Ultrasound Doppler and tenosynovial fluid analysis in tenosynovitis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess Doppler ultrasound (US) and tenosynovial fluid (TSF) characteristics in tenosynovitis within common rheumatic conditions, as well as their diagnostic utility. METHODS: Subjects with tenosynovitis underwent Doppler US and US-guided TSF aspiration for white cell count (WCC) and crystal analysis. Tenosynovial Doppler scores (DS) were semiquantitatively graded. TSF WCC and DS were compared using Kruskal-Wallis tests and logistic regression between non-inflammatory conditions (NIC), inflammatory conditions (IC) and crystal-related conditions (CRC). Receiver operating curves, sensitivity and specificity assessed the ability of WCC and DS to discriminate IC from NIC. RESULTS: We analysed 100 subjects from 14 sites. The mean age was 62 years, 65% were female, and the mean TSF volume was 1.2 mL. Doppler signal was present in 93.7% of the IC group and was more frequent in IC than in NIC group (OR 6.82, 95% CI 1.41 to 32.97). The TSF median WCC per 109/L was significantly higher in the IC (2.58, p<0.001) and CRC (1.07, p<0.01) groups versus the NIC group (0.38). A TSF cut-off of ≥0.67 WCC per 109/L optimally discriminated IC versus NIC with a sensitivity and specificity each of 81.3%. In the IC group, 20 of 48 (41.7%) subjects had a TSF WCC <2.00 per 109/L. CONCLUSIONS: A negative DS helps rule out IC in tenosynovitis, but a positive DS is non-specific and merits TSF testing. Unlike synovial fluid, a lower TSF WCC better discriminates IC from NIC. US guidance facilitates aspiration of minute TSF volume, which is critical for diagnosing tenosynovial CRC.

Increased cartilage oligomeric matrix protein concentrations in equine digital flexor tendon sheath synovial fluid predicts intrathecal tendon damage.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) synovial fluid cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) concentrations as a molecular marker for intrathecal pathology. STUDY DESIGN: Case control study. ANIMALS: Horses (n=46) with DFTS tenosynovitis; 23 fresh cadaver horses. METHODS: DFTS synovial fluid samples were collected from clinical cases with noninfected DFTS tenosynovitis and from control DFTS. Clinical and surgical findings were recorded, and dissection of control limbs was performed to confirm the DFTS to be grossly normal. Synovial fluid COMP was quantified using a homologous competitive inhibition ELISA. RESULTS: Abnormalities were identified tenoscopically: intrathecal tendon/ligament tearing was identified in 37 cases and 9 had other lesions. In control horses, synovial fluid COMP was higher in younger horses. Clinical cases with intrathecal tendon/ligament tearing had higher synovial fluid COMP than either clinical cases with other lesions, or controls. In horses ≥5 years old, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay was high for diagnosing intrathecal tendon/ligament tearing. CONCLUSIONS: COMP concentrations in DFTS synovial fluid were significantly greater than those in normal horses with noninfected tenosynovitis caused by intrathecal tendon/ligament tearing, but not by other lesions.

Upper limb musculoskeletal abnormalities and poor metabolic control in diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: An increased prevalence of musculoskeletal disease is recognised in diabetes and is a common source of disability. It is known to predominantly affect the upper limbs especially the hand and shoulder. The relationship with other complications of diabetes and glycaemic control is uncertain. We designed this study to clarify these relationships, and to assess differences between types 1 and 2 diabetes. METHODS: We identified a group of 96 people with established diabetes and examined them for the presence of locomotor disease focussing on the upper limbs. We recorded the mean HbA1c and the presence of diabetic complications, together with the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) score. We explored correlations between locomotor disease and these variables using logistic regression. We compared data between type 1 and type 2 diabetics and contrasted the amalgamated data with that of a matched control population of medical out patients using Students t tests. RESULTS: Locomotor disease was present in 75% of diabetics with the upper limb the commonest site for abnormalities. This prevalence was significantly higher than that seen in the controls (53%) [p=0.02]. Shoulder capsulitis (25%), carpal tunnel syndrome (20%), tenosynovitis (29%), limited joint mobility (28%) and Dupuytrens contracture (13%) were the most frequent findings and were much commoner than in controls. Capsulitis usually coexisted with other upper limb abnormalities and best predicted the presence of retinopathy and/or neuropathy. The mean HbA1c was significantly higher in patients with combined shoulder and hand problems (9.1%) than in those with no upper limb problems (8.0%) [p=0.018]. The pattern of results was similar in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, although the prevalence of abnormalities and mean HAQ were significantly greater in type 2 patients, which may be in part a function of their greater mean age. CONCLUSION: Upper limb locomotor abnormalities are very common in diabetes and are associated with worse glycaemic control and more diabetic complications. Assessment of upper limb locomotor disease in diabetes should include an estimate of glycaemic control and a search for other complications.

