Response to: Correspondence on 'No efficacy of anti-IL-23 therapy for axial spondyloarthritis in randomised controlled trials but in post hoc analyses of psoriatic arthritis-related 'physician-reported spondylitis? by Gladman
With great interest we have read the comments of Gladman et al1 to our viewpoint.2 We are especially grateful that we were able to provoke a statement of such a large and distinguished group of experts in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). However, it looks like that there is little reason for dissent. Thus, Gladman et al agree with us that post hoc analyses of randomised PsA trials have very little value beyond the generation of testable hypotheses per se, that patient-reported outcomes alone do not suffice to declare axial PsA a distinguishable entity, and that Bath ankylosing spondylitis (AS) disease activity index (BASDAI) and...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Landewe, R. B., Braun, J. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'No efficacy of anti-IL-23 therapy for axial spondyloarthritis in randomised controlled trials but in post-hoc analyses of psoriatic arthritis-related 'physician-reported spondylitis?
We have read with interest the recently published Viewpoint regarding a potential difference, or lack thereof, in the pathophysiology and response to treatment between patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and those with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial involvement (axPsA), a domain of PsA characterised by inflammation of the axial skeleton.1 While post hoc analyses of patients with axPsA from the phase III PSUMMIT-1 and PSUMMIT-22 and DISCOVER-1 and DISCOVER-23 studies were constrained by various aspects of trial design and available assessment tools, the results highlighted the need for clinical trials focusin...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Gladman, D. D., Mease, P. J., Bird, P., Soriano, E. R., Chakravarty, S. D., Shawi, M., Lavie, F., Gong, C., Leibowitz, E., Poddubnyy, D., Tam, L.-S., Helliwell, P. S., Kavanaugh, A., Deodhar, A. A., Ostergaard, M., Baraliakos, X. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: Correspondence on 'No efficacy of anti-IL-23 therapy for axial spondyloarthritis in randomised controlled trials but in post-hoc analyses of psoriatic arthritis-related 'physicianreported spondylitis? by Siebert and Marzo-Ortega
With great interest, we read the comment of our colleagues from the UK on our recent viewpoint,1 and we appreciate that they largely agree with us.2 This is a bit different in a recent review on the same topic,3 which argues that it is still possible that anti-IL23 agents work for axial psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Nevertheless, our colleagues from the UK raise two important points, which we like to shortly comment on. First, the important factor of age is discussed, which plays an important role in the frequent clinical situation of patients presenting to the doctor because of acute or chronic back pain—simply because...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Braun, J., Landewe, R. B. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'No efficacy of anti-IL-23 therapy for axial spondyloarthritis in randomised controlled trials but in post-hoc analyses of psoriatic arthritis-related 'physician-reported spondylitis?
We read with interest the Viewpoint article by Braun and Landewé1 regarding post- hoc analysis of back pain in trials of interleukin (IL)-23 inhibitor therapy in patients with peripheral psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Indeed, we share their concerns regarding study design, the use of outcome measures developed for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and, most importantly, the attribution of the diagnostic label ‘physician-reported spondylitis’ in these patients. In addition to the issues eloquently outlined in the article, it is important to be aware that the pre-test probability of inflammatory disease being di...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Siebert, S., Marzo-Ortega, H. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: Correspondence on 'Re-examining remission definitions in rheumatoid arthritis: considering the 28-Joint Disease Activity Score, C-reactive protein level and patient global assessment by Ferreira et al
We read with interest the communication by Ferreira and colleagues on our editorial about the measurement of remission in rheumatoid arthritis.1 They agree with large parts of our editorial, particularly the importance of including patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in the evaluation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity. Their main argument is that a PRO such as the patient global assessment does not capture active RA when the 28-joint counts suggest quiescent disease. For example, in one paper, they suggested that the main predictors of patient global assessment in patients with a small number of swollen and tender...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Felson, D., Lacaille, D., LaValley, M. P., Aletaha, D. Tags: ARD Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Re-examining remission definitions in rheumatoid arthritis: considering the 28-joint Disease Activity Score, C reactive protein level and patient global assessment
We read with great interest the editorial by Felson et al on definitions of remission in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).1 It gives a comprehensive and historical overview of the development of remission criteria and provides a well-founded critique of remission criteria based on the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28). DAS28 has been primarily developed and validated for evaluations at the group level, that is, for measuring effects in clinical trials. However, in almost forgotten earlier times, when patient remission was rarely achieved, there was a need for a single index, expressing disease activity of the individual pat...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Ferreira, R. J. O., Welsing, P. M. J., Jacobs, J. W., Gossec, L., Ndosi, M., Machado, P. M., van der Heijde, D., Da Silva, J. A. Tags: ARD Correspondence Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Interleukin-6 receptor blockade with subcutaneous tocilizumab in severe COVID-19 pneumonia and hyperinflammation: case-control study
We read with great interest the recent article by Potere et al using interleukin (IL)-6 receptor blockade with subcutaneous tocilizumab in SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 pneumonia and hyperinflammatory syndrome.1 A potential preventive or therapeutic effect of certain immunomodulatory therapies in COVID-19 has been hypothesised. Among them, corticosteroids, IL-6 or IL-1 antagonists have been reported and successfully used in severe COVID-19 and associated hyperinflammatory syndromes.1–4 The hyperinflammation observed in adult patients with severe COVID-19 resembles a cytokine release syndrome (CRS) associated with CD4+ and CD8+...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Winkler, M. S., Korsten, P., Binder, C., Tampe, B. Tags: ARD, COVID-19 Correspondence Source Type: research
Challenge of diagnosing ANCA-associated vasculitis during COVID-19 pandemic: a missed 'window of opportunity
