Rheumatoid Arthritis Flashcards
Radiographic changes of the hand, including erosions and
decalcification.
T
v upper extremity complaints are a hallmark of the RA disease
T
disease severity is commonly linked to the age of onset
T
A family history of RA increases the
lifetime risk from three-fold to five-fold
T
symmetric
hand pain lasting 6 weeks or longer without a known etiology should
prompt consideration of inflammatory arthropathy
T
Rheumatoid nodules are present
only in a minority of RA patients
T
Nodules present only in the hand
F Nodules are commonly located on
extensor pads associated with synovitis but can appear in multiple
extra-articular tissues including eyes, lungs, or vocal cords
Any synovial joint may be
affected, but hand involvement is often seen as a hallmark of disease
T
First joint that effected with RA ?why?
The metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint, proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint, and wrist are often affected first due to the relatively high synovial surface area.
Secondarily, large
joints such as the elbows, knees, hips, shoulders are affected
T
Even small articular surfaces, such as the ossicles of the middle ear, can be involved
T
patients may present with synovitic rheumatoid nodules around large
joints. Rheumatoid nodules may be unsightly, painful, irritating to
adjacent tendons, or cause nerve compression.
T
the distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) joint
is often spared in RA
T
early wrist erosions appear at the scaphoid waist, ulnar
styloid, and the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ)
T
In RA, synovitis
typically affects the radiocarpal joint more than the midcarpal
joint
T
ynovitis around the wrist joint often involves the extensor compartments and may grow around the tendons
T
vaughan-jackson syndrome
process is
compounded by dorsal prominence of caput ulnae leading to progressive tendon ruptures from ulnar to radial along the dorsal wrist
Tendon ruptures are often sudden and are usually painless
T though
synovitis may be painful at the site before the rupture
Osteophytes
on the radius or carpus can also lead to tendon attrition
T
Mannerfelt
lesion
scaphoid osteophytes or synovitis can lead to attrition of the
flexor pollicis longus (FPL) tendon,
Tendon reconstraction achieved through tendon transfers
T
once a musculotendinous unit has ruptured, that muscle is no longer useful in the setting of RA.
T
patients often complain about the inability to fully extend their
fingers what are the causes ?
- ulnar subluxation of the extensor tendon due to attenuation of the radial sagittal band
- progressive subluxation and volar translation of the proximal phalanx on the metacarpal head
- ## Very rarely, loss of extension can be due to compression on the posterior interosseous nerve