MSK Flashcards
What is osteoarthritis?
- Progressive synovial joint damage resulting in structural changes, pain and reduced function
Who has the biggest muscles?
Jake wishes he did when the answer is actually louis
What is the epidemiology of osteoarthritis?
- More common in women
- Most common form of arthritis
- 8.75 million people over 45 with it in the UK
What are the risk factors for developing osteoarthritis?
- Age
- high BMI
- Joint injury or trauma
- Excessive stress for exercise or certain occupations
What gene is related to an increased risk of osteoarthritis?
COL2A1- collagen type 2 gene
Describe the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis?
- It is classified as non-inflammatory however inflammatory mediators play a role as inflammatory cytokines interrupt the normal repair of cartilage damage.
- Cartilage is lost and joint space narrows this causes bone on bone interaction.
What are the mechanisms which cause osteoarthritis?
- Metalloproteinases secreted by chondrocytes degrade the collagen and proteoglycan
- IL-1 and TNF-alpha stimulate metalloproteinase production and inhibit collagen production
- Deficiency in growth factors such as insulin-like growth factor impairs matrix repair
- Gene susceptibility has a 35-60% influence
What areas are most affected by osteoarthritis?
- Knees
- Hips
- Sacro-ileac joints
- Cervical spine
- Wrist
- base of thumb (carpometacarpal)
- finger joints (interphalangeal)
What are the signs of osteoarthritis?
- Heberden’s nodes- swelling in the distal interphalangeal joints
- Bouchard’s nodes- swelling in the proximal interphalangeal joint (tom has this on his deformed finger)
- Weak grip
- Reduced range of motion
- alteration in gait
What are the symptoms of osteoarthritis?
- Joint pain
- Mechanical locking
- giving way
- Crepitus-crunching sensation when moving joint
How can a diagnosis of osteoarthritis be made?
- If someone is over 45 and has typical activity related pain with no morning stiffness or stiffness lasting less than 30 minuets
What are the 4 key x-ray changes found in osteoarthritis?
L- Loss of joint space
O- Osteophytes
S- Subchondral sclerosis increased density of bone along the joint line
S- Subchondral cysts (fluid filled holes in the bone)
What is the management for osteoarthritis?
- Patient education lifestyle changes such as weight loss and physiotherapy
- Oral paracetamol and topical NSAIDs or topical capsaicin (chilli pepper extract)
- Intra-articular steroid injection (don’t use these I’ve had loads and they destroy your joint even more)
- Joint replacement
What is rheumatoid arthritis?
A chronic systemic inflammatory disease. It leads to a deforming and symmetrical inflammatory arthritis of the small joints which progress to involve larger joint and other organs such as the skin and lungs
What genes are implicated in rheumatoid arthritis?
- HLA-DR1
- HLA-DR4
They are both crucial in activating T-cells
What are some environmental causes of rheumatoid arthritis?
- Smoking
- Other pathogens e.g., bacteria
What are some risk factors for developing rheumatoid arthritis?
- Female
- Smoking
- Family history
- Infections
- Post-menopause due to lack of oestrogen
Describe the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis
- Environmental triggers cause modification of self-antigens e.g., arginine is converted to citrulline in type 2 collagen.
- Due to susceptibility due to genes the immune cells cannot differentiate between self and non-self antigen.
-This causes an inflammatory response and cytokines Interferon gamma, IL-17, TNF, Il-1 and IL6 are secreted
- This creates a pannus (thick synovial membrane). This damages the cartilage, soft tissue and bones. The cytokines can also escape and affect multiple organ systems
What is arthritic sweat gland disease?
A complication of rheumatoid arthritis caused by a topoisomerase willebrand activation tree (TWAT)
What are two autoantibodies that are found in rheumatoid arthritis?
- Rheumatoid factor- it is found in around 70% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It targets the Fc portion of the IgG antibody. This causes activation of the immune system against own IgG antibodies. RF is mainly IgM antibodies
- Cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP antibodies) target citrullinated proteins. This forms immune complexes which can accumulate and activate the complement system. Often found before development of rheumatoid arthritis
What is the typical presentation of rheumatoid arthritis?
