Clinical features of gout in a cohort of Italian patients

Objective: To assess the clinical characteristics of gout and its diagnostic approach in a group of Italian patients. Methods: In a retrospective analysis, we evaluated 72 consecutive gouty patients examined in the years 2000-2007.We recorded demographic data, family history, comorbidities and disease characteristics (seasonality of the attacks, joints affected, serum uric acid concentration, and treatment). Result: 63/72 (87.5%) patients were men and 9 women, with mean age 61.9±13.7 years. 8/72 (11.1%) patients reported a familial history of gout. The first attack occurred mainly in the months of June, July and December. The first metatarsophalangeal joint was affected in 59.7% of patients and the hand in 25%. Treatment changed over the follow- up period, with a decreased use of NSAIDs (p<0.0001) and an increased use of colchicine (p=0.015) and allopurinol (p<0.0001). In 9 (12.5%) patients, joint aspiration was performed and monosodium urate crystals were found in synovial fluid or tophi. 42/72 (58.3%) patients fulfilled a minimum of 6 clinical criteria of the American College of Rheumatology, necessary for gout diagnosis. 47/72 (65.3%) patients, met the EULAR recommendations and had an 82% probability of being affected by gout. Conclusions: The diagnosis of gout is not always easy because of its changing clinical spectrum. Identification of MSU crystals in joint aspirates was obtained only in a minority of patients. In this setting the diagnosis with gout was often based on the observation of an acute intermittent monoarthritis involving mainly the first metatarsophlangeal joint, associated with hyperuricaemia and responsive to colchicine

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has better outcomes than conventional therapies in patients with rapidly progressive systemic sclerosis

We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) in 18 patients with rapidly progressive diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (rp-dcSSc), and compared their disease outcomes with those of 36 demographically- and clinically-matched patients treated with conventional therapies. Cutaneous involvement, by performing modified Rodnan skin score (mRss), lung diffusion capacity, by measuring diffusing capacity of lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), and disease activity, by applying the European Scleroderma Study Group (ESSG) scoring system, were the outcome variables measured at the baseline time and then every 12 months for the following 60 months in both the AHSCT-treated patients and the control group. In the AHSCT group, treatment-related mortality was 5.6%. In this group, both mRss and ESSG scores showed a significant reduction 1 year after AHSCT (P<0.002); and these results were maintained until the end of follow-up. Conversely, DLCO values remained stable during the whole period of follow-up. Survival rate of AHSCT group was much higher than that observed in the whole control group (P=0.0005). The probability that the ESSG score and mRss would remain at a high level, and DLCO could decrease, was significantly higher in the control group as a whole and in the subgroup of control patients treated with cyclophosphamide than in the AHSCT group. This study confirms that the AHSCT is effective in prolonging survival, as well as in inducing a rapid reduction of skin involvement and disease activity, and preserving lung function in patients with rp-dcSSc