Rheumatology 1 - CTD and vasculitis Flashcards
What are the clinical diagnostic criteria for SLE?
Malar Rash Discoid Rash Photosensitivity Oral ulcers Arthritis Serositis Renal disorder Neurological disorder Immunological disorder
What are the Immunological criteria for SLE?
ANA dsDNA anti-Sm anti-phospholipid low complement DAT
What are the points required for Dx?
> =4/17 criteria, with at least one clinical and one immunological OR nephritis plus ANA/dsDNA
What is the difference in performance in the new criteria?
Improved Sn, lower Sp
What is the characteristic finding on lupus skin biopsy?
IgG deposition at dermoepidermal junction
What are characteristics of lupus arthritis?
symmetrical inflammatory polyarthritis - synovitis is a criterion, not arthralgia.
non-erosive, non deforming (except jaccoud’s - laxity of ligaments due to chronic inflammation of joint capsule)
What are the classes of lupus nephritis?
Class I - minimal change - mesangial w/o hypercellularity
Class II - mesangial with hypercellularity
Class III - focal proliferative
Class IV - diffuse proliferative
Class V membranous
Class VI - advanced sclerosing lesions
What are features of SLE CNS disease?
Seizure * Headache * Stroke syndromes * Transverse myelitis Coma Dementia Ataxia Rigidity, Tremor Chorea Aseptic meningitis Psychiatric disorders * SAH Hemiballismus Cranial neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy * Mononeuritis multiplex MS like disorder Guillain - Barre syndrome
What are features of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy?
vasogenic oedema
DWI, different from stroke
HA, seizures and visual changes
Steroids as therapy
What are findings on LP in CNS lupus?
increased protein and lymphocytes, non-specific
CSF Ab not usually measured
normal LP does not exclude CNS lupus
What ethnicity is differently affected by SLE?
incr risk in hispanic and african americans
Asians have higher severity, prevalence, increased renal disease and increased autoantibodies
What is the relationship between Vit-D and SLE?
vit deficiency is common in SLE
steroid induced OP common in SLE
Vit D deficiency is associated with increased disease activity
Small RCT shows benefit in disease activity in SLE
When are antimalarials indicated in SLE treatment?
in skin and joint disease
chronic treatment reduces flares
When are glucocorticoids indicated in sle Rx?
low dose - 0.25mg/kg - skin, joints, musculocutaneous
medium dose - 0.5mg/kg - serosal, moderate haem (plt 20.50)
high dose - 1mg/kg - CNS, renal, significant haematologic disturbance
When is azathioprine used in SLE Rx?
useful for almost all lesions - steroid sparing
good for all GN other than IV
What is the feature of cyclophosphamide in the treatment of lupus nephritis?
Low dose IV cyclophosphamide followed by AZA is equally effective as long term high dose cyclophosphamide
What are features of mycophenolate mofetil in the treatment of lupus nephritis?
MMF is equivalent to IV cyclophosphamide in the treatment of class III/IV lupus nephritis.
MMF is the recommended therapy in class IV lupus GN unless significant renal impairment at start of therapy
What are features of MMF vs AZA in lupus nephritis?
AZA is inferior to MMF in maintenance after low dose IV cyclosporin.
What effect does rituximab have in the treatment of SLE?
Is not active in SLE! demonstrated in both lunar and explorer studies.
However some patients definitely respond - so it could be considered in refractory cases.
What is the agent of choice in cerebral lupus?
IV cyclophosphamide remains the treatment of choice in cerebral lupus
What are features of hydroxychloroquine in lupus?
improves outcomes across the spectrum of lupus
regarded as standard of care
ocular toxicity - cumulative dose is risk factor - most cases reported on >6.5mg/kg/day
annual review after 5 years of therapy
specific visual field challenging, fundo is insufficient
What is the safety of hydroxycholorquine in pregnancy?
Safe to continue during pregnancy! and SHOULD be continued.
What is the role if IFN in SLE?
IFN-a expressed by pDCs - TLRs and nucleic acid induction - results in activation of T and B cells
IFN-alpha therapy can induce ANA+ve CTDs
High IFN-alpha state associated with disease severity, renal disease but not with disease severity.
-> Hydroxychloroquine inhibits the production of IFN-a
What effect does HRT have in SLE?
increases minor flares, but no significant increase in major flares.
likewise, OCP is safe in SLE -with no increase in flares or damage UNLESS previous history of clots
What effect does lupus have on vaccination?
Has NO effect on vaccination effectiveness - esp hep B or influenza
What is the mechanism of action of belimumab?
anti-BAFF
BAFF is a B-cell stimulation cytokine, inhibition limits B-cell survival, activation.
Responders to anti-BAFF include those with high activity, ds-DNA and low complement
What is the OR of vascular deaths in SLE?
OR = 1.7
accellerated atheroma formation in SLE and higher coronary calcium scores