Disease Characteristics and Rheumatoid Arthritis Development in Patients with Early Undifferentiated Arthritis: A 2-year Followup Study

Abstract

Only 9.8% of patients with UA fulfilled the 2010 RA criteria during 2-year followup. Small joint involvement and swollen shoulder joint were among the factors associated with RA development. In two-thirds of patients with UA, the arthritis resolved without use of DMARD.

Is shoulder involvement in clinically suspect arthralgia an early feature of rheumatoid arthritis? A longitudinal ultrasound study

“…Sir, Multiple studies have demonstrated that shoulder complaints are frequent in RA [ 1 , 2 ]. Recently, it has been shown that shoulder involvement is predictive of RA development in patients with undifferentiated arthritis and its value is comparable with that of small joint involvement [ 3 ]. The phase of clinically suspect arthralgia precedes the phase of clinically apparent arthritis.…”

“…In this study, US of both shoulders was made at baseline. US abnormalities of the biceps tendon [ 1 ], the glenohumeral joint [ 2 ] and the subdeltoid bursa [ 3 ] were assessed for tenosynovitis, arthritis and bursitis. Thereafter, patients were followed for the course of 1 year (with 6-monthly visits) for the development of clinically apparent IA, which was verified by the treating physician.…”

Small fiber neuropathy presenting during the antecedent period of undifferentiated arthritis prior to rheumatoid arthritis

“…A 55-year-old, right-handed man developed oligoarthritis affecting his ankles. Two months later, a rheumatologist's evaluation did not identify features of RA or another inflammatory disorder, and the patient was subsequently diagnosed with an undifferentiated arthritis 3 (table 1). Four months later, he developed overnight (within 6 hours) explosive onset of burning feet pain.…”

“…Small fiber neuropathy presenting during the antecedent period of undifferentiated arthritis prior to rheumatoid arthritis Julius Birnbaum, MD, MHS I n contrast to Sjögren syndrome (SS), 1 small fiber neuropathies (SFN) associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been sparsely reported. 2 Furthermore, many patients with RA pass through an antecedent period termed undifferentiated arthritis (UA), 3 in which they may experience an inflammatory arthritis not satisfying criteria for RA or another inflammatory syndrome. SFN may be a rare complication occurring during this presaging period of UA.…”

Diagnostic accuracy of 14‐3‐3 η protein in rheumatoid arthritis: A meta‐analysis

“…In the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) classification criteria, 6 rheumatoid factor (RF) and anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) were recommended as a good marker for the diagnosis of RA. However, a percentage of patients with undifferentiated arthritis faces big challenges that arise from conventional diagnosis and classification criterion 7 and RF is not very specific for RA and may also be detected in patients with other rheumatic disorders or infections, or in apparently healthy individuals 8 . Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate some novel RA indicators into the diagnostic criteria of RA.…”