Patient's Global Assessment as an Outcome Measure for Psoriatic Arthritis in Clinical Practice: A Surrogate for Measuring Low Disease Activity?

Objective.To assess the low disease activity (LDA) in a group of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) receiving antitumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) by using the patient's global assessment (PtGA) in clinical practice, and to compare PtGA with minimal disease activity (MDA) and other outcome measures.Methods.Patients with PsA classified by the ClASsification for Psoriatic ARthritis (CASPAR) criteria and consecutively admitted to an outpatient clinic dedicated to biologic therapy were assessed during their routine followup. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of patients achieving a PtGA ≤ 20 at 4-, 8-, and 12-month followups. Secondary outcome measures included the proportion of patients achieving MDA and other outcome measures. Correlation of PtGA with MDA and other process and outcome measures were also performed.Results.During the period of observation, 124 patients were evaluated. PtGA ≤ 20 was achieved in 25.7% at 4 months, 48.9% at 8 months, and 65.3% at 12 months of followup. The percentage of PtGA ≤ 20 statistically improved throughout the 3 timepoint assessments and it was statistically correlated to MDA. A significant correlation with the Disease Activity index for PSoriatic Arthritis (DAPSA), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index, and Health Assessment Questionnaire was also observed. MDA, DAPSA, and Disease Activity Score at 28 joints with C-reactive protein remission were achieved at 12 months in 64%, 36%, and 71% of patients, respectively.Conclusion.PtGA can estimate the LDA status and could be considered as a surrogate of outcome measures for the assessment of global disease activity in patients with PsA receiving anti-TNF therapy during routine clinical practice. These data suggest that PtGA might be used in outpatient settings, being a simple, reliable, and not time-consuming instrument

Identification of the Minimal Disease Activity Domains Achieved Based on Different Treatments in Psoriatic Arthritis

Introductionthe aim of this work is to characterize which minimal disease activity (MDA) domains are mainly achieved, based on different treatments, in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients. Moreover, the association between MDA achievement and the different treatment groups was assessed.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis of two longitudinal PsA groups. Inclusion criteria were: age & GE; 18 years, PsA diagnosis, stable treatment for at least 6 months. patients were grouped depending on the therapy: group 1: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)/cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors (COX2i)/steroids, group 2: conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), group 3: tumor necrosisfFactor & alpha; inhibitors (TNFi), group 4: interleukin inhibitors (IL)12-23i or IL-23i, group 5: IL-17i, group 6: phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors (PD4i). For each group, the achieved domains based on therapy were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between the treatment groups and the MDA achievement.resultsA total of 220 patients were enrolled, and MDA was achieved in 45.8% of them. In all treatment groups, the first MDA domains achieved were: body surface area & LE; 3, swollen joint count & LE; 1 and Leeds Enthesitis Index & LE; 1, while MDA domains less frequently achieved were Patient Global Assessment (PtgA) & LE; 2 cm and pain on visual analogue scale & LE; 1.5 cm. The logistic regression analysis showed higher odds ratios for the achievement of the MDA in those patients in groups 3 and 4.ConclusionsIn each treatment group, MDA domains less frequently achieved were PtGA and pain, suggesting that "patient-driven domains" are still an unmet need.Due to the study design and the low number of patients in some groups, it is not possible to clearly define which MDA domain was achieved or not based on treatment; however, it seems that some differences could be present. If larger and prospective studies confirm our preliminary results, we could move toward a personalized/domain treatment approach in PsA.ConclusionsIn each treatment group, MDA domains less frequently achieved were PtGA and pain, suggesting that "patient-driven domains" are still an unmet need.due to the study design and the low number of patients in some groups, it is not possible to clearly define which MDA domain was achieved or not based on treatment; however, it seems that some differences could be present. If larger and prospective studies confirm our preliminary results, we could move toward a personalized/domain treatment approach in PsA

Occult axial involvement in patients with psoriatic arthritis mutilans: a case report.

We present the case of a patient with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) mutilans and occult axial involvement. The patient had suffered from PsA mutilans for more than a decade, with severe residual articular damage, but had been in clinical remission for years. Clinical axial involvement was never reported; however, magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joints, performed for other reasons, documented active inflammation and damage even without clinical symptoms. These findings corroborated the hypothesis that axial involvement could be asymptomatic, subclinical and, furthermore, underdiagnosed or even occult in patients with PsA mutilans, in which cases it should be carefully evaluated

Assessment of patient-physician interactions in psoriatic arthritis: national results of the ASSIST Study

