Content and Face Validity and Feasibility of 5 Candidate Instruments for Psoriatic Arthritis Randomized Controlled Trials: The PsA OMERACT Core Set Workshop at the GRAPPA 2017 Annual Meeting.

The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA)-Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Set working group is in the process of selecting core instruments for PsA clinical trials. During a 2-h workshop and breakout group discussions at the GRAPPA 2017 annual meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, participants discussed the first set of candidate instruments to be taken through the OMERACT Filter 2.1 instrument selection process: 66/68 swollen/tender joint count (66/68JC), Spondyloarthritis Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) enthesitis index, patient's global assessment (GRAPPA and OMERACT formulations), Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease (PsAID) questionnaires 9 and 12, and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) Fatigue. Based on the assessment of domain match (content and face validity) and feasibility according to the OMERACT instrument selection criteria, the working group recommends continuing with appraisal of construct validity and discrimination for 66/68JC, SPARCC, PsAID 9 and 12, HAQ-DI, and FACIT-Fatigue. In addition, it recommends repeating the OMERACT Filter 2.1 process for patient global instruments because of insufficient votes. Additional sets of candidate instruments for the PsA core instrument set will be evaluated in a similar process.

Disseminated tuberculosis masquerading as a presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Tuberculosis (TB) infection is the endemic in Asia-Pacific region. Miliary TB is a disseminated form which may present similarly as autoimmune conditions. Here we describe a 17-year-old girl who had miliary TB with manifestations mimicking new-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) including oral ulcers, serositis, cytopenia, proteinuria and raised autoantibody titers. Complex associations between SLE and TB are highlighted. High index of clinical suspicion for TB infection is needed upon presentations resembling immune diseases like SLE.

An overview of OA research in two urban APLAR populations.

Osteoarthritis (OA), the most prevalent type of arthritis in the elderly, is also among the first five leading causes of disability in developed countries. With the 'Westernized' living environment and lifestyle among Southeast Asian urbanized cities, where obesity is on the rise and the populations are ageing, the incidence of OA is expected to rise in the next decades. There is need to summarize research work within these places. This article summarizes some of the research aspects of OA in Southeast Asian cities. These data may form a useful basis for future planning of medical resource and needs.

Evaluation of the CASPAR criteria for psoriatic arthritis in the Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and validate the Classification of Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR) criteria for PsA in a Chinese population. METHODS: Data were collected prospectively from consecutive Han Chinese clinic attendees with PsA and other chronic inflammatory arthritis. Subjects were classified according to Moll and Wright, European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) criteria for PsA, Vasey and Espinoza or CASPAR criteria. Sensitivity and specificity of each set of criteria were compared with the expert clinical diagnosis. Latent class analysis was used to calculate accuracy of criteria and confirm validity. RESULTS: A total of 108 (53 males and 55 females) subjects with PsA were recruited. Mean (s.d.) age and duration of illness were 48.4 (12.0) and 9.55 (7.66) years, respectively. Data were compared with 195 controls with RA (n = 154) and AS (n = 41). The ESSG criteria have the lowest sensitivity, followed by the Moll and Wright criteria. The sensitivity and specificity for the CASPAR criteria were 98.2 and 99.5%, respectively, which is similar to reported values in European populations. The latent class model agreed closely with the clinical criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The CASPAR criteria performed well in a Chinese population, which is very different from the populations for which they were developed. The CASPAR criteria have higher sensitivity in classifying PsA.