-Symmetrical polyarthritis: (on both sides of body)
- Pain, swelling and stiffness in the small joints of the hands and feet. The onset can be rapid or over months to years
What are the systemic symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis?
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Flu-like illness
- Muscle aches and weakness
What joints are commonly affected in RA?
- Proximal Interphalangeal Joints (PIP) joints
- Metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints
- Wrist and ankle
- Metatarsophalangeal joints
- Cervical spine
- Large joints can also be affected such as the knee, hips and shoulders
DIP is almost never affected
What are the x-ray changes seen in RA?
- Joint destruction
- Bone erosions
- Joint swelling
- Periarticular osteopenia
less - loss of joint space, erosions to bone, soft tissue swelling, soft bones (osteopenia)
as opposed to loss for osteoarthiritis
What are some signs of rheumatoid arthritis?
- Z shaped deformity to the thumb
- Swan neck deformity (flex at DIP)
- Boutonnieres deformity- due to a tear in the central slip of the extensor components of the finger. This means when they try to straighten their finger it cause it to bend and flex at PIP
- Ulnar deviation of the fingers at the knuckles
What are some extra-articular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis?
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Anaemia
- Cardiovascular disease
- Amyloidosis
- Bronchiolitis obliterans (inflammation causing small airway destruction**
- Felty’s syndrome (RA, neutropenia and splenomegaly)
- Sjogren’s syndrome
What are some symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis?
- Morning stiffness that lasts longer than 30 mins and improves throughout the day
- Fever
What are some investigations for rheumatoid arthritis?
- ESR and CRP will be elevated
- Rheumatoid factor levels- can be a predictor can have high levels 15 years before the disease
- Anti-CCP levels
- Joint x-rays
What is the diagnostic criteria for rheumatoid arthritis?
- Comes form the American college of rheumatology
1. The joints involved (more and smaller joints score higher)
2. Serology
3. Inflammatory markers
4. Duration of symptoms longer or less than 6 weeks
Score is added up and a score of greater than 6 indicates rheumatoid arthritis
Who is considered to have the worst prognosis with rheumatoid arthritis?
- younger onset
- Male
- Presence of RF and anti-CCG
What is the first-lie monotherapy for rheumatoid arthritis?
- Any one of methotrexate, leflunomide or sulfasalazine. Hydroxychloroquine can be considered in mild disease and is considered the “mildest” anti rheumatic drug.
What second line therapy for rheumatoid arthritis?
Two of methotrexate, leflunomide or sulfasalazine
What is third line treatment for rheumatoid arthritis?
Methotrexate plus a TNF inhibitor e.g., infliximab
What is fourth line treatment for rheumatoid arthritis?
Methotrexate plus rituximab
What is used to monitor rheumatoid arthritis?
CRP levels and DAS28
What is the leading cause of death in rheumatoid arthritis?
Accelerated atherosclerosis leading to cardiovascular disease
What is gout?
A type of crystal arthritis which is associated with chronically high levels of uric acid. Urate crystals are deposited in the joint causing it to become hot swollen and painful
What are the overproduction causes of gout?
- Increased cell turnover
- Cytotoxic drugs e.g., chemotherapy
- Purine rich diet, seafood and alcohol
- Obesity
- Severe psoriasis
What are the decreased secretion of uric acid causes of gout?
- CKD
- Diuretics e.g., thiazide and loop
- Pyrazinamide
- Lead toxicity
- High fructose intake
They are the more common cause they account for 90%
What are risk factors for developing gout?
- Elderly
- Men
- Post-menopausal women
- Alcohol
- Diabetes
- IHD
- High diet intake of purines
Describe the pathophysiology of gout?