There is concern around coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and rheumatic diseases. Systemic vasculitis was the fourth most common rheumatic disease among patients hospitalised for COVID-19.1 However, the diagnosis of anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) can be challenging during COVID-19 pandemic for several reasons: first, clinical presentation of patients with AAV partially overlaps with COVID-19; second, patients with initial symptoms of AAV may be concerned to seek medical help in order not to get into close contact with other patients; and third, diagnosis may be delayed because non...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Giollo, A., Bixio, R., Gatti, D., Viapiana, O., Idolazzi, L., Dejaco, C., Rossini, M. Tags: ARD, COVID-19 Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: Correspondence on 'Anticardiolipin and other antiphospholipid antibodies in critically ill COVID-19 positive and negative patients by Liu
We thank Dr Yudong Liu1 for commenting on our manuscript and on many of the same issues we raised.2 There are, however, some comments that require clarification and a response. It is true that antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) of various specificities and immunoglobulin isotypes have been reported in COVID-19.3 However, despite a historical connection of aPLs with coagulopathies and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), to date there has been no convincing evidence that aPLs has this in vivo pathogenic effect in COVID-19. In our patients, despite the presence of aPLs (eg, IgG anticardiolipin), there was no link to thrombotic e...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Fritzler, M. J., Trahtemberg, U., on behalf of the COVID-19 Longitudinal Biomarkers of Lung Injury (COLOBILI) study group Tags: ARD, COVID-19 Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on 'Anticardiolipin and other antiphospholipid antibodies in critically ill COVID-19 positive and negative patients
I read with great interest the article by Trahtemberg et al1 on the clinical relevance of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs), in particular anticardiolipin antibodies (aCLs), in critically ill COVID-19 positive and negative patients. Severe COVID-19 is associated with a hypercoagulable state. Early studies identified the presence of aPLs in critically ill COVID-19 patients,2 which has attracted considerable attention as the presence of aPLs is one of the mechanisms leading to coagulopathy. Substantial efforts then tried to associate the thrombotic events seen in COVID-19 to aPLs status. The results seem negative, but a num...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Liu, Y. Tags: ARD, COVID-19 Correspondence Source Type: research
Response to: Correspondence on "Associations of baseline use of biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs with COVID-19 severity in rheumatoid arthritis" by van Vollenhoven et al
We appreciate the interest in our paper and the opportunity to provide additional clarification and context with regard to our observed association of baseline Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) use with worse COVID-19 outcomes among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). When used at baseline for treatment of RA, we hypothesised that JAKi may result in worse COVID-19 outcomes because of dampening effects on the initial immune response, which is characterised by the viral replication phase of SARS-CoV-2.1 van Vollenhoven et al suggest an alternative hypothesis2: that poor outcomes may have been observed among JAKi users if, a...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Sparks, J. A., Wallace, Z. S., Seet, A. M., Robinson, P. C., Machado, P. M., Yazdany, J. Tags: ARD, COVID-19 Correspondence response Source Type: research
Correspondence on "Associations of baseline use of biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs with COVID-19 severity in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the COVID-19 global rheumatology alliance physician registry"
Sparks et al1 are to be congratulated on an important and timely study. They found that the use of JAKi was associated with worse outcome of COVID-19 infection, and they interpret this as a harmful effect of the treatment in that particular setting. But this question deserves further consideration. Assuming that the observation is correct, what could the mechanism be? As the authors correctly point out, some JAKi’s did show benefits for patients with severe COVID-19 infection.2 3 We, therefore, propose an alternative explanation of the observed data. Some guidance documents,4 5 and certainly medical practice traditio...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - July 13, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: van Vollenhoven, R. F., Tas, S. W., Nurmohamed, M. T. Tags: Open access, ARD, COVID-19 Correspondence Source Type: research
COVID-19 infection after autologous stem cell transplantation for systemic sclerosis
We report on... (Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases)
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Henes, J. C., Martac, I., Vogel, W., Lengerke, C., Klein, R., Hensen, L., Pecher, A.-C. Tags: ARD, COVID-19 Letter Source Type: research
Complete resolution of gastric antral vascular ectasia after autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in systemic sclerosis
Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) is a known vascular gastrointestinal (GI) complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc), characterised by an endoscopic appearance, named ‘watermelon stomach’.1 The prevalence of GAVE is as high as 45% in SSc patients with RNA POL III antibodies.1 GAVE carries significant morbidity due to recurrent GI bleeding, requiring blood transfusions and repeated argon plasma coagulation (APC) procedures.2 There is no well-established therapy for GAVE. Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is grade A therapy for early diffuse progressive SSc,3 the population at risk ...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Keret, S., Zuckerman, T., Henig, I., Rainis, T., Odeh, S., Artoul, N., Shouval, A., Slobodin, G., Rimar, D. Tags: ARD Letter Source Type: research
Baricitinib for juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a monocentric case series
Antitumour necrosis factor α drugs dramatically changed the prognosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), the most common chronic rheumatic disease in childhood. Promising results from janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi), small molecules orally administered that inhibit specific receptor of the JAK family, are emerging. Tofacitinib, a non-selective JAKi, has shown an excellent efficacy in a recent randomised controlled trial(RCT) for polyarticular JIA.1 Baricitinib, a selective JAK 1 and JAK 2 inhibitor, resulted superior to placebo and adalimumab (ADA) in treating rheumatoid arthritis.2 Data are, however, scarce in J...
Source: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases - June 12, 2023 Category: Rheumatology Authors: Maccora, I., Oliverio, T., Pagnini, I., Marrani, E., Mastrolia, M. V., Simonini, G. Tags: ARD Letter Source Type: research
