a narrative review on a neglected issue.

SSc is an auto-immune disease characterized by life-threatening manifestations such as lung fibrosis or pulmonary arterial hypertension. Symptoms with a detrimental impact on quality of life are also reported and sicca syndrome (xerostomia, xeropthalmia) is present in up to 80% of patients with SSc. Sicca syndrome can occur in the absence of overlap with Sjögren's disease and recent studies highlight that fibrosis of minor and major salivary glands, directly linked to the pathogenesis of SSc, could be a major contributor of xerostomia in SSc. This narrative review provides an overview of the clinical presentation, diagnostic strategies, management and future perspectives on sicca syndrome in patients with SSc.

Management and outcome of native joint septic arthritis: a nationwide survey in French rheumatology departments, 2016-2017.

OBJECTIVES: To describe current management and outcome of native joint septic arthritis (NJSA) in French rheumatology departments. METHODS: For this retrospective, nationwide multicentric study, 127 French rheumatology departments were contacted to report up to 12 cases of NJSA that occurred between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2017. Characteristics, diagnosis procedures, therapeutic management and outcome were recorded. RESULTS: Overall, 362 patients were included (mean age 64.0±18.6 years, median Charlson comorbidity index 3.5 (0-14)). Knee was the most frequent site (n=160 (38.9%)), and Staphylococcus sp (n=185 (51.4%)), the most frequent pathogen. All patients received antibiotics for a mean duration of 46.8 (±22.0) days, including intravenous route for a mean of 17.2 (±15.4) days. Management was heterogeneous. Surgical procedure was performed in 171 (48.3%), joint immobilisation in 128 (43.8%). During follow-up, 91 (28.3%) patients have had serious complications and 28 (9.2%) of them died. Factors associated with 1-year mortality were age (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.13; p<0.001), Charlson's index (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.58; p=0.012), presence of bacteraemia (OR 4.02, 95% CI 1.35 to 11.99; p=0.008), antibiotic use in the previous 3 months (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.11 to 9.87; p=0.029) and Staphylococcus aureus NJSA compared with Streptococcus sp. NJSA (OR 7.24, 95% CI 1.26 to 41.68, p=0.027). The complete recovery with no adverse joint outcome at 1 year was observed in n=125/278 patients (55.0%). CONCLUSION: Prognosis of NJSA remained severe with a high rate of morbimortality. Its management was very heterogeneous. This study highlights the importance of the new French recommendations, published after the completion of the study, in order to facilitate NJSA management.

Relevance of using both aerobic and anaerobic enrichment vials for optimizing rapid diagnosis of osteoarticular infections.

The performance of a pair of blood culture vials (BACTEC® Plus Aerobic/F, and Anaerobic Lytic/F) were analyzed in 496 osteoarticular specimens (246 synovial fluids and 250 crushed bone samples), obtained in patients during routine diagnostic procedure at the Teaching Hospital of Rennes (France). The positive detection times were recorded for a 14 day-incubation period, and compared between both vials and with agar cultures. For samples from infected patients, the positive detection time was significantly shortened when vials were used compared to agar plates (p < 0.001). Median positive detection time was later with the Anaerobic Lytic/F vials (15.0 h) compared to the Plus Aerobic/F (13.0 h). Positivity rate was similar for Anaerobic Lytic/F vials (80.4%) and Plus Aerobic/F vials (83.2%) (p = 0.25). Some microorganisms were only identified from aerobic vials (15.5%) or from anaerobic vials (12.7%). The use of both atmosphere conditions for optimal positive detection time is therefore critical.

Lyme arthritis in Western Europe: a multicentre retrospective study.