Tenosynovitis with rice body formation in a non-tuberculosis patient: a case report.

In this report, we present a 68-year-old man with rice body formation in the flexor tendon sheath of the fingers without any inflammatory diseases such as tuberculosis or rheumatoid arthritis. The patient visited our institute in March 2004 with a one-month history of swelling and pain of the right distal forearm. Laboratory data were within normal limits, and the rheumatoid factor was negative. He had no history of tuberculosis, and the tuberculin reaction was weakly positive. Magnetic resonance (MR) images showed a mass measuring 6 cm x 4 cm around the flexor tendons of the forearm. Many rice bodies had been erupted from a small hole of the fibrous wall of the mass at the time of incisional biopsy performed in June 2004. Histological diagnosis was synovitis with fibrous loose bodies. In July 2004, spontaneous ruptures of the right fourth and fifth flexor tendons occurred. Open repair was performed in August 2004. The patient regained good function of the operated fingers with no evidence of recurrence at the latest follow-up in March 2009.

Comparative histopathological analysis between tenosynovitis and joint synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis.

AIMS: To clarify the histological and biological features of tenosynovitis accompanying rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS AND RESULTS: Synovial tissue was obtained from the wrist joint and extensor tendon of the digits of six RA patients and the sections were examined by haematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemical analysis. RA tenosynovitis exhibited the typical histological features of RA joint synovitis, including hyperplasia of the synovial lining and infiltration of leucocytes, largely CD4+ T cells and CD68+ macrophages. Notably, there was a significant correlation in the number of CD4+ T cells and CD68+ macrophages between the tenosynovium and joint synovium in each individual. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed similar mRNA expression patterns of various inflammatory mediators in tenosynovitis and joint synovitis. It was also observed that synovial fibroblasts isolated from the tenosynovium behaved in a manner similar to those isolated from the joint synovium with regard to proliferation and the production of inflammatory mediators. CONCLUSIONS: The histopathological features of RA tenosynovitis were indistinguishable from those of joint synovitis. Therefore, it is suggested that the ongoing inflammation is driven by similar mechanisms in the tenosynovium and joint synovium and that RA is probably a tissue-specific disease which targets systemic synovial tissues.

Concentrations of serum amyloid A in serum and synovial fluid from healthy horses and horses with joint disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations in serum and synovial fluid from healthy horses and horses with joint disease and assess the effect of repeated arthrocentesis on SAA concentrations in synovial fluid. Animals-10 healthy horses and 21 horses with various types of joint disease. PROCEDURES: Serum and synovial fluid samples were obtained from each horse. In 5 of the 10 healthy horses, arthrocentesis was repeated 9 times. Concentrations of SAA were determined via immunoturbidometry. RESULTS: Serum and synovial fluid SAA concentrations were less than the assay detection limit in healthy horses and did not change in response to repeated arthrocentesis. Synovial fluid SAA concentrations were significantly higher in horses with suspected bacterial joint contamination or infectious arthritis, or tenovaginitis than in healthy controls, and serum concentrations were significantly higher in horses with infectious conditions than in the other groups. Neither serum nor synovial fluid SAA concentrations in horses with low-inflammation joint conditions differed significantly from those in healthy controls. Concentrations of SAA and total protein in synovial fluid were significantly correlated. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Synovial fluid SAA concentration was a good marker of infectious arthritis and tenovaginitis and appeared to reflect changes in inflammatory activity. The advantages of use of SAA as a marker include the ease and speed of measurement and the fact that concentrations in synovial fluid were not influenced by repeated arthrocentesis in healthy horses. Further study of the SAA response in osteoarthritic joints to assess its usefulness in diagnosis and monitoring of osteoarthritis is warranted.

Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) syndrome in Nagano, Japan: clinical, radiological, and cytokine studies of 13 patients.

