Power Doppler signal at the enthesis and bone erosions are the most discriminative OMERACT ultrasound lesions for SpA: results from the DEUS (Defining Enthesitis on Ultrasound in Spondyloarthritis) multicentre study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess, in spondyloarthritis (SpA), the discriminative value of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) ultrasound lesions of enthesitis and their associations with clinical features in this population. METHODS: In this multicentre study involving 20 rheumatology centres, clinical and ultrasound examinations of the lower limb large entheses were performed in 413 patients with SpA (axial SpA and psoriatic arthritis) and 282 disease controls (osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia). 'Active enthesitis' was defined as (1) power Doppler (PD) at the enthesis grade ≥1 plus entheseal thickening and/or hypoechoic areas, or (2) PD grade >1 (independent of the presence of entheseal thickening and/or hypoechoic areas). RESULTS: In the univariate analysis, all OMERACT lesions except enthesophytes/calcifications showed a significant association with SpA. PD (OR=8.77, 95% CI 4.40 to 19.20, p<0.001) and bone erosions (OR=4.75, 95% CI 2.43 to 10.10, p<0.001) retained this association in the multivariate analysis. Among the lower limb entheses, only the Achilles tendon was significantly associated with SpA (OR=1.93, 95% CI 1.30 to 2.88, p<0.001) in the multivariate analyses. Active enthesitis showed a significant association with SpA (OR=9.20, 95% CI 4.21 to 23.20, p<0.001), and unlike the individual OMERACT ultrasound lesions it was consistently associated with most clinical measures of SpA disease activity and severity in the regression analyses. CONCLUSIONS: This large multicentre study assessed the value of different ultrasound findings of enthesitis in SpA, identifying the most discriminative ultrasound lesions and entheseal sites for SpA. Ultrasound could differentiate between SpA-related enthesitis and other forms of entheseal pathology (ie, mechanical enthesitis), thus improving the assessment of entheseal involvement in SpA.

Influence of the width of keratinized tissue on the development and resolution of experimental peri-implant mucositis lesions in humans.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the influence of the width of keratinized mucosa (KM) on the development and resolution of experimental peri-implant mucositis lesions at abutments with different microstructures in humans. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a randomized, controlled study, a total of 28 patients had received 28 target implants exhibiting a KM ≥2 mm. These were randomly connected with either partially microgrooved- (test) (n = 15) or machined (control) (n = 13) healing abutments. The study protocol included a wound healing period (WH) following implant placement (12 weeks), a plaque exposure phase (EP) of 21 days (EPd21) and a resolution phase (RP) including visits at 2, 4, and 16 weeks (RPw2; RPw4; RPw16) following plaque removal. Linear regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between the width of KM and clinical outcomes (i.e., modified plaque index [mPI], modified gingival index [mGI], bleeding on probing [BOP], and probing depth [PD]). RESULTS: Mean and median KM values (end of WH) were 5.9 ± 2.6 and 5.0 mm (min: 2 mm; max: 10 mm; interquartile range: 5 mm) at test- and 5.5 ± 2.6 and 4.0 mm (min: 3 mm; max: 11 mm interquartile range: 4 mm) at control abutments. The linear regression analysis revealed significant correlations between the width of KM and mPI (test: RPw2; control: RPw16), mGI (test: RPw16), BOP (both: RPw16), and PD (test: RPw16; control: EPd21, RPw2, RPw4, RPw16) scores. CONCLUSION: The width of KM (≥2 mm) had some effects on the development (i.e., at 21 days) and resolution of experimental peri-implant mucositis lesions at both abutment types.

Upper respiratory viral infections in patients with haematological malignancies after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Community respiratory viruses (CRVs) are associated with upper respiratory viral infections (URI), pneumonia or life-threatening respiratory disease in patients with allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Our aim is to demonstrate our URI experience related to CRVs after allo-HSCT. METHODS: From January 2013 to November 2015, 39 post allo-HSCT patients with acute URI symptoms were included in the study. We evaluated CRVs by multiplex PCR from nasopharyngeal wash and throat swabs. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 39 (range 20-67 years). A total of 25 patients (64%) had viral panel positivity at a median 140 days post-transplant (range 3-617 days). The most common agents detected were respiratory syncytial virus (32%) and parainfluenza (32%). The patients with viral panel positivity had significantly lower lymphocyte count (1.05×109/l versus 3.09×109/l; P=0.013). During follow-up, 20 patients (80%) were diagnosed with pneumonia. Patients with concurrent bacterial or fungal infections were more likely to have pneumonia (100% versus 68%; P=0.023). 10 patients (40%) died due to pneumonia and related complications. Lower lymphocyte counts and higher C-reactive protein levels at the time of viral panel positivity were risk factors for mortality (1.5×109/l versus 0.39×109/l, P=0.007; 74.2 versus 199.7, P=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: The viral panel was positive in 64% of patients with acute URI symptoms. Lower lymphocyte count was detected in CRV-positive patients. The onset of concomitant bacterial or fungal infections increased the risk of lower respiratory infection disease. Indeed, prospective studies should be designed for risks and outcomes of CRVs in allo-HSCT recipients.