To characterize Lyme arthritis, with a focus on management, and outcome. Observational retrospective multicentre study in Western France, of all consecutive cases of Lyme arthritis, documented by Borrelia burgdorferi IgG on ELISA serological testing, confirmed by Western blot, with or without positive Borrelia PCR in synovial fluid, with no alternative diagnosis. We enrolled 52 patients (29 males), with a mean age of 43 ± 19.4 years. Most patients had monoarthritis (n = 43, 82.7%), involving the knee (n = 51, 98.1%), with a median delay between symptoms onset and Lyme arthritis diagnosis of 5 months (interquartile range, 1.5-8). Synovial fluid analysis yielded median white cell count of 16,000/mm3 (9230-40,500), and positive PCR in 16 cases (39%), for B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (n = 5), B. garinii (n = 5), B. afzelii (n = 3), and undetermined (n = 3). All patients received antibiotics, for a median duration of 28 days (21-30), with doxycycline (n = 44, 84.6%), ceftriaxone (n = 6, 11.5%), or amoxicillin (n = 2). Twelve patients (23.1%) also received intra-articular injection of glucocorticoids as first-line treatment. Of 47 patients with follow-up, 35 (74.5%) had complete resolution of Lyme arthritis. Lyme arthritis in Western Europe may be due to B. burgdorferi ss, B. afzelii, or B. garinii. Clinical presentation is similar to Lyme arthritis in North America (i.e. chronic knee monoarthritis), with low sensitivity of synovial fluid PCR (39%).

Sacroiliac joint in sarcoidosis on computed tomography: a monocentric retrospective study (SISTER).

Sacroiliitis and spondyloarthritis (SpA) have been associated to sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis bone involvement of the sacral or iliac bones has been reported to mimic SpA. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of structural sacroiliitis and structural changes of the sacroiliac joints (SIJ) in patients with sarcoidosis by abdominal-pelvic computed tomography (AP-CT). In this monocentric retrospective study, three blinded readers evaluated AP-CT that had already been performed on patients with sarcoidosis and classified them as normal, degenerative, or inflammatory. A consensus was reached for the divergent cases. Erosion, ankylosis, and sclerosis, classically associated with sacroiliitis, were noted. SpA was defined according to the ASAS 2009 classification criteria. We identified 217 patients with proven sarcoidosis who underwent AP-CT. Only three patients had sacroiliitis by CT and four had SpA, representing 1.38% and 1.85% of the patients, respectively. Degenerative SIJs represented 28.1% of patients and were significantly associated with age, at least one pregnancy, rural lifestyle, ankylosis, diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, sclerosis, and the presence of osteophytes. Four patients had axial bone sarcoidosis. Sacroiliitis, SpA, and degenerative changes of the SIJ have been highlighted by AP-CT in patients with sarcoidosis. Osteoarthritis of the SIJ in sarcoidosis was associated with age, pregnancy, and rural lifestyle. Further studies are needed to assess the link between SpA and sarcoidosis.

Elaboration of a new synovial predictive score of septic origin for acute arthritis on the native joint (RESAS).

OBJECTIVE: To establish a new predictive score for the diagnosis of septic arthritis (SA) according to different synovial fluid (SF) variables. METHODS: First, we analysed the different clinical, biological and SF variables associated with the diagnosis of SA (according to the Newman's criteria) in a monocentric cohort of acute arthritis (<30 days) (n = 233) (SYNOLACTATE cohort). A new score predictive of SA (RESAS) was created using the independent discriminant variables after multivariate analysis. A value was attributed to each variable of the score according to the weighting based on their likelihood ratio for the diagnosis of SA. RESAS performance was then tested on the first cohort (internal validation) and then checked on a second independent cohort (n = 70) (external validation). RESULTS: After multivariate analysis, four independent variables of the SF were included for RESAS: (i) purulent SF or white blood cells count ≥70 000/mm3; (ii) absence/presence of crystals; (iii) lactate; and (iv) glucose synovial level. RESAS ranged between -4 and +13 points. The performance of RESAS to predicted SA was excellent with area under the curve (AUC)=0.928 (0.877-0.980) in internal validation and AUC=0.986 (0.962-1.00) in external validation. For a RESAS threshold ≥+4, SA was diagnosed with Se=56.0% (0.371-0.733), Sp=98.1% (0.952-0.993), LR+=29.1 (10.4-81.6) in the first cohort and with Se=91.7% (0.646-0.985), Sp=98.3% (0.909-0.997), LR+=53.2 (7.56-373) in the second cohort. CONCLUSION: RESAS is a new composite score of four SF variables with excellent performance to predicted SA in acute arthritis population.

