Multiple pseudo-cyst formation is an uncommon manifestation of skeletal tuberculosis. Confusion has been caused by the failure to differentiate between this form of osseous tuberculosis, the solitary foci of diaphysial tuberculous osteitis, tuberculous dactylitis, and the bone lesions of sarcoidosis. This confusion has largely been due to Jungling (1920, 1928) who, believing them to be of tuber...

OBJECTIVE To develop comprehensive recommendations for the treatment of the various clinical manifestations of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) based on evidence obtained from a systematic review of the literature and from consensus opinion. METHODS Formal literature reviews of treatment for the most significant discrete clinical manifestations of PsA (skin and nails, peripheral arthritis, axial dis...

There are at least nine classification criteria for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) that have been proposed and used in clinical studies. With the exception of the ESSG and Bennett rules, all of the other criteria sets have a good performance in identifying PsA patients. As the CASPAR criteria are based on a robust study methodology, they are considered the current reference standard. However, if the...

OBJECTIVE To determine the presence and clinical significance of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS We performed a cross-sectional study on 102 outpatients (56 men) with PsA consecutively recruited from a tertiary referral center. Median disease duration was 36 months (interquartile range 21-81). All patients were investigated for peri...

The Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) group has recently developed criteria to classify patients with axial SpA with or without radiographic sacroiliitis, and criteria to classify patients with peripheral SpA. The ASAS axial criteria consist of 2 arms and can be applied in patients with back pain (>3 months almost every day). In one arm, imaging (radiographs and magne...

Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory disease typically characterized by arthritis and psoriasis variably associated with other extra-articular manifestations. PsA has been considered a milder and less disabling disease compared with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), even if some studies showed that PsA had joint erosions and damage. In addition, about 20-40% of PsA patients have axial s...

A STORY OF CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA Several sets of criteria were proposed over the years for classifying psoriatic arthritis. Recent are the CASPAR criteria. The patient must have inflammatory articular disease ( joint, spine or entheses) with three points from the following five categories: (1) evidence of current psoriasis or a personal or familial history of psoriasis; (2) typical psoriatic ...

BACKGROUND Skeletal involvement accounts 1-5% of all cases of Tuberculosis. The vertebrae are more commonly affected. The bones of the hands are more affected than the bones of the feet. The term "spina ventosa" has been used to describe this disorder because of its radiographic features of cystic expansion of the involved short tubular bones. Tuberculous dactylitis mainly occurs through lympho...