Need for circumspection in prescribing tumor necrosis factor inhibitors and other biologic response modifiers.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Eric L Matteson.
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The original and early case reports of vasculitis provide a historical context and foundation for understanding current concepts of these diseases. These early case reports are valuable as reference points for the current efforts in diagnosing, treating, and classifying vasculitis. In addition, they emphasize the importance of careful clinical observation in these efforts and the essential nature of medical science. Polyarteritis nodosa was the first noninfectious vasculitis to be described and studied in detail. Research on this group of vasculitides has been the cornerstone for understanding the pathophysiology of other forms of idiopathic vasculitis. Historically, most forms of vasculitis described subsequently have been characterized and classified on the basis of features similar to or distinct from polyarteritis.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of orthopedic surgery, including joint replacement surgery, in a well defined population based cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to identify characteristics that predict such use. METHODS: A retrospective medical record review was performed of cases of RA incident in Rochester, MN, during the years 1955-85. Patients were followed until 1998. All joint surgeries were recorded, including joint reconstructive surgeries, total joint arthroplasty (TJA), and other joint reconstructive procedures (JRP) such as tendon transfers and resections, joint fusions, and surgeries for fractures and infections involving joints. RESULTS: Of the total 424 RA incident cases, 148 (34.9%) patients underwent one or more (maximum of 20/patient) surgical procedures involving joints during their followup (median 14.8 yrs, range 0.2-42.8 yrs). Overall, this RA cohort had 9.7 surgeries per 100 person-yrs of followup. The estimated cumulative incidence of surgical procedures for RA at 30 yrs was 52.7% +/- SE 4.2. Surgeries for arthritis related joint disease of RA included: primary TJA 76 patients (31.3 +/- 4.1); JRP joint fusion 78 patients (29.4 +/- 3.5); JRP soft tissue 92 patients (29.8 +/- 3.3); and cervical spine fusion one patient. Non-RA (trauma and other) joint surgeries included TJA 26 patients (13.5 +/- 3.4) and arthrotomy for septic arthritis 8 patients (2.4 +/- 0.9). Based on Cox proportional hazards regression, the risk of having a disease related joint surgery for RA is increased in patients who are younger (p < 0.001), have positive rheumatoid factor (p = 0.01), and those with rheumatoid nodules (p < 0.001). There was a borderline significant increase in the risk of first joint surgery in women (p = 0.09). Women also had significantly more joint surgeries (11.5/100 person-yrs) than men (4.9/100 person-yrs; p < 0.001). Survival of patients who had surgery for RA related joint disease was similar to those who did not. CONCLUSION: This is the first population based assessment of joint surgeries performed in patients with RA. Reconstructive surgeries were common, and women had significantly more surgeries than men. Survivorship among patients with RA undergoing surgeries was similar to that of the RA patient population at large.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of extraarticular manifestations (ExRA) in a well defined community based cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to examine their effect on mortality. METHODS: Using the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a retrospective medical record review was conducted of a cohort of 424 cases of RA in Olmsted County, MN, USA, diagnosed during the period 1955-1985. These cases had been classified using the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria for RA. Patients were followed 1955-1998 (median followup 14.8 yrs; range 0.2-42.8 yrs), and incident ExRA manifestations were recorded according to predefined criteria. Data on comorbidities were extracted using the definitions of the Charlson comorbidity index. Survival was compared to the general population using Kaplan-Meier estimates. RESULTS: ExRA occurred in 169 patients, corresponding to an incidence rate of 3.67/100 person-yrs. Compared to the general population, survival among patients with RA was decreased. Survival among patients with ExRA was markedly decreased compared to the general population and to patients without ExRA (p < 0.001). A particularly poor prognosis was noted in a subgroup of 63 patients (incidence rate 1.04/100 person-yrs) who fulfilled predefined criteria for severe ExRA (i.e., vasculitis, pericarditis, pleuritis, and/or Felty's syndrome). For RA patients who did not fulfill these criteria, there was no significant increase of mortality (p = 0.09). In a multivariate model of mortality, including age, sex, and the presence of known comorbidities, the presence of one or more of these ExRA was the strongest predictor of mortality. CONCLUSION: In this first community based study of extraarticular manifestations in RA, virtually all the excess mortality occurred in a subgroup of patients with severe extraarticular disease, suggesting that extraarticular disease is the major predictor of mortality in patients with RA.
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Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease (AIED) is a clinical syndrome of uncertain pathogenesis. It is associated with bilateral rapidly progressive hearing loss. The hearing loss may be associated with vestibular symptoms. Autoimmunity has been proposed as the pathogenesis of this sort of hearing loss, although the mechanism of the disease is poorly understood. It is well accepted that the endolymphatic sac is an immunocompetent organ and circulating autoantibodies against inner ear antigens have been reported, as have viral antigens in the endolymph, although the sensitivity, specificity, and roles of those antibodies in a disease process are poorly defined. We will describe the clinical aspects of the disease, the histopathology, the immunologic indicators, the types of presentation, both from the audiologic and vestibular point of view, clinical trials for treatment and the follow-up. One of our conclusions is that many of these patients respond favorably to the treatment Methotrexate.