Guillaume Coiffier

Bone turnover markers for osteoporotic status assessment? A systematic review of their diagnosis value at baseline in osteoporosis

OBJECTIVE Osteoporosis diagnosis is based on bone mineral density (BMD) but bone remodeling is also a crucial issue. It can be assessed by bone turnover markers (BTMs). Their interest for the positive and etiological diagnosis of osteoporosis at baseline, and their predictive value for past asymptomatic vertebral fractures, were evaluated by a systematic review of the literature. METHODS Medline database was searched to identify all published reports analyzing BTMs and BMD or fractures. We conducted meta-analyses on BTMs levels according to osteoporotic status using random effects models. RESULTS Moderate and negative correlations were found, mainly in postmenopausal women, between BTMs and BMD, especially with bone alkaline phosphatase (bone ALP), osteocalcin, serum C-terminal and urine N-terminal crosslinking telopeptides of type I collagen (sCTX and uNTX). Bone ALP and sCTX levels are higher in osteoporotic patients compared to controls. High levels of bone ALP in primary hyperparathyroidism and low levels of osteocalcin in endogenous hypercorticism are the most relevant data reported in endocrine diseases associated with osteoporosis. High levels of BTMs, especially osteocalcin, bone ALP or sCTX, may be associated with prevalent vertebral fractures. CONCLUSION The diagnosis value of BTMs at baseline in osteoporosis is very low. The interest of BTMs for the etiological diagnostic of secondary osteoporosis has not been demonstrated. Data are lacking to address the interest of BTMs assessment to screen for vertebral fractures in asymptomatic patients with high risk factors of fractures.

Optimizing combination rifampin therapy for staphylococcal osteoarticular infections

Staphylococcus spp. causes more than half of all osteoarticular infections of native structures or implanted material. The ability of Staphylococcus spp. to persist within infected bone tissue and to produce a bacterial biofilm, most notably in infections of implanted material, can lead to treatment failures and microbiological relapses. Rifampin is a cornerstone of the treatment of staphylococcal osteoarticular infections, particularly those of implanted material. Rifampin is a bactericidal antibiotic that diffuses very well within bone tissue and bacterial biofilms. The mechanism of action is inhibition of bacterial DNA transcription to mRNA independently from bacterial division, which results in activity against even dormant Staphylococcus spp. organisms. However, the high risk of emergence of rifampin-resistant mutants requires the concomitant administration of another antibiotic. Several antibiotics are recommended in the French guidelines issued by the French-Speaking Society for Infectious Diseases (Société de Pathologie Infectieuse de Langue Française [SPILF]). Here, we discuss the results from in vitro, animal, and clinical studies that explain the advantages and drawbacks of each antibiotic used with rifampin to treat osteoarticular infections due to Staphylococcus spp.

Common bone turnover markers in rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis: A literature review

We studied the impact of inflammatory rheumatism and its treatment on the most common bone turnover markers, based on six previously defined questions in a systematic literature review in order to define their place in daily clinical practice. The role of bone is currently considered of particular importance concerning cartilage damage in inflammatory rheumatism (rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis) and the new concept of osteoimmunology has emerged. Some bone turnover markers are available in clinical practice. In spite of rich and extensive literature on bone turnover markers, their use in inflammatory rheumatism or even osteoporosis is not clear, and a systematic literature review became necessary. In spite of a large number of different markers used in literature, few of them that are useful in common practice have been studied in the field of inflammatory rheumatism such as rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Although their study enables understanding of the physiopathological mechanisms of osteoporosis in inflammatory rheumatism, their use in current common practice cannot be recommended. Interesting data on the forecast of the structural evolution of rheumatoid arthritis has been found within the framework of clinical research, without any real practical impact today.