Ruling out septic arthritis risk in a few minutes using mid-infrared spectroscopy in synovial fluids.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to show the usefulness of a mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy point of care device in the identification of septic arthritis patients in a multicentre cohort, and to apply this technology to clinical practice among physicians. METHODS: SF samples from 402 patients enrolled in a multicentre cohort were frozen for analysis by mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy. The calibration cohort was divided into two groups of patients (septic arthritis and non-septic arthritis) and relevant spectral variables were used for logistic regression model. Model performances were tested on an independent set of 86 freshly obtained SF samples from patients enrolled in a single-centre acute arthritis cohort and spectroscopic analyses performed at the patient's bedside. RESULTS: The model set-up, using frozen-thawed SFs, provided good performances, with area under the curve 0.95, sensitivity 0.90, specificity 0.90, positive predictive value 0.41 and negative predictive value 0.99. Performances obtained in the validation cohort were area under the curve 0.90, sensitivity 0.92, specificity 0.81, positive predictive value 0.46 and negative predictive value 0.98. The septic arthritis probability has been translated into a risk score from 0 to 4 according to septic risk. For a risk score of 0, the probability of identifying a septic patient is very low (negative predictive value of 1), whereas a risk score of 4 indicates very high risk of septic arthritis (positive predictive value of 1). CONCLUSION: Mid-infrared fibre evanescent wave spectroscopy could distinguish septic from non-septic synovial arthritis fluids with good performances, and showed particular usefulness in ruling out septic arthritis. Our data supports the possibility of technology transfer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, http://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02860871.

Hand ultrasound for the diagnosis of scleroderma: a scoring strategy including US items and items from the EULAR/ACR classification.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic value of hand ultrasound (US) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to explore its relevance within a combined diagnostic approach. METHODS: 224 patients with suspected SSc were consecutively included. They all had US evaluation assessing the presence of fibrotic tenosynovitis (fibrotic TS) and ulnar artery occlusion (UAO). The final diagnosis of SSc was based on the clinical evaluation of a board of experts independently of any pre-established classification criteria. RESULTS: 166 patients were finally diagnosed as SSc according to the experts as reference standard. 62 SSc and 8 non-SSc patients had UAO (uni or bilateral) (p=0.001). 23 SSc patients and 1 non-SSc patient had US fibrotic TS (p=0.007). A US SSc-pattern (presence of UAO and/or fibrotic TS) was reported in 73 SSc patients and 9 non-SSc patients (p<0.001). UAO had an area under ROC curve (AUC) for the diagnosis of SSc of 0.618 (95%CI 0.539- 0.697); with Se=0.373 (0.304-0.449) and Sp=0.862 (0.751-0.928). Fibrotic TS had an AUC of 0.561 (0.480-0.643); with Se=0.139 (0.094-0.199) and Sp=0.983 (0.909-0.997). The US-SSc pattern had a AUC of 0.641 (0.563- 0.695), with Se=0.440 (0.367-0.516) and Sp=0.845 (0.731-0.916). A scoring system including these US parameters and items from ACR/EULAR classification criteria had an AUC of 0.979 (0.962-0.996)) and allows the substitution of capillaroscopy by US parameters with similar performances. CONCLUSIONS: The use of hand US parameters may help to refine the diagnostic strategy of SSc and their inclusion in a combined diagnostic approach could be discussed.

Are corticosteroid injections needed after needling and lavage of calcific tendinitis? Randomised, double-blind, non-inferiority trial.

