Long-term outcomes of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: Data on the long-term outcome of patients with childhood-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (cSLE) are scarce. Aims of this study were to describe the long-term outcomes of cSLE and to identify factors associated with the development of damage and persistent disease activity. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective multicentre study using data from the PEDIALUP registry of the Juvenile Inflammatory Rheumatism (JIR) cohort database. Demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, laboratory, radiological, histological and treatment data were collected from medical records during follow-up. RESULTS: A total of 138 patients with cSLE, diagnosed between 1971 and 2015, were included. With a median follow-up of 15.4 [9.6-22.4] years, 51% of patients had a SLICC-Damage Index score ≥ 1 at last follow-up with the musculoskeletal, cutaneous, renal, neurological, and cardiovascular damage being the most common manifestations. The proportion of patients with a SLICC-DI score ≥ 1 increased significantly with the duration of the follow-up (p< 0.001). On multivariate analysis, duration of follow-up was associated with increased risk of cumulative damage (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01, 1.15, p= 0.035). At the last visit, 34% of patients still had active disease with a SLEDAI score of ≥ 6. On multivariate analysis, Sub-Saharan African ethnicity was associated with 7-fold increased odds of having active disease at the last visit compared with Caucasians (OR 7.44, 95% CI 2.24, 24.74, p= 0.0002). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of damage remains high in patients with cSLE even when the diagnosis of c-SLE has been made in the recent decades.

Unusual cutaneous features associated with a heterozygous gain-of-function mutation in IFIH1: overlap between Aicardi-Goutières and Singleton-Merten syndromes.

Cutaneous lesions described as chilblain lupus occur in the context of familial chilblain lupus or Aicardi-Goutières syndrome. To date, seven genes related to Aicardi-Goutières syndrome have been described. The most recently described encodes the cytosolic double-stranded RNA receptor IFIH1 (also known as MDA5), a key component of the antiviral type I interferon-mediated innate immune response. Enhanced type I interferon signalling secondary to gain-of-function mutations in IFIH1 can result in a range of neuroinflammatory phenotypes including classical Aicardi-Goutières syndrome. It is of note that none of the patients with a neurological phenotype so far described with mutations in this gene was reported to demonstrate cutaneous involvement. We present a family segregating a heterozygous pathogenic mutation in IFIH1 showing dermatological involvement as a prominent feature, variably associated with neurological disturbance and premature tooth loss. All three affected individuals exhibited increased expression of interferon-stimulated genes in whole blood, and the mutant protein resulted in enhanced interferon signalling in vitro, both in the basal state and following ligand stimulation. Our results further extend the phenotypic spectrum associated with mutations in IFIH1, indicating that the disease can be confined predominantly to the skin, while also highlighting phenotypic overlap with both Aicardi-Goutières syndrome and Singleton-Merten syndrome.

A large national cohort of French patients with chronic recurrent multifocal osteitis.

OBJECTIVE: To document more fully the characteristics of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) in pediatric patients, to collect data on the outcomes and management of the disease, and to define prognostic factors. METHODS: One hundred seventy-eight patients were included (123 female patients and 55 male patients), with a mean ± SD age at diagnosis of 10.9 ± 2.9 years. Inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of CRMO, evidence of at least one lesion of osteitis confirmed by imaging, and development of the syndrome before age 18 years. RESULTS: Longitudinal clinical and imaging studies revealed that only 12 of 178 CRMO patients (7%) had unifocal lesions at the last medical visit. We were able to apply the clinical chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis score to 110 of 178 patients (62%), which indicated that bone biopsy could have been avoided in 27 cases (25%). At the last medical visit, disease was in remission in only 73 of 171 patients (43%) (41% receiving therapy) after a mean ± SD of 47.9 ± 38.9 months; 44 of 171 patients (26%) experienced sequelae. Using cluster analysis, the CRMO cohort was separated into 3 homogeneous phenotypes (severe, mild, and intermediate). Patients with the severe phenotype had the worst prognosis. This group was entirely composed of male patients, most of whom had the multifocal form of CRMO and inflammatory syndrome. Patients with the mild phenotype had the best prognosis. This group was primarily composed of female patients with a unifocal form of CRMO and infrequent clavicle involvement and inflammatory syndrome. Patients with the intermediate phenotype had a good prognosis but greater reliance on treatment. This group primarily included female patients with multifocal lesions and inflammatory syndrome. CONCLUSION: This is the largest CRMO cohort described in the literature to date. Clinical evolution and imaging investigations confirmed the multifocal pattern of the disease. Three distinct subgroups of CRMO patients were distinguished, with very different prognoses.

