Rheumatology Medical News about arthritis of less than 16 weeks;joint involvement

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Pattern of joint involvement and other disease characteristics in 634 patients with arthritis of less than 16 weeks' duration
Journal of Rheumatology, 07/06/09

Mjaavatten MD et al. – Data support the observation that patients with recent-onset arthritis report a substantial influence on health status. Although mono- and oligoarthritis are as frequent as polyarthritis, the polyarthritic pts exhibit features associated with a worse outcome more frequently.

Methods

Study was undertaken to investigate:
- Distribution of joint involvement in pts with very recent onset arthritis and
- Describe the disease characteristics in these pts
General practitioners were asked to refer pts presenting with at least 1 swollen joint of max 16 wks’ duration
Clinical and laboratory markers were examined

Results

634 pts during the first 3 yrs, with mean (25th-75th percentile) arthritis duration of 30 (11-63) days
Monoarthritis was present in 38.3% pts, 34.1% had oligoarthritis, and 27.6% polyarthritis
Pts with polyarthritis were:
- Older, and had longer duration of arthritis, and
- Positive for frequently anti-CCP antibody and rheumatoid factor
Pts in all 3 joint pattern groups reported substantial effect on physical function, pain, and fatigue, and had elevated levels of acute-phase reactants
Knee or ankle arthritis was most frequent in pts with mono- and oligoarthritis
Small joint involvement was most frequent in pts with polyarthritis

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