HUMANS- rheumatology Flashcards
What is rheumatology?
Disorders of the joints, muscles and ligaments?
Compare arthritis to athrosis?
Arthritis- Inflammation of the joint.
Athrosis- Non-inflammatory joint disease.
What is athralgia?
Pain in the joint.
Discuss the formation of bone in osteomalacia and osteoporosis.
Osteomalacia- The bone forms but is not fully mineralised. This causes soft bone.
Osteoporosis- All the bone is formed and mineralised but there isn’t enough of the bone.
What is rickets?
Osteomalacia that happens while the bones are still forming.
How is osteomalacia managed?
By controlling the cause of the vitamin D deficiency :
Malnutrition (control the GI disease)
Get dietary vitamin D (e.g. oily fish)
Sunlight exposure (aim for 30 minutes 5x weekly)
Discuss the effects of osteoporosis?
- Skoliosis (bending of the spine into an S shape)
- Kyphosis (bending forward of the spine)
- Increased risk of bone fracture
- Height loss.
How do we prevent Osteoporosis?
Build maximal peak bone mass (Exercise and high calcium intake)
Reducing the rate of bone mass loss (e.g. hormonal loss using oestrogen hormone replacement therapy, Osteoporosis prevention drugs- bisphopshonates)
What is MRONJ?
Medication related Osteonecrosis of the jaw.
This is when there has been exposed bone does not heal after 8 weeks after the extraction.
Who is at low risk of MRONJ?
Patients who are not taking Glucocorticoids and:
- Have taking oral bisphosphonates for less than 5 years.
- Been taking infusions of IV bisphosphonates for less than 5 years.
- Treated with denosumab.
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Who is at high risk of MRONJ
- Patients who have been on bisphosphonates for more than 5 years.
- Patients who are on bisphosphonates or denosumab combined with glucocorticoids.
- Patients being treated with anti-resorptive or anti-angiogenic drugs as part of cancer management.
- Patients with a previous MRONJ diagnosis.
What is acute monoarthropathies and what can cause it?
Acute arthritis of a single joint.
It can be caused by infection (e.g. septic arthritis)
Crystal arthropathy (e.g. GOUT)
What is GOUT?
When uric acid crystals are deposited in the joints causing reactive inflammation and pain)
How do we treat GOUT?
NSAIDs (but avoid aspirin as it interfeers with uric acid removal)
Allopurinol (to lower uric acid, but this may give oral ulceration)
Compare osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis in general.
Osetoarthritis- A cartilage repair dysfunction causing the cartilage layer to get thinner and thinner.
Rheumatoid arthritis- A disease of the synovium with gradual joint destruction. The joints involved depends on the presence of the rheumatoid factor in the blood.