Is quality of life affected by season and weather conditions in ankylosing spondylitis?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the links between the quality of life (QOL) and season and weather conditions in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. METHODS: A cohort of 146 AS patients (67% males), with a mean age of 47.3 years and a mean disease duration of 12.8 years, answered a self-administered questionnaire, the AS-AIMS2 validated for AS, 4 times over a period of one year in a postal survey. Clinical measures were assessed in a subsample of the cohort. Meterological data including daily temperature, hygrometry, wind speed and atmospheric pressure were collected over the same period. RESULTS: In this cohort, 106 patients completed the follow-up. A higher lumbar spine flexibility (Schober index) was associated with a higher climatic temperature and lower wind speed. Physical QOL improved in the summer, as did Social Interaction in the summer and fall, while Role QOL decreased in winter. A lower perceived QOL was significantly associated with a higher temperature and wind speed over the past 4 weeks, and with a higher hygrometry and atmospheric pressure over the past 2 days prior to completion of the questionnaire. CONCLUSION: This study provides some support to the popular belief and frequent patient complaints of a link between health status and perceived quality of life, as assessed by a specific questionnaire, with season and weather conditions.

The French version of the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) and the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ).

We report the results of the cross-cultural adaptation and validation into the French language of two health status instruments. The Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) is a disease specific instrument that measures functional ability in daily living activities in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) is a generic health related quality of life instrument designed to capture the physical and psychosocial well-being of children independently from the underlying disease. Five hundred children were enrolled including 306 patients with JIA classified into systemic (23%), polyarticular (22%), extended oligoarticular (25%), and persistent oligoarticular (30%) subtypes, and 194 healthy children. Both instruments were reliable with intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficients for the test-retest procedure of 0.91 for the CHAQ, and 0.87 and 0.89 for the physical and psychosocial summary scores of CHQ, respectively. Agreement between parents and children evaluated for the CHAQ was high with an ICC of 0.89 for the disability index; weighted kappa coefficients for the 8 domains ranged from 0.61 to 0.72. Convergent validity was demonstrated by significant correlations with the JIA core set of variables (physician and parent global assessment, scores for active joints and joints with limited range of motion, erythrocyte sedimentation rate) for both instruments. Both CHAQ and CHQ discriminated between healthy and JIA children, but only the disease specific CHAQ questionnaire discriminated clearly between the 4 JIA subtypes. In conclusion, the French versions of the CHAQ and the CHQ are reliable, and valid health assessment questionnaires to be used in children suffering from JIA.

[Pediatric joint ultrasonography. Aspects of synovial pathology]. / Echographie articulaire pédiatrique. Aspects de la pathologie synoviale.

Until recently, few articular indications for sonographic imaging have been widely accepted. However, concerns about imaging costs are expanding its role in musculo-skeletal pathology. Valuable diagnosis insight are readily obtained with recently available high frequency transducers. Ultrasound may be utilised following clinical examination as an efficient tool in the diagnosis and follow-up of various synovial disorders. Dynamic studies of articular structures as they move, is a significant advantage over other diagnosis modalities. Ultrasound has proved to be useful in daily practice but still requires protracted learning curve for the operator before he becomes proficient with this method.

[Rehabilitation of children with chronic inflammatory arthritis]. / Rééducation de l'enfant atteint d'arthrite inflammatoire chronique.

All children with chronic arthritis require rehabilitation. Indications of the various techniques are mainly dependent upon the stage of the disease. The choice of the most appropriate technique (preservation of articular mobility, preservation of the muscular strength, orthoses) are based on an accurate assessment of each joint and on imaging. Specific measures are indicated for each localisation. The handicaps resulting from the disease and from its treatments (corticosteroids) should be reduced by adequate information of the family, adaptation of the living environment, and technical helps.

[A case report of frosted branch angiitis associated with aseptic meningitis in a young boy]. / Un cas d'angéite givrée associée à une méningite aseptique chez un jeune garçon.

We report on an 11-year-old boy with frosted branch angiitis in both eyes associated with aseptic meningitis. The patient presented after a severe decrease in vision in both eyes and a 40°C fever. The examination of the fundus of the eyes revealed a diffuse edema of the retina and diffuse bilateral vascular sheathing. The complementary examinations revealed aseptic meningitis. Neither infectious etiologies nor systemic diseases could be confirmed and an inflammatory digestive disease was suspected because of recent diarrhea events responsible for substantial weight loss. A systemic corticotherapy slowly improved the vision in both eyes. After 1 year of medication, visual recovery was full with no sequelae on fundus examination.

[CINCA syndrome: a rare cause of papilledema. The case of homozygous twins]. / Une cause rare d'oedème papillaire: le CINCA syndrome. Les cas de jumeaux homozygotes.

CINCA syndrome is an autoinflammatory disease in childhood characterized by multisystemic manifestations: cutaneous, articular, and neurological including sensory organs. We report the case of homozygous twins affected by CINCA syndrome. The diagnosis was evoked on the basis of multiple systemic symptoms (multiple episodes of fever of unknown origin, mental retardation, short stature, meningitis, hearing loss, bilateral papilledema) and confirmed by the presence of a CIAS1 mutation on genetic analysis. After few months of treatment by anakinra (an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist) the children began to grow again and we noted regression of the biological inflammatory syndrome.