Introduction An overarching principle for the management of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a shared decision-making process between physicians and patients. The aim of this study is to assess the patient–physician relationship in a group of patients with PsA, by using the Perceived Efficacy in Patient–Physician Interactions (PEPPI) and CollaboRATE instruments. Methods This is a cross-sectional multicenter study where consecutive patients with PsA were enrolled. For each patient, the main demographic, comorbid conditions, and clinical data were collected, including the assessment of disease activity, function, quality of life, and impact of disease. PEPPI and CollaboRATE questionnaires were used, respectively, to evaluate the patient’s perception of the patient–physician relationship and the shared decision-making process. Results A total of 81 patients with PsA were enrolled at four centers in Italy. Overall, our patients showed a high level of confidence in obtaining needed health care, with relatively high median (IQR) values of PEPPI (20; 16–23), and a good shared decision-making process, with high median (IQR) values of CollaboRATE questionnaire (7; 6–9). PEPPI and CollaboRATE scores showed a statistically significant inverse correlation with different clinical variables such as disease duration, Leeds Enthesitis Index, PsA impact of Disease, Health Assessment Questionnaire, pain, patient’s global assessment of disease activity and clinical disease activity for PsA. The presence of comorbidities did not appear to be associated with lower values of PEPPI and CollaboRATE. Conclusions In this study, few patients with PsA were at risk of suboptimal communication with their physician. This phenomenon appeared to be primarily related to higher disease activity and burden

Case report of polymyalgia rheumatica in a male patient with three different neoplasms treated with pembrolizumab.

In this manuscript we aim to describe a particular case of a 63 years-old man who developed three different malignancies (one was a rare case of breast cancer) among nearly five years. In particular, for the diagnosis of melanoma, he was treated with pembrolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor. After few months of treatment with pembrolizumab, the patient reported the onset of musculoskeletal symptoms such as inflammatory pain at the shoulders and morning stiffness, with raised CRP and ESR and imaging evidence of bursitis and tenosynovitis. A polymyalgia-like syndrome was diagnosed. Understanding if these manifestations are linked to the use of pembrolizumab or to a paraneoplastic syndrome, and how to manage the patient, was the real challenge

Remission, low disease activity and improvement of pain and function in psoriatic arthritis patients treated with IL-12/23 and IL-17 inhibitors. A multicenter prospective study

The development of new biologic and targeted synthetic DMARDs can lead to good disease control. The aim of the present study was to assess the rate of remission and low disease activity, and the improvement of pain and function, in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients treated with new anti-IL-12/23 and anti-IL-17 biologic agents. A prospective 6-month study was performed. Patients fulfilling the CASPAR criteria for PsA that started ustekinumab, secukinumab and ixekizumab were enrolled and prospectively followed in a setting of clinical practice. Patients were considered in minimal disease activity (MDA), when they met at least 5/7 of the criteria previously defined. DAPSA score ≤4 was also evaluated as a remission criterion. Pain on VAS, PtGA and HAQ were also assessed in all patients. Patients achieving MDA were compared to non-MDA to identify outcome predictive factors. Of the 70 patients treated with ustekinumab, secukinumab and ixekizumab, at baseline, no patients were in MDA or had a DAPSA score ≤4. Ten patients (14.2%) were lost during the follow-up. After 6 months, MDA was achieved in 22 (31.4%) patients. DAPSA≤4 was achieved in 17 (24.2%) patients. Significant improvement in pain, PtGA and HAQ was also found. Patients naïve to anti-TNF treatment achieved more frequently MDA compared to anti-TNF-experienced patients. Male sex, high levels of CRP and absence of comorbidities were found to be predictors of MDA. In our prospective observational study, MDA was achieved in 31.4% and DAPSA remission in 24.2% of patients treated with inhibitors of IL-12/23 and IL-17, thus making this target achievable in PsA patients treated with these drugs

Cardiovascular Risk Prediction in Ankylosing Spondylitis: From Traditional Scores to Machine Learning Assessment

Abstract Introduction The performance of seven cardiovascular (CV) risk algorithms is evaluated in a multicentric cohort of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. Performance and calibration of traditional CV predictors have been compared with the novel paradigm of machine learning (ML). Methods A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from an AS cohort has been performed. The primary outcome was the first CV event. The discriminatory ability of the algorithms was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), which is like the concordance-statistic (c-statistic). Three ML techniques were considered to calculate the CV risk: support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and k-nearest neighbor (KNN). Results Of 133 AS patients enrolled, 18 had a CV event. c-statistic scores of 0.71, 0.61, 0.66, 0.68, 0.66, 0.72, and 0.67 were found, respectively, for SCORE, CUORE, FRS, QRISK2, QRISK3, RRS, and ASSIGN. AUC values for the ML algorithms were: 0.70 for SVM, 0.73 for RF, and 0.64 for KNN. Feature analysis showed that C-reactive protein (CRP) has the highest importance, while SBP and hypertension treatment have lower importance. Conclusions All of the evaluated CV risk algorithms exhibit a poor discriminative ability, except for RRS and SCORE, which showed a fair performance. For the first time, we demonstrated that AS patients do not show the traditional ones used by CV scores and that the most important variable is CRP. The present study contributes to a deeper understanding of CV risk in AS, allowing the development of innovative CV risk patient-specific models

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis