Polymyalgia rheumatica should be suspected in older patients with bilateral shoulder and hip stiffness that is worse in the morning and improves with use. An array of nonspecifi c musculoskeletal complaints, constitutional symptoms, and elevated serum infl ammatory markers may be present, so other conditions should also be considered. Prolonged glucocorticoids with patient-tailored dosing and duration are the mainstay of treatment. Corticosteroid-sparing therapy with adjunctive methotrexate may benefi t select patients.
KEY POINTSRheumatoid arthritis, late-onset spondyloarthritis, and RS3PE (remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema) are important mimics of polymyalgia rheumatica.Diagnosis usually requires either an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (> 30 or 40 mm/h) or C-reactive protein level (> 6 mg/dL).Ultrasonographic evidence of infl ammation, especially subacromial bursitis, increases diagnostic specifi city.Patients should be evaluated at diagnosis and periodically for the development of giant cell arteritis.To help avoid relapse, therapy should continue until symptoms resolve, followed by slow tapering.Preliminary studies show possible benefi t from tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 receptor antibody, as monotherapy or for refractory cases.
Mycoplasma hominisseptic arthritis has a well-established association with hypogammaglobulinaemia, but is rarely seen in immunocompetent hosts. An association also exists with a closed trauma and a predisposition toM hominisbone infections. In this clinical case report, a patient withM hominisosteomyelitis following a closed trauma was diagnosed using 16S ribosomal studies, and led to the diagnosis of a severe underlying immunodeficiency syndrome known as Good's syndrome.
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