Rituximab did not alleviate symptoms or disease activity in patients with pSS at week 24, although it alleviated some symptoms at earlier time points.

BackgroundNon-brucellar and non-tuberculous infectious sacroiliitis (ISI) is a rare disease, with misleading clinical signs that delay diagnosis. Most observations are based on isolated case reports or small case series. Our aim was to describe the clinical, bacteriological, and radiological characteristics of ISI, as well as the evolution of these arthritis cases under treatment.MethodsThis retrospective study included all ISI cases diagnosed between 1995 and 2011 in eight French rheumatology departments. ISI was diagnosed if sacroiliitis was confirmed bacteriologically or, in the absence of pathogenic agents, if clinical, biological, and radiological data was compatible with this diagnosis and evolution was favourable under antibiotic therapy.ResultsOverall, 39 cases of ISI were identified in adults, comprising 23 women and 16 men, with a mean age at diagnosis of 39.7 ± 18.1 years. The left sacroiliac joint (SI) was affected in 59% of cases, with five cases occurring during the post-partum period. Lumbogluteal pain was the most common symptom (36/39). Manipulations of the SI joint were performed in seven patients and were always painful. Mean score for pain using the visual analogue score was 7.3/10 at admission, while 16 patients were febrile at diagnosis. No risk factor was found for 30.7% of patients. A diagnosis of ISI was only suspected in five cases at admission. The mean time to diagnosis was long, being 43.3 ± 69.1 days on average. Mean C-reactive protein was 149.7 ± 115.3 mg/l, and leukocytosis (leukocytes ≥ 10 G/l) was uncommon (n = 15) (mean level of leukocytes 10.4 ± 3.5 G/l). Radiographs (n = 33) were abnormal in 20 cases, revealing lesions of SI, while an abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) scan (n = 27) was abnormal in 21 cases, suggesting arthritis of the SI joints in 13 cases (48.1%) and a psoas abscess in eight. Bone scans (n = 14) showed hyperfixation of the SI in 13 cases. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n = 27), when focused on the SI (n = 25), directed towards the diagnosis to ISI in 25 cases. Pathogenic agents were isolated in 33 cases (84.6%) by means of articular puncture (n = 16), blood culture (n = 14), cytobacteriological examination of urine (n = 2), or puncture of the psoas (n = 1).Gram-positive cocci were the mostly isolated common bacteria, with a predominance of staphylococci (n = 21). The most frequently isolated gram-negative bacillus was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 3). Evolution was favourable in 37 out of 39 patients under prolonged antibiotic therapy (mean duration 3.01 ± 1.21 months).ConclusionOur series confirmed that the clinical manifestations of ISI usually lead to delayed diagnosis. Based on our results, we suggest performing an MRI of the spine and SI in clinical situations characterised by lumbogluteal pain and symptoms of an infectious disease, such as fever.

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Background Heterogeneity is a major obstacle to developing effective treatments for patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome. We aimed to develop a robust method for stratification, exploiting heterogeneity in patient-reported symptoms, and to relate these differences to pathobiology and therapeutic response. MethodsWe did hierarchical cluster analysis using five common symptoms associated with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pain, fatigue, dryness, anxiety, and depression), followed by multinomial logistic regression to identify subgroups in the UK Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Registry (UKPSSR). We assessed clinical and biological differences between these subgroups, including transcriptional differences in peripheral blood. Patients from two independent validation cohorts in Norway and France were used to confirm patient stratification. Data from two phase 3 clinical trials were similarly stratified to assess the differences between subgroups in treatment response to hydroxychloroquine and rituximab. FindingsIn the UKPSSR cohort (n=608), we identified four subgroups: Low symptom burden (LSB), high symptom burden (HSB), dryness dominant with fatigue (DDF), and pain dominant with fatigue (PDF). Significant differences in peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, anti-SSA and anti-SSB antibody positivity, as well as serum IgG, κ-free light chain, β2-microglobulin, and CXCL13 concentrations were observed between these subgroups, along with differentially expressed transcriptomic modules in peripheral blood. Similar findings were observed in the independent validation cohorts (n=396). Reanalysis of trial data stratifying patients into these subgroups suggested a treatment effect with hydroxychloroquine in the HSB subgroup and with rituximab in the DDF subgroup compared with placebo.Interpretation Stratification on the basis of patient-reported symptoms of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome revealed distinct pathobiological endotypes with distinct responses to immunomodulatory treatments. Our data have important implications for clinical management, trial design, and therapeutic development. Similar stratification approaches might be useful for patients with other chronic immune-mediated diseases.

The cardinal symptoms of primary SS (dryness, pain, and fatigue, best assessed using the ESSPRI) are stronger predictors of HRQOL impairment than systemic involvement (assessed by the ESSDAI) and should be used as end points in future therapeutic trials focusing on patients' well-being. New consensual and data-driven response criteria are needed for primary SS studies.