Tuberculosis (TB) is a major concern in patients receiving TNF inhibitors (TNFi). This study aimed to assess the incidence of active TB and the efficacy of TB prevention measures used over the years, and to determine risk factors for developing TB, in a single-centre cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) receiving TNFi. Data of all patients in whom treatment with TNFi was initiated in our rheumatology clinic until December 1st 2014 have been retrospectively analysed. The cohort was divided into 3 groups per the mandatory LTBI screening method at baseline: tuberculin skin test (TST) with a positive threshold of either 10 mm (group TST1), or 5 mm (group TST2), and QuantiFERON®-TB Gold test (group QFT). The incidence of active TB was analysed for each group and compared to TB incidence data in general population. Five hundred fifty patients were included (305 RA, 42 PsA, 203 AS); 97 patients belonged to the TST1, 229 to the TST2 and 224 to the QFT group. The number of active TB cases/time of exposure to TNFi (person-years, PY) was 8/593.5, 9/1044.0 and 3/555.3, respectively, accounting for an incidence of 1348.0, 862.1 and 540.2 cases per 10 PY. Active TB cases occurring in the first year of TNFi treatment (early TB) per total TB cases were only 3/8, 1/9 and 1/3, respectively, too few to identify statistically significant differences between the 3 LTBI screening protocols. However, less TB cases per total observation time were registered in the QFT group, probably due to the reduced duration of exposure to TNFi. All cases of active TB were registered among patients receiving monoclonal antibodies TNFi agents. We have found no significant risk factors for developing active TB. In our cohort, TB occurring after 1 year of TNFi treatment exceeds 'early TB', suggesting the necessity of further TB prevention measures besides baseline screening for LTBI.

Aims: To investigate by ultrasonography (US) in a cohort of active RA patients starting biologic therapy the responsiveness of tenosynovitis of wrist and hands compared to the responsiveness of synovitis in a 6 month period follow-up, to compare the responsiveness of finger flexor tenosynovitis with the responsiveness of wrist extensor tenosynovitis and to describe the subclinical synovitis and tenosynovitis in RA patients in clinical remission. Material and methods: Fifty seven patients with active RA starting biologic therapy were included. Clinical, laboratory, and US evaluations were performed at baseline, 1, and 6 months. US evaluation included wrist and MCPs 2-5 joints, bilaterally for synovitis and extensor tendons compartments 2, 4, and 6 and finger flexors 2-5 for tenosynovitis. Eighteen US scores based on semiquantitative or binar grades were calculated at each visit. Responsiveness of synovitis and tenosynovitis scores was calculated using the standardized response mean (SRM). Results: The responsiveness of US tenosynovitis was lower comparing with the responsiveness of US synovitis but both showed large effect of therapy. Furthermore, tenosynovitis responsiveness was similar to CRP responsiveness (SRM -0.90). Finger flexors tenosynovitis showed a higher responsiveness than extensor tenosynovitis on GS (-0.94 compared to -0.63) and a lower SRM on PD (-0.56 compared to -0.85). Tenosynovitis scores remission was overlapping clinical remission according to CDAI and SDAI in 100% of cases. Overall there was less subclinical tenosynovitis than subclinical synovitis at final visit according to clinical activity indices. Conclusion: Tenosynovitis US scoring in RA may be as good as synovitis scoring for characterization of disease activity and responsiveness.

Aim: To evaluate the inter-and intraobserver agreement of a group of European rheumatologist ultrasonographers in grading musculoskeletal ultrasound videoclips posted on the Internet by using a non-sophisticated electronic environment. Methods: Forty short movie clips (less than 30 secs) were made available over the Internet to all participants. Normal and pathological RA hand joints and tendons were included in the movie clips. In the first phase 30 investigators from European countries were invited to evaluate the clips and to interpret/grade them. No instruction session was held prior to the initiation of the study. For synovitis the requested scoring system included 0 to3 grades and for tenosynovitis a binary variable 0/1; separate evaluations were performed for gray scale (GS) and Power Doppler (PD) examinations. In the second phase the responders were asked to grade the same clips in a different order without having access to their first grading scale. Light's k and Cohen's k were used to analyse inter-and intraobserver reliability. Results: Twenty two European rheumatologists agreed to finalise both study phases. Mean Cohen's κ for intraobserver reliability was 0.614/0.689 for tenosynovitis GS/PD and 0.523/0.621 for synovitis GS/PD. Light's k for interobserver reliability was 0.503 for tenosynovitis evaluation and 0.455 for global (synovitis and tenosynovitis) evaluation. Mean global overall agreement was 84.95% (90.2% for global synovitis). Conclusions: An over-the-net US evaluation and grading has shown moderate to good reliability. The results could be improved if a training session is added at the beginning of the study.

BackgroundWorld Health Organization (WHO) declared tuberculosis (TB) the most common infectious disease in the world. TB has a higher incidence among patients with systemic rheumatic diseases than in the general population; in such patients, it frequently presents as extrapulmonary or disseminated disease. According to WHO surveillance reports, although steadily decreasing during the last years, the incidence of TB in Romania in 2005-2014 was by far the highest among all EU countries.ObjectivesTo assess the characteristics and risk factors of active TB infection in a cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).MethodsData of all SLE patients followed up in our clinic in 2005 – 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical and demographic characteristics and treatment before diagnosis of TB were recorded. The incidence of active TB infection was compared to data from the general population. Univariable logistic regression was used to assess the influence of various factors on the risk of developing TB.ResultsFour hundred SLE patients were evaluated in our clinic during the 10-year interval; of them, 18 cases of active TB per 4291 patient-years (time of exposure, PY) were identified, accounting for an incidence of 419.5/100.000 PY, which is 4.43 times the incidence of TB in our region in the period 2005-2014.Ten of the 18 cases had extrapulmonary or disseminated TB; delayed diagnosis and more severe forms were observed in them. Two patients repeatedly had active TB infection after 2, respectively 3 years from the first TB diagnosis. High-dose glucocorticoids (hd-GC) and cyclophosphamide (CYC) treatment were significantly associated with TB: OR (95% CI) 9.6 (1.2-77.5), p=0.03 for hd-GC and 3.3 (1.2-9.1), p=0.02 for CYC. Fever was the most important red-flag for the diagnosis of TB, OR (95% CI) 73.1 (15.2-352.7), p<0.001. Other frequent manifestations were weight loss and cough. No association was found between TB and age, disease duration or socio-economic status.ConclusionsWe found an increased incidence of active TB infection with a majority of extrapulmonary TB in a large cohort of Romanian SLE patients. Cyclophosphamide treatment and high daily dose of glucocorticoids before the diagnosis of TB were important determinants for the increased risk of TB in SLE patients. These results suggest that in a country with high TB burden, TB screening and treatment of latent TB would be useful before initiation of immunosuppressive treatment.Disclosure of InterestNone declared