Vascular Evaluation of the Hand by Power Doppler Ultrasonography and New Predictive Markers of Ischemic Digital Ulcers in Systemic Sclerosis: Results of a Prospective Pilot Study

To evaluate the relevance of power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) as a predictive tool of 1‐year digital ulcer (DU) occurrence in systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Concordance between fresh joint fluid analysis by the rheumatologist and joint fluid analysis at the laboratory: Prospective single-center study of 180 samples

OBJECTIVES To assess the diagnosis usefulness of fresh joint fluid analysis by the rheumatologist. METHODS Prospective single-center 1-year study at a university hospital in Rennes, France. A rheumatologist determined whether the freshly collected fluid suggested a mechanical or inflammatory condition and contained monosodium urate (MSU) and/or calcium pyrophosphate (CCP) microcrystals. Agreement between the rheumatologist results and laboratory results was assessed based on the kappa coefficient (κ). We then determined the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of joint fluid analysis by the rheumatologist and by the laboratory, using the final diagnosis based on the full set of clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings as the reference standard. RESULTS We included 180 joint fluid samples. The κ values were 0.80 for mechanical or inflammatory fluid, 0.97 for presence of MSU microcrystals, and 0.69 for presence of CCP microcrystals. The rheumatologist findings had 94.2% sensitivity and 84.6% specificity for inflammation; corresponding values were 80.7% and 100% for MSU microcrystals and 66.7% and 93.2% for CCP microcrystals. CONCLUSION Fresh joint fluid examination by the rheumatologist shows good to excellent agreement with the laboratory analysis for determination of the mechanical or inflammatory nature of the fluid and for detection of MSU and CCP microcrystals.

Vascular evaluation of the hand by Power Doppler Ultrasonography provides new predictive markers of ischemic digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis

To evaluate the relevance of power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) as a predictive tool of 1‐year digital ulcer (DU) occurrence in systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Rare thesaurismosis and xanthomatosis

The focus will be on xanthomatosis, a tissue danger signal which needs to be recognized by the clinician, and its relationship with monogenetic lipoprotein disorders (cholesterol, triglycerides), bile acid and sterol metabolism, particularly on metabolic pathways and genetics as well as on musculoskeletal and cardiovascular involvement, and their implications for clinical management. The critical question is to assess coronary heart disease risk, requiring correct identification of the pattern of lipoprotein disorders and of the causes (primary or secondary). Familial hypercholesterolemia must be suspected in adults and children with raised total cholesterol, especially when there is a personal or a family history of premature coronary heart disease, usually requiring potent statins to achieve adequate LDL-cholesterol lowering, even if we do not know safety of long-term therapy and whether treatments of dyslipidemia early in life prevent cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis is a treatable disease and must be suspected if there is a history of infantile chronic diarrhea and/or juvenile cataracts, even in the absence of tendon xanthomas. Current evidence for the prevention and screening, diagnosis, and treatment of dyslipidemia are available for the clinicians.

Macrophage activation syndrome with acute hepatitis E during tocilizumab treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

Tocilizumab is a humanized antibody against the membrane and soluble receptors for interleukin-6. Tocilizumab is among the disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) used to treat moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) refractory to conventional DMARDs. We report a case of macrophage activation syndrome that complicated acute hepatitis E and started within 24hours after the fourth tocilizumab infusion in a patient with RA.

Combination of capillaroscopic and ultrasonographic evaluations in systemic sclerosis: Results of a cross-sectional study

To compare microvascular damages on nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) with macrovascular manifestations evaluated by hand power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, and to assess the associations of these damages with the main digital manifestations of the disease: digital ulcers, acroosteolysis, and calcinosis.

Usefulness and limitations of rapid urine dipstick testing for joint-fluid analysis. Prospective single-center study of 98 specimens

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic performance of rapid urine reagent strip testing of joint fluid in separating mechanical from inflammatory disease. METHODS In a prospective single-center 12-month study of joint fluid specimens, leukocyte esterase reagent strip testing (LERST) was compared to leukocyte counts used as the reference standard. Leukocyte counts greater than 2000/mm(3) were taken to indicate inflammation. Reproducibility of LERST was evaluated by testing 73 specimens twice and computing Cohens kappa coefficient. RESULTS Ninety-eight joint fluid specimens (26 with mechanical and 72 with inflammatory characteristics) were evaluated. LERST had 79.2% sensitivity, 92.3% specificity, 96.6% positive predictive value, 61.5% negative predictive value, a positive likelihood ratio of 10.3, and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.23. The kappa coefficient was 0.70 (0.53-0.87). Two negative LERSTs a few minutes apart had 80% negative predictive value and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.08. CONCLUSION LERST of joint fluid is a rapid means of satisfactorily separating mechanical from inflammatory joint fluids.