17 - Osteoarthritis Flashcards
Increased burden of disease due to ?? (2 things)
- increasing age of population
- increasing obesity rates
Describe the burden of osteoarthritis
- public health care system burden
- burden on QOL
Define OA
Joint pain that occurs for most days of the prior month plus radiographic changes in the symptomatic joint
What joints are affected?
impacts any joint, but typically is in the spine (cervical or lumbar), hands, hip and knees
What is primary OA?
- idiopathic (unknown cause)
- often the elderly
What is secondary OA?
- joint insults (trauma, infection)
- rheumatoid arthritis
- gout
- congenital joint abnormalities
- hematological genetic abnormalities (leukemia)
List 4 things that protect the joint
1) Synovial fluid - nourishment (physical protectant) - prevents friction
2) Ligaments and tendons - joint protection mechanism
3) Bone - shock absorbing effects
4) Cartilage - creates frictionless surface, impact-absorbing quality
What happens in OA?
There is an imbalance between repairing and synthesizing new cartilage.
*Imbalance between cartilage destruction and cartilage formation!
The remaining cartilage is softened and develops fibrillations and then you have exposure of the actual bone. Bones become more brittle and can have minor fractures. There are also changes to the synovium.
Is OA part of normal aging?
no way jose
What play a role in cartilage destruction?
IL-1 and metalloproteases
What is involved in the formation of osteophytes?
Local growth factors, especially TGF (transforming growth factor)
What is an osteophyte ?
a bony outgrowth associated with the degeneration of cartilage at joints
Risk factors for OA (list a few, more on slide 11)
- age
- obesity
- nutrition
- joint injury
- physical activity
- muscle weakness
- women more at risk than men
Describe the diagnosis of OA
CLINICAL diagnosis:
-No further tests if: >45 yo + activity-related join pain + morning joint stiffness < 30 mins or non-existent
What are lab tests used for in OA?
to rule out other causes of symptoms (ex. gout or RA)
What are radiographs and joint aspiration useful for?
red, hot, swollen joints
List symptoms of OA
- Stiffness: morning or after periods of inactivity that lasts less than 30 mins
- Symptoms localized to the affected joint
- Pain worse with activity (especially weight bearing) or prolonged use
List signs of OA
- Often unilateral, occasionally symmetrical
- Joints are not usually tender or inflamed
- Joint instability may be present
- No systemic symptoms
What is the pain in OA related to?
- Not related to destruction of cartilage
- From activation of nociceptive nerve endings within the joint by mechanical and chemical irritants
- May be due to distension of the synovial capsule by increased joint fluid, micro fracture, periosteal irritation, or damage to ligaments, synovium or the meniscus
Describe the physical exam of OA
- pain, stiffness, and limitation of both passive and active movement of the joint
- crepitus, deformity, muscle atrophy, ligament tenderness in one or more of the affected joints
- ligament and capsular laxity + muscle atrophy = joint instability (later leading to deformity)
Why don’t we X-ray everyone?
the results of an x-ray do not influence clinical management
What does an X-ray look for?
- narrowing of joint space (due to loss of cartilage)
- osteophytes
- bone cysts
What types of nodes can be involved in OA?
1 - Heberden nodes
2 - Bouchard nodes
When will you refer ?
- new onset of joint pain
- duration of symptoms > 7-10 days
- recent trauma
- systemic symptoms
- injury due to sports
- local or diffuse muscle weakness
- symptoms of burning, numbing, tingling
- inflammation of joints
- morning stiffness > 1 hr
- drug-related
- chronic liver disease or history of inflammatory arthritis
Who can we recommend products for?
patient with DIAGNOSIS of OA seeking self management
What do we first recommend?
Non-pharms (physiotherapist, exercise, weight loss)
After non-pharms, we start with ?
OTC recommendations
What pain scale is recommended for OA patients?
WOMAC questionnaire (slide 22) -determines severity of pain
Goals of therapy for OA ?
- relieve or eliminate pain (and stiffness)
- improve or restore joint function and mobility
- improve muscle strength to protect cartilage, ligaments and joint capsule
- prevent and reduce damage to the joint cartilage, bone, ligaments, muscles, and nerves
- maximize QOL
- educate the patient/caregiver to promote adherence
Treatment of OA:
If not enough pain relief from non-pharms, what do we try?
acetaminophen up to 1g QID
Treatment of OA:
If not enough pain relief from acetaminophen, what do we try?
-add topical diclofenac
Treatment of OA:
If not enough pain relief from adding topical diclofenac, assess risk factors for ___ events.
GI
Treatment of OA:
If they have no risk factors for GI events, try ?
low dose non-selective NSAID
Treatment of OA:
If they have 1-2 risk factors for GI events, try ?
low dose non-selective NSAID
+
gastroprotection
OR
low-dose Cox-2 inhibitor
Treatment of OA:
If they have multiple risk factors for GI events, try ?
alternative therapy (ex. local injections, duloxetine, opioids)
OR
low dose cox-2 inhibitor + gastroprotection
Treatment of OA:
If they’re on a low dose NSAID with or without gastroprotection, and not enough relief, what do we do?
try full-dose
Treatment of OA:
If they’re on a full dose NSAID with or without gastroprotection, and not enough relief, what do we do?
surgery
What are some risk factors for GI events?
- ppl > 60
- on high dose NSAID already
- history of upper GI bleed
- presence of H. pylori infection
For Hand OA:
What are some non-pharms?
- assist devices
- instruct on joint protection techniques
- thermal modalities (hot/cold therapy)
- splints
For Hand OA:
What are some charms?
- topical capsaicin
- topical NSAIDs
- oral NSAIDs (including cox-2 selective inhibitors)
- tramadol
*all conditional - no strong recommendations
For Hand OA:
Don’t use _______
acetaminophen
For Hand OA:
Patient > 75:
What are first line agents?
-topical NSAIDs or -topical capsaicin and/or -tramadol
For Hand OA:
Patient > 75:
What we do we try if first line agents are not effective?
combine therapy or two first line agents (i.e. topical NSAIDs and tramadol)
For Hand OA:
Patient < 75:
What are first line agents?
- oral NSAIDS (if low CV and GI risk
- topical NSAIDs
- topical capsaicin and/or tramadol
For Hand OA:
Patient < 75:
What we do we try if first line agents are not effective?
combined therapy with two first line agents (i.e. oral NSAIDS and topical capsaicin or tramadol)
For Knee OA:
What are some strong non-pharms?
- CV (aerobic) and/or resistance land-based exercise
- aquatic exercise
- lose weight (for those overweight)