Abdominal manifestations in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.

BACKGROUND: Childhood-onset lupus erythematosus is a rare disorder of unknown origin. OBJECTIVES: To describe the frequency of gastrointestinal manifestations at presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus SLE and at follow-up, and discuss the specific causes of these manifestations. METHODS: Medical records of 201 patients with childhood-onset SLE followed up in French paediatric nephrological, haematological and rheumatological centres were reviewed and abstracted for gastrointestinal manifestations. RESULTS: Gastrointestinal involvement was recorded in 39 (19%) children. The median (range) age at the time of initial gastrointestinal manifestations was 11.3 (4.5-16) years. Gastrointestinal symptoms were present at or occurred within 1 month after diagnosis in 32% patients. Abdominal pain was the most frequent symptom, present in 34 (87%) patients. It was mostly related to lupus involvement, especially ascites (n = 14) and pancreatitis (n = 12), more rarely to treatment-induced events (n = 1) or infection (n = 1) and never to events unrelated to SLE. Three children with surgical abdomen underwent a laparotomy before SLE was diagnosed, with a final diagnosis of lupus peritonitis and lupus acalculous cholecystitis. C reactive protein values were <40 mg/l in all but two patients who had surgical abdomen. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography scans were abnormal in 58% and 83% of the evaluated patients, respectively. Corticosteroids, associated with intravenous cyclophospamide in eight patients, led to complete remission of gastrointestinal involvement in 30 of 31 treated patients. CONCLUSION: Gastrointestinal involvement is common in children with SLE, and is mainly due to primary lupus involvement. Corticoidsteroid treatment should be promptly considered in children with lupus presenting with abdominal pain after infectious disease; side effects of treatment and intestinal perforation have been excluded.

Initial presentation of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: a French multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and laboratory manifestations of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) at presentation. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective French multicenter study involved 155 patients in whom SLE developed before the age of 16 years. Mean patient age at onset was 11.5 +/- 2.5 years (range, 1.5-16 years). The female to male ratio was 4.5. RESULTS: The most common initial manifestations were hematologic (72%), cutaneous (70%), musculoskeletal (64%), renal (50%), and fever (58%). Thirty-two percent of children had atypical symptoms, mainly including abdominal involvement in 26 patients, which lead to negative laparotomy results for presumed appendicitis. Severe renal, neurologic, hematologic, abdominal, cardiac, pulmonary, thrombotic, and/or cutaneous manifestations occurred within the first month after the diagnosis in 40% of patients. The mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 72 +/- 29 mm/h, and the mean C-reactive protein value 22 +/- 21 mg/L. Antinuclear antibodies an, anti-double stranded DNA antibodies, and low C3 or C4 level were retrieved in 97%, 93%, and 78 % of patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: Initial manifestations of childhood-onset SLE are diverse and often severe. The diagnosis of SLE should be promptly considered in any febrile adolescent with unexplained organ involvement, especially when associated with an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of low-dose oral methotrexate in children with extended oligoarticular or systemic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) can persist through adolescence and adulthood, resulting in significant disability. The use of low-dose oral methotrexate (MTX) for persistent polyarthritis has been shown to be effective by the USA/USSR collaborative study group. However, 2 of the most disabling subgroups of JIA, systemic and extended oligoarthritis, were underrepresented in that study. The present study was therefore conducted to investigate the efficacy of MTX in these 2 subgroups. METHODS: Patients under the age of 16 years who fulfilled the International League of Associations for Rheumatology criteria for systemic or extended oligoarticular arthritis were eligible for this multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Forty-five patients with systemic and 43 with extended oligoarticular arthritis were enrolled. The dosage of MTX or placebo was 15 mg/m2, which could be increased to 20 mg/m2 after 2 months. Core outcome variables were considered as primary measures, giving a final score of "improved" or "not improved." Secondary measures included scores of systemic features and biochemical laboratory measures. Assessment of function was not included since there were no validated functional measures at the start of this trial in 1991. RESULTS: In the extended oligoarticular arthritis group, MTX treatment produced significant improvement in 3 of 5 core variables (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, physician's global assessment of disease activity, and parent's global assessment of disease activity). By the primary improvement criteria, there was significant overall improvement during MTX treatment. In the systemic arthritis group, only 2 of 5 core variables were significantly improved (physician's and parent's global assessment of disease activity). Systemic features were not part of the core variables, but the systemic feature score was not significantly different between MTX and placebo treatment. There was no significant overall improvement in this group during MTX treatment. However, no significant interaction between disease subgroup and treatment effect was demonstrated. When the data from both disease subgroups were combined, there was significant clinical improvement during MTX treatment (P = 0.006). CONCLUSION: MTX 15-20 mg/m2 given orally once a week was found to be an effective treatment for both extended oligoarticular and systemic JIA in this shortterm trial. Long-term efficacy needs to be addressed in future studies.