- Uric acid is formed as a breakdown product if purines
- Uric acid has a limited solubility in the blood and when there is too much uric acid it can become a urate ion and bind to sodium
- This forms urate crystals which deposit in areas with slow blood flow the joints and kidney tubules
What the signs of Gout and where is affected?
- Gout tophi are deposits of uric acid
- Ears
- Base of big toe
- Wrists
- Base of thumb
What are the symptoms of gout?
- Red, tender, hot and swollen joints
- Joint stiffness
- Rapid onset of severe pain
How would you diagnose gout?
Can be made on just clinical presentation but excluding septic arthritis is key
- Joint aspiration will show no bacterial growth, needle shaped crystals, Negatively birefringent of polarised light, Monosodium urate crystals
- Measure serum urate levels 4-6 weeks after attack as they can be low at time of attack
What are the x-ray signs of gout?
- Joint space maintained
- Lytic lesions
- Punched out erosions
- Sclerotic borders with overhanging edges
What is the treatment of gout during an acute flare?
- NSAIDs first line
- Colchicine second line- severe diarrhoea is a side effect
- Steroids as third line
What is used to prevent gout?
Lifestyle management and a Xanthine oxidase inhibitor
- First-line Allopurinol
- Second-line Febuxostat
What is pseudogout?
Is a form of inflammatory arthritis caused by the deposition of calcium pyrophosphate crystals in the synovium
What are risk factors of pseudogout?
- Hyperparathyroidism
- Hemochromatosis
- Hypomagnesaemia
- Hypophosphatemia
- Wilson’s disease
- Acromegaly
Describe the pathophysiology of pseudogout?
Deposition of calcium pyrophosphate triggers synovitis with the knee, shoulder and wrist most commonly being affected
- Can be acute or chronic
What will joint aspiration for pseudogout show?
- No bacterial growth
- Calcium pyrophosphate crystals
- Rhomboid shaped needles
- Positive birefringent of polarised light
What would an x-ray of pseudogout show?
Chondrocalcinosis is the classic x-ray change in pseudogout. It appears as a thin white line in the middle of the joint space caused by the calcium deposition. This is pathognomonic (diagnostic) of pseudogout.
What is septic arthritis?
An infection of 1 or more joints caused by pathogenic inoculation of microbes.
What are the common bacteria that cause septic arthritis?
- S.aureus the most common in all age groups
- S.epidermis in prosthetic joints
- Streptococcus pyogenes in children under 5
- Gonorrhoeae in young sexually active people if a young person presents think this. (Watch out louis)
- E.coli in immunosuppressant, elderly and IV drug use
What are some risk factors for developing septic arthritis?
- Underlying joint disease
- IV drug use
- Immunocompromised
- Prosthetic joint/recent joint surgery
What are the signs of septic arthritis?
- Normally only one joint is affected. Most commonly the knee.
- Hot tender and swollen joint
- Limited range of movement
What are the symptoms of septic arthritis?
- Difficulty weight bearing
- Fever
What are the first line investigations for septic arthritis?
- FBC
- Elevated CRP and ESR
- Blood cultures
- Plain x-ray
What is the gold standard investigation for septic arthritis?
Joint aspiration will be yellow and cloudy and show presence of bacteria
What is the scoring criteria used for septic arthritis?
Kocher criteria a score of 2 suggests 40% likelihood and score of 3 suggest 93%
What is the treatment for septic arthritis?
- Empirical therapy: flucloxacillin plus rifampicin is first-line
- Penicillin allergy: clindamycin
- Suspected or confirmed MRSA: vancomycin
- Gonococcal arthritis or gram-negative infection: cefotaxime or ceftriaxone
Continue for 3-6 weeks
What is the prognosis for septic arthritis?
Mortality from septic arthritis ranges from 10 to 20% with treatment,
What is osteomyelitis?
An inflammatory condition of the bone caused by an infecting organism most commonly S.aureus.
What is the epidemiology of osteomyelitis?
- Most common in children due to haematogenous spread
- Adolescents and adults tend to get it due to an infection secondary to trauma
What can cause bacteria can cause osteomyelitis?