OBJECTIVE: Steroid injections are common after an ultrasound-guided puncture and lavage (UGPL) of calcific tendonitis of the rotator cuff. However, steroids may prevent calcification resorption and negatively affect tendon healing. Our study was designed to determine whether saline solution was non-inferior to steroids in the prevention of acute pain reactions in the week following UGPL. METHODS: This was a randomised, double-blinded, controlled non-inferiority trial with 12-month follow-up. We included 132 patients (66 in each group) with symptomatic calcification measuring more than 5 mm. Patients received 1 mL of saline or steroid (methylprednisolone 40 mg) in the subacromial bursa at the end of UGPL. Primary outcome was the maximal pain during the week following the procedure with a prespecified non-inferiority margin of 10 mm (0-100 visual analogue scale). Secondary outcomes included pain at rest and during activity, function (disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand score) and radiological evolution of the calcification over the 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: The estimated mean difference in the first week's maximal pain between these two groups was 11.76 (95% CI 3.78 to 19.75). Steroids significantly improved VAS pain at rest and during activities, as well as function at 7 days and 6 weeks. They did not change the rate of calcification resorption, which occurred in 83% and 74% of patients at 12 months in the saline and steroid groups. CONCLUSION: Non-inferiority of saline when compared with steroids could not be established. However, steroid injection improved pain in the 6 weeks following the procedure, and function in the 3 months after, with no significant effect on calcification resorption. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NTC02403856.

Synovial involvement assessed by power Doppler ultra-sonography in systemic sclerosis: results of a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To characterize hand synovial manifestations assessed by power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) in a cohort of unselected patients fulfilling the 2013 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for SSc and to evaluate the associations of these synovial manifestations with the main general clinical and biological features of SSc. Methods: One hundred and three SSc patients were consecutively included and underwent PDUS evaluation of both hands assessing synovial and tenosynovial manifestations according to the OMERACT definitions. Clinical, biological and immunological SSc characteristics were recorded at the same time. Results: Thirty-three patients (32%) had ultrasonographic synovial/tenosynovial involvement. The two main PDUS features were Doppler-positive/inflammatory synovitis (n = 18, 17.5%) and sclerosing tenosynovitis (TS) (n = 19, 18.4%). Inflammatory synovitis was more frequent in the wrist and MCP joints. Sclerosing TS was more frequent in men [odds ratio (OR) = 6.32, 95% CI: 2.17, 18.41; P = 0.001] and was associated with anti-RNA polymerase III antibodies (OR = 10.93, 95% CI: 1.84, 65.12; P = 0.01), diffuse SSc (OR = 18.24, 95% CI: 4.80, 69.32; P < 0.0001), interstitial lung disease (OR = 6.09, 95% CI: 1.86, 19.98; P = 0.001) and inflammatory arthralgia (OR = 14.64, 95% CI: 2.58, 83.10; P = 0.002). Inflammatory TS or synovitis were associated with CRP levels >5 mg/l (OR = 5.50, 95% CI: 1.81, 16.70; P = 0.001), pericarditis (OR = 7.81, 95% CI: 1.58, 38.71; P = 0.017) and inflammatory arthralgia (OR = 15.96, 95% CI: 2.80, 91.02; P = 0.002). Inflammatory synovitis and sclerosing TS were not significantly associated within an individual patient (OR = 2.77, 95% CI: 0.88, 8.70; P > 0.05). Conclusions: Ultrasonographic synovial involvement is frequent in patients fulfilling the 2013 ACR/EULAR classification criteria and PDUS may have a part to play in a more accurate and precise description of musculoskeletal manifestations of the disease, especially as the question of a treat-to-target approach is arising for SSc.

Atypical presentation of spine bone metastasis in prostate cancer mimicking Pott's disease.

A 55-year-old man was hospitalized for a low back pain lasting for 3 months. Spinal MRI revealed a suggestive aspect of multilevel discitis L5-S1-S2 with paravertebral abscess. A thoraco-abdominal CT scan confirmed the presence of multiple pathological lymph nodes in several locations, bilateral micronodular pulmonary infiltrate; it also showed mirror bone erosions of vertebral L5 and S1 endplates, suggestive of disseminated tuberculosis with lung involvement and lymphadenopathy. A discovertebral L5-S1 biopsy was performed confirming the diagnosis of metastatic prostatic adenocarcinoma including a tumor infiltration of the intervertebral disc, without arguments for a septic processus superimposed without tuberculosis granuloma. Although rare, cases of metastases located at the disco-vertebral junction including prostatic cancer have already been described, and should be known to the clinician. The differential diagnosis with an infectious spondylodiscitis can be difficult in some case around the vertebral disc and in case of epiduritis and soft tissues involvement on MRI sequences. Disco-vertebral biopsy remains the cornerstone of the diagnosis.

