Total Knee Arthroplasty in a patient with anti-synthetase syndrome and severe knee stiffness: A case report.
Anti-synthetase syndrome (ASyS) is a rare autoimmune disorder with diverse clinical manifestations, often initially misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. Delayed diagnosis may result in severe joint destruction, disabling polymyositis, and even mortality from rapidly progressive respiratory illness.…
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is a rare and potentially fatal opportunistic infection in patients with rheumatic diseases with mortality rates exceeding those seen in HIV-infected patients. Although PJP prophylaxis is highly effective, evidence-based guidelines specific to rheumatic disease…
Analysis of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination and infection: A retrospective, comparative cohort study using a claims database from Discovery Health, a managed care organisation in South Africa.
Adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination have been studied extensively in recent years. However, there remains a paucity of data directly comparing adverse events among COVID-19 vaccinees and individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection within the insured population in South Africa (SA). Moreover, the…
Neuroimmune Crosstalk: Peripheral Nervous System Disorders After Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.
This study aimed to identify the frequency and types of peripheral nervous system involvement, associated clinical features, treatment options, and prognosis in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for the treatment of malignancy. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. We i…
Development and Validation of the Inclusion Body Myositis-Health Index: A Disease-Specific Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for Use in Clinical Trials and Drug-Labeling Claims.
As novel therapeutic interventions are considered for individuals with inclusion body myositis (IBM), valid outcome measures are needed to quantify therapeutic gain and disease progression during clinical trials. To meet this need, we developed and validated the Inclusion Body Myositis-Health Index…
Measuring disease activity in juvenile systemic sclerosis: a multidisciplinary consensus from the Hamburg 2024 symposium.
Assessment of disease activity in juvenile systemic sclerosis (jSSc) is essential for clinical care and trial readiness, yet no validated pediatric activity measures exist. Adult systemic sclerosis activity tools, including the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Activity Index, revised CRISS, an…
Myocarditis in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: serologic and clinical correlates in a single-center registry.
To characterize the clinical and serological correlates of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)-confirmed myocarditis in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), evaluate the diagnostic performance of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-TnI), and quantify the independent prognostic impact of…
Use of nailfold capillaroscopy for evaluation of disease activity in juvenile dermatomyositis: Results of a two-center retrospective study.
Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is a rare, immune-mediated children disease that affects both skeletal muscles and skin. Inflammatory vasculopathy is a key part of the JDM pathogenesis. Nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) is a non-invasive method for microvasculature assessment. Despite the pathogenic rele…