- Staphylococcus aureus:A gram-positive cocci. Includes MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) a penicillin resistant organism. MOST COMMON!
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis:Acid fast bacilli. May cause osteomyelitis - characteristically in Pott’s disease (TB affecting the spine).
- Salmonellaspp.:Gram-negative rods. Most commonly seen in patients with sickle cell anaemia.
- Polymicrobial:More commonly seen in those with ulcers secondary to vascular disease, neuropathy and diabetes.
What are the risk factors for developing osteomyelitis?
- Diabetes
- Old age
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Immunocompromise
- Malnutrition
- Trauma/ injury
Describe the pathophysiology of osteomyelitis?
- Can occur when there is breakdown of the protective barriers of the skin e.g., Open fracture, skin ulcer, surgery
- Haematogenous spread - Most commonly affects the axial skeleton, primarily the vertebral bones. The next most frequently affected sites are other axial bones like the sternum and pelvis. In children, long-bone osteomyelitis is seen
What is the acute phase of osteomyelitis?
- Bacteria reach the bone and start to proliferate. This alerts immune cells and they try and fight off the infection.
- The immune cells release chemicals that cause local bone destruction and usually this is effective
What is chronic osteomyelitis?
- If the lesion is not that extensive, and there’s viable bone the osteoblasts and the osteoclasts begin to repair the damage over a period of weeks. However, in some cases, the process turns into a chronic osteomyelitis - lasting months to years.
What are the signs osteomyelitis?
- Redness
- Swelling
- Evidence of trauma or surgery
- Tenderness
- Ulcers/skin breaks
What are the symptoms of osteomyelitis?
- Fever
- Joint pain
- Erythema
- Muscle aches
- Nausea
What are the investigations for osteomyelitis?
Blood tests will show raised inflammatory markers (e.g., WBC, CRP and ESR).
Blood cultures may be positive for the causative organism.
Bone cultures can be performed to establish the causative organism and the antibiotic sensitivities.
What is the gold standard test for osteomyelitis?
MRI- will show bone marrow oedema and abscesses
What is the treatment for osteomyelitis?
- 6 weeks of flucloxacillin, possibly with rifampicin or fusidic acid added for the first 2 weeks
- Clindamycin if penicillin allergy
- Vancomycin in MRSA
Chronic requires 3 months of antibiotics
What are the complications of osteomyelitis?
- Septic arthritis - if infection spreads to joints
- Growth disturbance in children and adolescents
- Amputations
What is the prognosis for osteomyelitis
Most patients with acute osteomyelitis recover with no long-term complications if osteomyelitis is diagnosed promptly and treated adequately.
What are spondyloarthropathies?
A group of related chronic inflammatory conditions. They tend to affect the axial Skelton adn share similar clinical features.
What are the shared clinical features of spondyloarthropathies?
- Rheumatoid factor negative
- HLA-B27 positive - louis strongly disagrees (not anymore) - thanks for correcting
- Pathology in the spine
- Asymmetrical inflammation of an entire jointsSausage fingers
- Extra-articular manifestations
When should you suspect spondyloarthropathies?
S- Sausage digit
P- Psoriasis
I- inflammatory back pain
N- NSAIDs illicit a good response
E- Enthesitis inflammation where tendon meets joint (plantar fasciitis)
A- Arthritis
C- Crohn’s/colitis/CRP
H- HLA-B27
E- eye uveitis
What is ankylosing spondylitis?
A chronic progressive inflammatory arthropathy. It mainly affects the spine and cause progressive stiffness and pain.
Ankylosis= abnormal stiffening and immobility of a joint due to the fusion of a bone
What is epidemiology of ankylosing spondylitis?
- More common in males
- Most commonly presents in teens/20s
- Women present later and are underdiagnosed
- 90% are HLA-B27 positive
What is the pathology of ankylosing spondylitis?
- There is lymphocyte and plasma infiltration with local erosion of bone at the attachments of the intervertebral and other ligaments.
