ObjectivesDisease Activity index for PSoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA) (sum score 68/66 tender/swollen joint counts (68TJC/66SJC), patient’s global assessment, pain and C-reactive protein (CRP)) is recommended for clinical assessment of disease activity in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Ultrasound (US) (grey scale (GS) and power Doppler (PD)) detects inflammation in joints and extra-articular structures. The present objectives were to explore the longitudinal relationships between DAPSA, clinical assessment as well as patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) with US in patients with PsA initiating biological DMARDs and the associations between DAPSA and US remission.Methods47 patients with PsA were examined at baseline and after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Assessments included 68TJC/66SJC, examiner’s global assessment (EGA), PROMs, CRP, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and US GS and PD (48 joints, 10 flexor tendons, 14 entheses, 4 bursae). Clinical composite scores and PD sum scores (0=remission) were calculated. Longitudinal associations were explored by generalised estimating equations with linear and logistic regression.ResultsDAPSA was not longitudinally associated to PD. 66SJC, ESR, 28-joint Disease Activity Score, EGA and CRP were longitudinally associated with PD (p<0.001–0.03), whereas the pain-related components of DAPSA (68TJC and pain) as well as PROMs were not associated. At 6–12 months, remission was achieved in 29%–33 % of the patients for DAPSA and 59%–70 % for PD. The association between DAPSA and PD remission was not significant (p=0.33).ConclusionsDAPSA was not associated with US inflammatory findings which indicates that DAPSA and US may assess different aspects of PsA activity.
Papillary fibroelastomas (PFEs) are rare cardiac valve tumours with reported incidence of <0.03% according to autopsy studies. Among them, pulmonary valve PFEs are extremely rare. With wider use of echocardiography, they are being increasingly recognized premortem. We describe a case of a 32-year-old Caucasian woman with PFE of pulmonic valve diagnosed by echocardiography. The patient underwent surgery due to high mobility of the tumour and high risk of embolic complications. The surgery was done with complete tumour resection and total preservation of valve function. This case report discusses diagnostics of PFEs, their characteristic echocardiographic and histological features, and possible complications and suggests treatment options in this rare cardiac tumour.
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