OBJECTIVE: Remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE) has so far been reported almost exclusively from the USA and Europe. We carried out this study to define the clinical characteristics of this syndrome in Japanese patients. METHODS: Prospectively, we identified 13 Japanese patients with RS3PE (5 men and 8 women, age 72.7 +/- 11.8 years (mean +/- SD)) without underlying neoplasm. Their clinical features were summarized, pertinent laboratory data including serum/synovial interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations were obtained, and extensive radiologic studies using magnetic resonance imaging and 67gallium-citrate (67Ga) whole body scintigram were performed. RESULTS: All patients suffered from proximal arthralgia/myalgia in addition to typical distal symptoms of RS3PE, and all experienced systemic symptoms such as fever, malaise, and weight loss. In laboratory examinations, anemia and elevated inflammatory markers were often remarkable. Magnetic resonance imaging showed severe tenosynovitis of the hands. 67Ga-scintigram revealed radioisotope accumulation in both proximal and distal joints of the extremities. IL-6 activity was markedly elevated both in the serum (mean 82.4 +/- 62.1 (SD) pg/ml, normal range 0.157-2.94) and in the synovial fluid (mean 3350 +/- 633 (SD) pg/ml). CONCLUSION: Compared with cases reported previously from the USA/Europe, Japanese patients with RS3PE are characterized by more prominent systemic symptoms/signs associated with marked inflammatory responses including elevated IL-6 activity. All patients had proximal as well as distal synovitis which could be demonstrated by 67Ga-scintigram. These clinical features were very similar to those of polymyalgia rheumatica, suggesting that RS3PE and polymyalgia rheumatica are closely related disorders which may have a common pathogenesis.

Diffuse-type giant cell tumor: clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis of 50 cases with extraarticular disease.

The clinical and pathologic features of 50 cases of diffuse-type tenosynovial giant cell tumor (D-TGCT), also known as extraarticular pigmented villonodular tenosynovitis (PVNTS), are presented. Patients' ages ranged from 4 to 76 years (median, 41 yrs), with a slight female predominance (28 women, 22 men). By definition, all lesions presented as predominant soft tissue masses, with or without an associated articular component. Tumor sites included the wrist (9 cases), knee (8 cases), thigh and foot (6 cases each), finger (5 cases), ankle (3 cases), hand, elbow, toes, buttock, paravertebral region (2 cases each), lower leg, sacrococcygeal area, and retroperitoneum; 27 cases were described as entirely extraarticular. Tumors showed infiltrative margins and, in most cases, a sheet-like growth pattern. Striking variation in the number of osteoclast-like giant cells, foamy cells, amount of hemosiderin, and in the degree of stromal hyalinization were responsible for a wide morphologic spectrum. In addition to the predominant histiocyte-like cells, we identified in most cases a subpopulation of large dendritic, desmin-positive cells showing characteristic, but potentially misleading, cytologic features, including abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, large vesicular nuclei, paranuclear eosinophilic inclusions, and occasional nuclear inclusions. Follow-up information was available for 24 patients, with a duration ranging from 6 months to 30 years (mean, 55 mos). Local recurrence occurred in eight cases (33%), between 4 months and 6 months after surgery (median, 15 mos) and was repeated in five cases; recurrence did not appear to correlate with morphologic parameters. Six cases showed atypical histologic features and four of these contained areas of sarcomatous change. Among the latter, one of three cases with available follow up developed pulmonary metastases and died after 35 months. In addition, one histologically benign lesion gave rise, after two local recurrences, to inguinal and iliac lymph node metastases. Despite this exceedingly uncommon event, we think most cases of D-TGCT are best regarded as benign but locally aggressive neoplasms with significant recurrent potential and should be treated, when possible, by wide excision. Atypical features such as increased mitotic activity, necrosis, spindling of the mononucleate cells, and cytologic atypia are not indicative of malignancy when present individually. This study also confirms the existence of malignant tenosynovial giant cell tumors, some of which are characterized by aggressive behavior.

A light and ultrastructural study of rice bodies recovered from a case of date thorn-induced extra-articular synovitis.

Rice bodies are most commonly found in inflammatory joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and have traditionally been considered to be a nonspecific response to inflammatory synovial disease. In the present study 18 rice bodies were found in the tibialis tendon sheath of a nine-year-old Omani boy subsequent to a date thorn injury. The rice bodies consisted of three major components: fibrin, collagen, and fibroblasts. In contrast to the findings of other authors there were no type A, B, or C synoviocytes, cartilage, or vascularisation of the rice body. At this extra-articulate site it would appear that rice bodies are composed chiefly of fibrin and that the fibrosis of the rice body occurs as a result of the entrapment of fibroblasts, which subsequently produce collagen. These findings shed doubt on the synovial origin of rice bodies and suggest that rice bodies may have multiple origins, depending on their location. This is the first ultrastructural study of rice bodies associated with a date thorn injury.

