A comparison of the sensitivity of diagnostic criteria for polymyalgia rheumatica.
(57/201)
OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of the several different diagnostic criteria sets currently in use for polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). METHODS: 213 patients attending eight rheumatological centres in eight different European countries were studied. All had recently been referred and were considered by the senior investigator at each centre, selected because of their experience in treatment of PMR, to have this condition. By use of a standard international proforma, the requisite diagnostic points in each criteria set were sought. Sensitivity for each criterion from each set was then calculated, as well as the sensitivity of each criteria set as a whole. RESULTS: Of four criteria sets compared, the Bird (1979) criteria performed best with a sensitivity of 99.5%, and the Hunder (1982) criteria second best, with sensitivity of 93.3%. These both performed significantly better than the two other criteria sets, though each of these was admittedly developed for rather specialised reasons. CONCLUSIONS: Although this study compares homogeneity, we suggest the Bird 1979 or Hunder 1982 criteria should be used whenever possible. Studies that have used alternative criteria may have less sensitivity in diagnosis. (+info)
Do steroids increase lymphoma risk? A case-control study of lymphoma risk in polymyalgia rheumatica/giant cell arteritis.
(58/201)
BACKGROUND: Recent studies indicate increased risks of malignant lymphomas among individuals treated with corticosteroids, but have not taken into account the underlying reasons for steroid use, so the increased risks might be attributable to the underlying disease or concomitant treatments other than steroids. Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and temporal arteritis (giant cell arteritis, GCA) are common inflammatory conditions treated with steroids as single immunosuppressive therapy, but data on lymphoma risk in GCA/PMR are limited. OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of lymphoma associated with steroid treatment of GCA/PMR. METHODS: The association between GCA/PMR and malignant lymphomas (overall, and separately for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and chronic lymphatic leukaemia) was examined in a nationwide, population based, case-control study of 42,676 lymphoma cases and 78,487 matched population controls, using prospectively recorded data on lymphomas from the Swedish cancer register 1964-2000 and data on pre-lymphoma hospital admissions for GCA/PMR from the Swedish inpatient register 1964-2000. Odds ratios (OR) associated with a pre-lymphoma hospital admission for GCA/PMR were calculated using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: 153 lymphoma cases and 345 population controls had a history of GCA/PMR, resulting in an overall OR for malignant lymphomas of 0.81 (95% confidence interval, 0.67 to 0.98). The OR varied little with lymphoma type, sex, age, and calendar period. The OR for GCA was 0.67 (0.48 to 0.98) and for PMR, 0.83 (0.67 to 1.04). CONCLUSIONS: Treated GCA is not associated with increased lymphoma risks, which suggests that even at considerable cumulative doses, steroids may not appreciably increase lymphoma risk. (+info)
Use of physician services in a population-based cohort of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica over the course of their disease.
(59/201)
OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of generalist and rheumatologist services in a population-based cohort of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and to identify predictors of rheumatology care. METHODS: We identified all incident cases of PMR among residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota between 1970 and 1999. Patients were followed for a maximum of 5 years after their incidence date. Logistic regression and zero-inflated Poisson regression models were used to assess the association between rheumatology care and age, sex, giant cell arteritis (GCA), PMR relapses, corticosteroid complications, comorbidity, and various laboratory findings, adjusting for the total number of visits. RESULTS: Of the 364 incident cases of PMR eligible for this analysis, 67% were women and the mean age at incidence was 73 years. Over a mean followup of 4.1 years, individuals in this cohort utilized a total of 5,108 physician office visits and 2,015 telephone calls. The mean number of generalist and rheumatologist visits per person-years of follow-up during the first year of PMR was 7.02 and 2.15, respectively. Thereafter, there was a steady decline in both generalist and rheumatologist visits. One hundred forty-four (40%) patients had no rheumatologist visits and 102 (28%) had only 1 rheumatologist visit, mostly for diagnostic confirmation. Men and patients with several comorbid conditions were significantly more likely to be seen by rheumatologists (P < 0.001). However, once referred, women, older patients, and those with GCA, PMR relapses, and corticosteroid complications had significantly more rheumatologist visits (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The use of physician services in PMR is considerable. Generalists provide the large majority of care. Rheumatologist involvement is generally limited to diagnostic confirmation and management of complications. The relative paucity of rheumatology care following the period of diagnosis may represent an opportunity for improving the care of patients with PMR. (+info)
Direct medical costs of polymyalgia rheumatica.
