Our objective was to study cervical spine involvement in a Moroccan population of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients and evaluate correlations with disease symptomatic and structural severity. Patients were prospectively enrolled for a 1-year period. Clinical, biological, and radiological data were collected. The risk of cervical spine involvement was estimated using the Kaplan-Maier method. Sixty-one patients were enrolled: 38 males (62.2%) and 23 females of mean (SD) age 35.1 years [11] (range 17-66). The mean disease duration was 10.6 years [7] (0.5-30). Forty-three patients (70.4%) had a history of neck pain. Radiological involvement was present in 33 cases (54%). The concordance between clinical and radiological involvement was statistically significant (kappa=0.49; P<10(-6)). The risk of cervical spine involvement with regard to disease duration showed that 19.6% of patients had radiological involvement after 5 years, 29.9% after 10 years, 45.1% after 15 years and 70.0% after 20 years. Comparison between patients with and without cervical spine radiological involvement showed no difference in age of onset or sex. There was statistical difference in symptomatic severity parameters (Schöber, chest expansion, BASMI, BASFI, BASDI, BASG) and structural severity parameters (lumbar syndesmophytes score, BASRI). Our study confirms the greater severity of AS in North African countries. Cervical spine involvement increases with age and disease duration in AS and is more frequent in symptomatic and structural severe forms of the disease.

We aimed to evaluate diagnosis delay and its impact on disease in terms of activity, functional disability, and radiographic damage in Moroccan patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). We recruited 100 Moroccan patients who fulfilled New York Classification criteria for AS. Diagnosis delay was defined as the interval between the first symptom of AS and the moment of a correct diagnosis. Disease activity was evaluated by the bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index (BASDAI), functional status by the bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI), and radiographic damage by the bath ankylosing spondylitis radiologic index (BASRI). Measurements of spinal mobility were assessed. The average age at disease onset was 28.56 ± 10.9 years. Of the patients, 16% had juvenile-onset AS. Disease duration was 9.5 ± 6.8 years, and the average of diagnosis delay was 4.12 ± 3.99 years. There were no differences in diagnosis delay according to the age at onset, educational level, or the presence of extra-articular involvement. Our patients had altered functional ability. Patients with late diagnosis (>5 years) had statistically significant higher structural damage (BASRI) and severe limited spinal mobility. There was no correlation between diagnosis delay and the activity of disease. Few studies focused on diagnostic delay and its impact in patients with AS. It is necessary in our context to establish an early diagnosis taking into account the high frequency of severe functional disability in Moroccan AS.

We analyzed the clinical, biological, and radiological aspects of hip involvement in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in a developing country. The recruited patients fulfilled the International League Against Rheumatism criteria for the diagnosis of the JIA. Clinical, biological, and radiological parameters relating to the JIA were collected. Hip involvement was assessed according to clinical and radiological data related to hip disease. One hundred twenty-one patients were included (68 girls and 53 boys). The mean age of the disease onset was 9 +/- 4.2 years (1-16 years). The mean age of the patients at the time of the study was 15 +/- 10 years (2-46 years). The duration of the disease was 5 +/- 8.5 years (0.5-39 years). Forty cases (33%) of the hip involvement were noted. The mean age was 24 +/- 10.03 years (3-46 years); the sex ratio was 1:3. The mean duration of the hip disease was 0.6 +/- 3.6 years (3-14 years). Hip arthritis seemed to be more frequent in polyarticular and enthesitis-related arthritis. The severity of the hip involvement was significantly correlated with early disease onset, disease duration, subtypes, and high disability (for all these data p < 0.05). This study suggested that in JIA hip involvement was more frequent in enthesitis-related arthritis and polyarticular subtypes. It was correlated with the severity and the early disease onset of the JIA, which was similar to reported data.

We aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of fatigue in Moroccan patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and its relationship with disease-related parameters of activity and severity and quality of life (QoL). Patients with SSc according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria (diffuse disease) and/or the LeRoy and Medsger criteria (limited disease) for SSc were recruited. The multidimensional assessment of fatigue (MAF), a self-administered questionnaire developed to measure five dimensions of fatigue with a total score ranged from 0 (no fatigue) to 50 (severe fatigue), was used to assess fatigue. The activity of disease was assessed by evaluating the severity of skin involvement, vascular manifestations, pulmonary involvement, joint and/or muscle involvement, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Functional disability was assessed by using the scleroderma health assessment questionnaire. QoL was assessed using the SF-36 generic instrument. Sixty-four patients (91% women) were included. The mean age of patients was 49.5 ± 12.4 years. Fifty-nine patients (92.1%) had diffuse SSc and 5 (7.8%) had limited disease. Among our patients, 89% experienced severe fatigue with a VAS fatigue ≥50 mm. The mean total score of the MAF was 28 ± 8.6 (10-44.8) and all domains of fatigue were affected. In univariate and multivariate analysis, fatigue was correlated with severe joint involvement, pain intensity, low vital capacity, high level of ESR, and with functional disability (for all p ≤ 0.01). There were statistically significant correlations between fatigue and the deterioration of all domains of SF-36. Fatigue is a disabling symptom in our SSc patients and is associated with poor QoL. Pain, joint involvement, functional impairment, and pulmonary involvement seem to be the most important factors that predict severe fatigue. Large studies are necessary in order to confirm those findings.

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