The histopathology of de Quervain's disease.

The histopathological appearances of the tendon sheath and synovium from 23 patients treated surgically for de Quervain's disease are described and compared with 24 controls. The condition was not characterized by inflammation, but by thickening of the tendon sheath and most notably by the accumulation of mucopolysaccharide, an indicator of myxoid degeneration. These changes are pathognomonic of the condition and are not seen in control tendon sheaths. The term 'stenosing tenovaginitis' is a misnomer and we believe that de Quervain's disease is a result of intrinsic, degenerative mechanisms rather than extrinsic, inflammatory ones.

[Apatite tenosynovitis of the hand]. / Ténosynovites apatitiques des mains.

Three cases of apatite tenosynovitis of the hands are presented. This rare condition has often a dramatic outset with an intense inflammation that could suggest an infectious process. The radiographic feature is characteristic, and the examination of the material removed from synovial sheath or from calcific deposits allows apatite crystals to be identified. The process is self-limited, but immobilization and local infiltrations of steroids shorten the duration of disability.

Upper limb pyrophosphate tenosynovitis outside the carpal tunnel.

Three cases of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CPPD) crystal deposits in tendon sheaths outside the carpal tunnel are reported. Crystals were shown by x ray diffraction analysis in one case and by compensated light microscopy in the other two. Surgical excision of the tendon synovial sheath had to be done in two cases (one case with CPPD crystal deposits).

Flexor tenosynovitis (FTS): a risk indicator of abnormal glucose tolerance.

Diabetes mellitus (DM), particularly of long duration and insulin dependent, can be accompanied by a variety of locomotor system disorders. However, musculo-skeletal syndromes can also appear in patients with mild glucose homeostasis disturbances. Sometimes these locomotor complaints may precede the diagnosis of the deranged glucose metabolism and hence give a clue to the underlying glucose homeostasis abnormality. In the present work, glucose metabolism was studied in 39 patients presenting with palmar flexor tenosynovitis (FTS) but without any other rheumatic manifestations. For comparison, glucose homeostasis was also studied in 44 patients with FTS accompanying rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the first group, 23% had an abnormal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), a significantly increased frequency vis-à-vis the 4.5% found in the RA group and vis-à-vis the 5.4% reported for the general population. It is concluded that in the absence of any other rheumatic disease, FTS is a risk indicator of disturbed glucose metabolism and that a simple screening procedure for the purpose of disclosing glucose homeostasis abnormalities is warranted in patients presenting with FTS.

[Carpal tunnel syndrome, amyloid tenosynovitis and periodic hemodialysis]. / Syndrome du canal carpien, ténosynovite amyloíde et hémodialyse périodique.

Since 1975, various entrapment neuropathies have been reported in patients undergoing periodic haemodialysis, the most frequent being the carpal tunnel syndrome. Ten patients on chronic haemodialysis developing 15 carpal tunnel syndromes (5 unilateral and 5 bilateral) are reported. Various causes for the renal failure were present and clinical signs of the carpal tunnel syndrome developed at a late stage. The arteriovenous fistula required for extrarenal epuration was antebrachial and of the laterolateral type, except in one case when it was lateroterminal. The carpal tunnel syndrome was always on the same side as the fistula, developing at a later stage on th contralateral side in the 5 cases of bilateral disorders. Lesions were severe, in 11 of the 15 cases. Some patients noted fluctuations in pain symptoms during haemodialysis, either improving or becoming worse. Gross pathological findings during operation (13 cases) were tenosynovitis with epineural hypervascularisation on the opposite side. In 9 cases, however, atypical hypertrophic tenosynovitis was observed. Histological examination in 12 cases demonstrated typical tenosynovitis in 3 patients, but granulomatous tenosynovitis with amyloid deposits was reported in 9 patients. Lesions were bilateral in 2 cases thus present, on the side opposite to the fistula. Ultrastructural study confirmed the amyloid nature of the deposits in 3 cases, the microfibrillary appearance (80 to 100 A) being characteristic of amyloid substance. This rare complication does not represent a common carpal tunnel syndrome, and three mechanisms may be involved in its induction : peripheral uraemic neuropathy, haemodynamic modifications resulting from the antebrachial arteriovenous shunt, and amyloid formation in the flexor synovial sheaths. In the latter case, the type of amyloid disease may be a primary systemic amyloidosis not previously detected, or an elective amyloid process localised to the tenosynovial and periarticular tissues.