(60/201)
OBJECTIVE: To describe the patterns of care and direct medical costs of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) to test the hypothesis that the direct medical costs incurred by patients with PMR are higher than costs incurred by age- and sex-matched population-based controls from the same community. METHODS: The study population comprised 193 Olmsted County, Minnesota residents who were first diagnosed with PMR between January 1, 1987 and December 31, 1999. Inclusion criteria were as follows: age > or = 50 years; bilateral aching and morning stiffness (lasting > or = 30 minutes) persisting for at least 1 month and involving the neck, shoulders, or hip girdle regions; and an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) > or = 40 mm/hour. In patients who fulfilled the first 2 criteria, but had a normal ESR, a rapid response to low-dose corticosteroids served as the third criterion. A total of 695 age- and sex-matched subjects without PMR served as control subjects. Billing data from the Olmsted County Healthcare Expenditure and Utilization Database (OCHEUD) were used to provide estimates of nationally representative unit costs in the year 2002 inflation-adjusted dollars. All subjects were followed using the OCHEUD records until December 31, 2002 to assess the total direct medical costs. Generalized quantile regression modeling was used to estimate the effect of PMR on direct medical costs, after adjusting for age, sex, Charlson comorbidity score, number of hospital days, and number of radiographs. RESULTS: During the first year following diagnosis, subjects with PMR used a substantially higher number of outpatient services and laboratory tests compared with controls, but during the subsequent 4 years, there were no differences between the 2 groups. In age- and sex-adjusted analysis, PMR was associated with a significant incremental cost of 2,233 dollars at the 10th percentile of costs and 27,712 dollars at the 90th percentile of costs. However, further adjustments for comorbidities, number of hospital days, radiographs, and imaging eliminated the incremental cost difference between the subjects with PMR and control subjects. PMR subjects were significantly more likely to have a history of myocardial infarction (odds ratio [OR] 1.78, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.13, 2.82), peripheral vascular diseases (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.37, 3.60), and cerebrovascular diseases (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.08, 2.39) compared with the controls. CONCLUSION: Incremental direct medical costs associated with the management of PMR can be substantial, especially early in the disease course. These incremental costs appear to originate mainly from comorbid cardiovascular conditions that were shown to be more prevalent among subjects with PMR. (+info)
Serum amyloid A as a potent therapeutic marker in a refractory patient with polymyalgia rheumatica.
(61/201)
We report a patient with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) who showed a relapse soon after tapering of oral prednisolone. C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were quickly normalized after the re-increase in oral prednisolone, and muscle pain and stiffness gradually improved in parallel with a decrease in serum amyloid A (SAA). Flow cytometry simultaneously demonstrated an increase in CD8+CD25+ cells and a decrease in CD4+CD25+ cells and CD4+CD45RA+ cells. When clinical symptoms remain with negative results for CRP and ESR even after the start of corticosteroid treatment, SAA might be a potent therapeutic marker for disease activity in PMR. (+info)
Calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease mimicking polymyalgia rheumatica: a prospective followup study of predictive factors for this condition in patients presenting with polymyalgia symptoms.