Risk factors of mortality during the first year after low energy osteoporosis fracture: a retrospective case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: Osteoporotic fractures are a major public health problem because of the morbidity and mortality of fracture complications. The objective of this study was to examine predictive factors of mortality during the first year after an osteoporotic fracture. METHODS: It is a retrospective case-control study using data of a group of 1081 patients aged over 50 years with severe osteoporotic fractures by the Rennes university hospital emergency department from August 2007 to September 2008. Patients (cases) who died during the year following the fracture were compared with others who had survived (controls) one year after the fracture, matched on age, sex and type of fracture. Pre-fracture comorbidities and complications after the fractures were studied. RESULTS: Forty-two cases and 126 controls were analyzed without significant differences in age, sex or type of fracture. On univariate analysis, previous neoplasia, neurodegenerative disease, walking aids, thromboembolic complication, post fracture infection, post fracture heart failure, post fracture acute respiratory failure were associated with more mortality after osteoporotic fracture. After multivariate analysis, only previous neoplasia (OR = 4.63 [1.79 - 11.95]; p = 0.02) and acute respiratory failure after fracture (OR = 28.15 [5.75 - 137.9]; p<0.001) were retained as predictive factors during the year following the fracture. CONCLUSION: Patients died more often from their co-morbidities than direct complications of their fractures. Osteoporotic fracture seems to be a marker of poor health status and a factor which may hasten the death.

[Gout and and calcium pyrophosphate crystal arthropathies: pathophysiology]. / Physiopathologie des arthropathies microcristallines.

Microcrystalline arthropathies are consecutive to microcrystals formation and deposition within the joint. The formation of monosodium urate crystals depends on many physico-chemical factors: the concentration of uric acid, the temperature and pH. Beyond 60 mg/L (360 µmol/L), uric acid crystallizes in tissues. Chronic hyperuricemia is a necessary condition for the occurrence of gouty arthropathy. The mechanisms of hyperuricemia and inflammatory access and their therapeutic implications are described. Chondrocalcinosis is a radiographic entity characterized by deposits of calcium pyrophosphate crystals (CPP) within the fibrocartilage or hyalin cartilage. CPP arthropathies symptomatology is polymorphic and likely resemble in primary osteoarthritis, pseudo-gout acute attacks, or chronic mono-, oligo- or polyarthritis. Its pathophysiology remains uncompletely understood, although there is growing knowledge on the place of some actors involved in the pathogenesis of chondrocalcinosis, described in the article.

2023 French recommendations for diagnosing and managing prepatellar and olecranon septic bursitis.

Septic bursitis (SB) is a common condition accounting for one third of all cases of inflammatory bursitis. It is often related to professional activities. Management is heterogeneous and either ambulatory or hospital-based, with no recommendations available. This article presents recommendations for managing patients with septic bursitis gathered by 18 rheumatologists from the French Society for Rheumatology work group on bone and joint infections, 1 infectious diseases specialist, 2 orthopedic surgeons, 1 general practitioner and 1 emergency physician. This group used a literature review and expert opinions to establish 3 general principles and 11 recommendations for managing olecranon and prepatellar SB. The French Health authority (Haute Autorité de santé [HAS]) methodology was used for these recommendations. Designed for rheumatologists, general practitioners, emergency physicians and orthopedic surgeons, they focus on the use of biological tests and imaging in both outpatient and inpatient management. Antibiotic treatment options (drugs and duration) are proposed for both treatment modalities. Finally, surgical indications, non-drug treatments and prevention are covered by specific recommendations.

Should we really include systemic sclerosis specific antibodies in the classification criteria of Sjogren's disease?

We have read with great interest the results from Marketos et al. regarding the positivity of specific systemic sclerosis auto-antibodies in patients with sicca symptoms. Based on complementary data from the literature, we rather believe scleroderma-associated antibodies should be considered either as a yellow flag for an association between scleroderma and Sjogren, or a potential undiagnosed scleroderma, rather than an isolated Sjogren's disease.