- Inflammation of these tendons/ligaments when they heal they heal with new bone formation
What are the key presentations of ankylosing spondylitis?
- Symptoms tend to occur gradually over 3 months
-Lower back pain stiffness and sacroiliac pain in the buttock region.
- The pain and stiffness is worse with rest and improves with movement it is worse at night and morning and improves throughout the day
What are some other signs and symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis?
- Weight loss and fatigue
- Chest pain
- Anaemia
- Heart block
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Aortitis inflammation of the aorta
Note that any of the SPINEACHE symptoms may be present
What would the first line investigations for ankylosing spondylitis be?
- FBC normocytic anaemia
- CRP and ESR elevated
- Genetic testing for HLA-B27
- X-ray (MRI if x-ray of the spine is normal may show bone marrow oedema)
What would an x-ray for ankylosing spondylitis show?
- Bamboo spine- calcification of ligaments
- Syndesmophytes - areas of boney growth where the ligament normally inserts into the bone.
- Ossification - structures such as ligaments turn into bone like tissue
- Fusion - seen in facet joints, sacroiliac joints and costovertebral joints
What is the test used to asses mobility in the spine and help to diagnose ankylosing spondylitis?
Schober’s test
What is Schober’s test?
Have the patient stand straight. Find the L5 vertebrae. Mark a point 10cm above and 5cm below this point (15cm apart from each other). Then ask the patient to bend forward as far as they can and measure the distance between the points.
If the distance with them bending forwards is less than 20cm, this indicates a restriction in lumbar movement and will help support a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis.
What are the treatments of ankylosing spondylitis?
- NSAIDs
- Steroids
- TNF-alpha infliximab
- Monoclonal antibodies targeting IL-7 (secukinumab)
What are the complications of ankylosing spondylitis?
- Vertebral fractures
- Osteoporosis
- Aortitis
- Restrictive lung disease
- Heart block
What is psoriatic Arthritis?
An inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis. Can vary in severity from mild stiffening and soreness in the joint or the joint can be completely destroyed arthritis mutilans
What % of people with psoriasis will develop psoriatic Arthritis?
10-20% and it usually occurs within 10 years of developing the skin change
What is the pathophysiology of psoriatic Arthritis?
- It has a strong genetic component and although not fully understood the activation of CD8+ T cells is thought to play a crucial role
What are the signs of psoriatic Arthritis?
- Joint tenderness and warmth
- Dactylitis: swelling of the whole digit (sausage fingers)
- Enthesitis: Inflammation of the tendons
- Plaques of psoriasis on the skin
- Pitting of the nails
- Onycholysis (separation of the nail from the nail bed)
What are some other associations of psoriatic Arthritis?
- Eye disease
- Aortitis
- Amyloidosis
What are the different patterns in which psoriatic Arthritis can present?
The condition does not have a single pattern of affected joints in the same way as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid. There are several recognised patterns:
Symmetrical polyarthritis presents similarly to rheumatoid arthritis and is more common in women. The hands, wrists, ankles and DIP joints are affected.
Asymmetrical pauciarthritis affecting mainly the digits (fingers and toes) and feet. Pauciarthritis describes when the arthritis only affects a few joints.
Spondylitic pattern is more common in men.
What is used to screen patients who have psoriasis for arthritis?
PEST screening tool
Patients are asked about: joint pain, swelling, nail pitting
Can also use the CASPAR criteria
What are some x-ray changes seen in psoriatic Arthritis?
- Periostitis- thickened and irregular outline of the bone
- Ankylosis- where bones are joined together
- Pencil-in-cup appearance- the classic x-ray change to the digits is the “pencil-in-cup appearance”. This is where there are central erosions of the bone beside the joints and this causes the appearance of one bone in the joint being hollow and looking like a cup whilst the other is narrow and sits in the cup.
What is reactive arthritis (Reiter syndrome) ?
It refers to synovitis occurring due to a recent infective trigger. This is an autoimmune response to infection elsewhere in the body