(62/201)
OBJECTIVE: To assess the characteristics of calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPDD) with proximal involvement mimicking polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), and to identify the best predictive factors for the presence of a clinical pattern of CPDD in patients presenting with polymyalgia symptoms. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with either PMR or CPDD at the Rheumatology Division of Hospital Meixoeiro (Vigo, Spain) over a 7-year period (1997-2003) were prospectively followed for at least 12 months. RESULTS: The study group comprised 118 patients with PMR features and 112 patients with CPDD. Eighty-two of the 118 patients with PMR manifestations were diagnosed as having pure PMR, and 36 met the diagnostic criteria for both PMR and CPDD. Patients with CPDD mimicking PMR were older (P = 0.02) and had peripheral arthritis more frequently (P = 0.004) than those with pure PMR. Radiologic osteoarthritic changes in the hands and knees, including more advanced radiologic grade of knee osteoarthritis, and tendinous calcifications were more frequent in patients with PMR/CPDD (P < 0.001). The best predictive factors for the occurrence of this atypical pattern of CPDD in a patient presenting with PMR features were the age at diagnosis and the presence of tibiofemoral osteoarthritis, tendinous calcifications, and ankle arthritis. CONCLUSION: Involvement of proximal joints may be the clinical presentation of CPDD. CPDD should be included in the spectrum of diseases mimicking PMR. The presence of tibiofemoral osteoarthritis, tendinous calcifications, and ankle arthritis are clues that may alert the clinician to the presence of CPDD in an elderly patient presenting with PMR manifestations. (+info)
Incidence of diagnosed polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis in the United Kingdom, 1990-2001.
(63/201)
OBJECTIVE: To investigate time trends, geographical variation, and seasonality in the incidence of diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and temporal arteritis (TA) in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Analysis of computerised medical records from UK general practices. Participants were registered with a practice contributing to the General Practice Research Database during the period 1990-2001. The main outcome measures were rates of diagnosis by year, age, sex, geographical region, and calendar month. RESULTS: 15 013 people had a first diagnosis of PMR and 3928 a first diagnosis of TA during 17 830 028 person-years of observation. The age adjusted incidence rate of PMR was 8.4/10 000 person-years (95% CI 8.3 to 8.6), rising from 6.9/10 000 person-years in 1990 to 9.3/10 000 in 2001. The age adjusted incidence rate of TA was 2.2/10 000 person-years (95% CI 2.1 to 2.3) with no increase observed. Both PMR and TA were more common in the south than in the north of the UK, and both were more commonly diagnosed in the summer months. CONCLUSIONS: The explanation for the findings is unclear. Variations in diagnostic practice and accuracy are likely to have contributed in part to the patterns seen. However, the findings are also likely to reflect, at least in part, variations in the incidence of disease. The striking geographical pattern may be partly attributable to a risk factor which is more prevalent in the south and east of the United Kingdom. (+info)
Repetitive 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in giant cell arteritis: a prospective study of 35 patients.
(64/201)
OBJECTIVE: To study fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the different vascular beds and in the large joints of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) at diagnosis, during steroid treatment, and at relapse. METHODS: All consecutive patients admitted to our department with a diagnosis of GCA underwent FDG-positron emission tomography (PET) scan before treatment with methylprednisolone was started. PET scans were repeated at 3 and 6 months, if the initial PET scans showed vascular FDG uptake. PET scans were scored at 7 different vascular areas and a total vascular score (TVS) was calculated, ranging from 0 to 21. RESULTS: A total of 35 patients entered the study. At diagnosis, vascular FDG uptake was noted in 29 patients (83%), especially in the subclavian arteries (74%), but also in the aorta (>50%) and up to the femoral arteries (37%). TVS decreased from a mean +/- SD score of 7.9 +/- 5.5 at baseline to 2.4 +/- 3.5 on repeat PET scan at 3 months (P < 0.0005), but did not further decrease at 6 months. The patients who relapsed had similar earlier decreases of TVS compared with those who did not relapse. FDG uptake in the shoulders at diagnosis correlated significantly with the presence of polymyalgia rheumatica (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: FDG uptake in the large vessels is a sensitive marker for GCA, which can involve the larger thoracic, abdominal, and peripheral arteries. Polymyalgia rheumatica symptoms in patients with GCA correlate with (peri)synovitis of the shoulders. Relapses of GCA cannot be predicted by results of former PET scintigraphies. (+info)