Objectives To investigate the sensitivity and specificity of a temporal artery biopsy (TAB) in the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) in a single-center retrospective cohort in Japan. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed on consecutive patients who visited our hospital between April 2009 and October 2018 and underwent a TAB. The sensitivity and specificity were calculated for the three pathological standards for a TAB, predetermined according to the pathological criterion of the 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria: A) vasculitis characterized by predominant mononuclear cell infiltration; B) vasculitis with granulomatous inflammation; and C) vasculitis with multinucleated giant cells. We also analyzed the clinical parameters predicting the diagnosis of GCA and the impact of a diagnostic delay of ≥3 months on cardiovascular complications of GCA. Results Our study population was 16 cases in the GCA group and 13 in the non-GCA group. The sensitivity and specificity for Standard A of a TAB were 81% and 85%, respectively, while those for stricter Standards B or C were identical, at 75% and 100%, respectively. These pathological standards, but not any other parameters, significantly predicted the diagnosis. A diagnostic delay tended to cause cardiovascular complications (p=0.057). Conclusion The sensitivity and specificity of the pathological standards of a TAB were favorable in our cohort and were the only predictors for the diagnosis of GCA. Considering the possible impact of a diagnostic delay on cardiovascular complications, the early recognition and prompt initiation of glucocorticoid therapy is needed, even in Japan, where GCA is uncommon.
Objective: To determine the mortality risk of Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis, taking into account lifestyle and physical factors, including comorbidity. Methods: 91 individuals with rheumatoid arthritis were identified during screening a cohort of 16 119 Japanese atomic bomb survivors in the period 1958 to 1966. These individuals and the remainder of the cohort were followed for mortality until 1999. Mortality risk of the rheumatoid patients was estimated by the Cox proportional hazards model. In addition to age and sex, lifestyle and physical factors such as smoking status, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, and comorbidity were included as adjustment factors for the analysis of total mortality and for analysis of mortality from each cause of death. Results: 83 of the rheumatoid patients (91.2%) and 8527 of the non-rheumatoid controls (52.9%) died during mean follow up periods of 17.8 and 28.0 years, respectively. The age and sex adjusted hazard ratio for mortality in the rheumatoid patients was 1.60 (95% confidence interval, 1.29 to 1.99), p,0.001. Multiple adjustments, including for lifestyle and physical factors, resulted in a similar mortality hazard ratio of 1.57 (1.25 to 1.94), p,0.001. Although mortality risk tended to be higher in male than in female rheumatoid patients, the difference was not significant. Pneumonia, tuberculosis, and liver disease were significantly increased as causes of death in rheumatoid patients. Conclusions: Rheumatoid arthritis is an independent risk factor for mortality. Infectious events are associated with increased mortality in rheumatoid arthritis.
To relate the clinical findings of parvovirus B19 infection to the phase of the disease, we performed a retrospective chart review of 30 adult patients who tested positive for IgM antibody against parvovirus B19 at our hospital from March 2003 to November 2008. Median patient age was 38 years, with 86.7% aged between 26 and 45 years. The male-to-female ratio was 4:26 (86.7% female). Symptoms in the first phase were mainly flu-like, including fever, headache, or myalgia. Symptoms in the second phase were arthralgia in 24 (85.7%) and rash in 23 (82.1%). Fever was observed in 21 (70.0%), and 22 (75.9%) were found to be lymphopenic. The onsets in 73.3% of cases were concentrated within 10.1% of the study period, an observation nearly consistent with an outbreak of erythema infectiosum. Three patients had symmetrical swelling of joints, all of whom also had rash. Most patients visited the hospital within a week of onset and prognosis was favorable. In the parvovirus B19 infection, flu-like symptoms were frequent in the first phase, while rash and arthralgia were common in the second. Female sex, age between 26 and 45, and presence of rash, arthralgia, fever, and lymphopenia were clinical findings with a high frequency (≥70%), and these factors may contribute to diagnosis. In an era when early diagnosis and therapy is required in rheumatoid arthritis, it is important to recognize the parvovirus B19 infection with a presentation of acute arthritis and a favorable prognosis.
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