Osteoarthritis Flashcards
What is the most common type of arthritis?
Osteoarthritis
What is osteoarthritis?
Chronic, progressive disorder characterized by the loss of articular cartilage in primarily hands, knees, hips and spine
What is the peak age of onset for osteoarthritis?
50 to 60 years old
Prevalence depends on population, but increases as we age
What is the incidence of osteroarthritis in older adults?
Nearly half of the population
A lot of patients self-medicate and are not captured by statistics
What is the mechanism of action of primary osteoarthritis?
MOA not completely understood
What is the mechanism of secondary osteoarthritis?
Other metabolic factors at play (ex. hemochromatosis, acromegaly)
How is joint trauma a factor in the development of osteoarthritis?
- Biochemical and mechanical changes
- Loss of functionality
- Changes in cartilage, joint capsule, subtracheal bone
What causes the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis?
Imbalance between cartilage maintenance and destruction
- Malfunction of chondrocyte (responsible for cartilage breakdown)
- End result is loss of proteoglycans and water
- Formation of osteophytes (bony outgrowths)
Role of inflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases
What are the stages of progression for osteoarthritis?
- Articular cartilage changes
- Bone remodelling
- Synovial inflammation
- Soft tissue inflammation
What are some modifiable risk factors for osteoarthritis?
- Obesity
- Joint trauma
What are some non-modifiable risk factors for osteoarthritis?
- Age
- Genetics
- Sex (hand and knees more common in women, hips (men and women with equal occurance)
- Joint misalignment/deformity
What are the most common clinical features associated with osteoarthritis?
- Initial absence of inflammation or joint swelling
- Mono-articular at first
- Pain and stiffness with activity
- No systemic symptoms
What are some minor clinical features associated with osteoarthritis?
- Crepitus (crunching sound from bones and cartilage grinding)
- Tenderness
- Limited range of motion
- Bony swelling
- Joint deformity
- Instability
What are the stages of pain associated with osteoarthritis?
Stage 1: Predictable, sharp pain brought on by activity (impact on function)
Stage 2: Pain becomes more constant; episodes of stiffness; episodes of intense, exhausting pain
What are some commonly affected joints in osteoarthritis?
- In the fingers (phalangeal joints), joints of thumb
- Cervical and lumbar spine
- Hip, knee, in the feet
What are some common deformities found in the hands of osteoarthritis patients?
- Heberden’s nodes
- Bouchard’s nodes
What are the standard diagnostic criteria for osteoarthritis?
- Persistent usage-related plan
- Age over 45
- Little early morning stiffness, more evening stiffness
Which patient groups need additional testing to confirm osteoarthritis diagnosis?
- Younger individuals
- Atypical signs or symptoms
- Weight loss
What are the goal of treatment for osteoarthritis?
- Reduce pain
- Maintain or improve joint mobility
- LImit functional disability
- Improve self-management
What are the four pillars of treatment?
- Patient education
- Rehabilitation
- Medications
- Referrals (surgical and non-surgical)
What are some patient education tips for osteoarthritis?
- Emphasize importance of exercise, joint protection, strengthening of muscles, and supporting joint with activity modification
- Emphasize importance of weight control (12lbs drop in women = 50% reduction in risk, can also reduce pain)
- Benefits, harms, costs, expectation of treatment options
What are some exercise tips for osteoarthritis patients?
- Home or structured exercise
- Range of motion, strenthening, aerobic activity (Tai Chi, Yoga, Balance exercises)
- Land-based vs. aquatic (both are good, more evidence for land based)
- What is too much? (Pain lasting more than 2h after exercise)
- Physiotherapy
What are some environmental modifications that can help osteoarthritis patients improve their rehabilitative care?
- Raised toilet seats, home or work adaptations
- Supports, splints, braces
- Canes, walkers
- Supportive footwear, shock absorbing orthotics (does the work of healthy cartilage)
What type of interventions in osteoarthritis are the most effective?
Non-pharmacologic interventions remain the most effective, but underutilized interventions for OA
What is the focus of pharmacological treatment in osteoarthritis?
Drug therapy is targeted at pain relief (start monotherapy, and add/sub meds as needed)
PO, topical, intrarticular
What are the types of pharmacological treatments for osteoarthritis?
- Acetaminophen
- Topical NSAIDs
- Other topical (capsaicin, a535)
- Oral NSAIDs
- Opioids (traditional and tramadol)
- Duloxetine
- Injectable joint replacement fluid
- Injectable glucocorticoids
- Others
What is the role of acetaminophen in treatment of osteoarthritis?
Traditional DOC, not anymore due to newer evidence
Negligible, non-clinically significant effect on pain
MOA: acts centrally, prevents PG synthesis by blocking COX
What is the safety profile of acetaminophen in osteoarthritis treatment?
- Does not cause liver disease at normal doses
- Risk from patients consuming from multiple products
- Lower doses for patients with liver dysfunction, malnutrition, low body weight, old age (especially with chronic dosing)
What are some drug interactions associated with acetaminophen?
- Warfarin (at higher doses)
- Continued alcohol use (increased liver damage)
- Isoniazid