Rheumatology Flashcards
Signs of acute cauda equina compression
- alternating or bilateral root pain in legs
- saddle anaethesia
- loss of anal tone on PR
- bladder +/- bowel incontinence
Signs of acute cord compression
- bilateral pain
- LMN signs at level of compression
- UMN and sensory loss below
- Sphincter compression
Management of Mechanical Back Pain
- education
- self management
- normal activities - analgesia as necessary - regular paracetamol, NSAIDs, codeine
- consider low dose amitriptyline
- Physio
- accupuncture
- exercise programme
- psychosocial referral
Investigations for back pain
- FBC, ESR, CRP (myeloma, infection, tumper)
- U&Es, ALP (Pagets)
- serum/ urine electrophoresis (myeloma)
Nerve Root Lesions
L2
Pain- Across the upper thigh
Weakness - Hip flexion and adduction
Nerve Root Lesions
L3
Pain - Across lower thigh
Weakness- hip aDducation, knee extension
Reflex- Knee jerk affected
Nerve Root Lesions
L4
Pain- Across knee to medial malleolus
Weakness- Knee Extension, Foot inversion and dorsiflexion
Reflex - Knee Jerk Affected
Nerve Root Lesions
L5
Pain- Lateral shin to dorsum of foot and great toe
Weakness- Hip extension and aBduction,
foot inversion and dorsiflexion
Reflex- Great toe jerk affected
Nerve Root Lesions
S1
Pain - Posterior calf to lateral foot and little toe
Weakness- Knee flexion, foot and toe plantar flexion, foot eversion
Reflex - Ankle jerk
Signs of OA
Pain on movement
Worse at the end of the day
Background pain at rest
Red Flags of Back Pain
- Age <20, >55
- acute onset in the elderly
- constant or progressive
- nocturnal pain
- worse pain on being supine
- fever, night sweats, weight loss
- abdominal mass
- history of malignancy
- thoracic back pain
- morning stiffness
- bilateral or alternating leg pain
- neurological disturbance
- sphincter disturbance
- current or recurrent infection
- immunosuppression
- leg claudication/ exercise related leg weakness/ numbness
Osteoarthritis
commonest joint condition
women: men 3:1
typical onset >50
usually primary, may be secondary to joint disease or other conditions - e.g. haemochromatosis, obesity, occupational
Signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis
Localised disease
Pain on movement and crepitus Worse at the end of the day Background pain at rest joint gelling - stiffness after rest up to ~30 mins Joint instability
Signs & symptoms of osteoarthritis
generalised disease
Commonly affected joints- DIP, thumb metocarpal joints, Knees Joint tenderness Joint derrangement Bony swelling (Herbenden's nodes (post menopausal women) DIP, Bouchard's at PIP) Decreased range of movement Mild synovitis
Tests for osteoarthritis
L- loss of joint space
O- osteophytes
S - subarticular sclerosis
S- sub chondral cysts
Management of Osteoarthritis
Core - Exercise, weight loss
Analgesia - regular paracetamol ± NSAIDs
Topical capsaicin
Intra-articular steroid injections
Intra-articular hyaluronic acid injections
Physio/OT- hot /cold packs, walking aids, stretching orTENS
Surgery
Septic Arthritis
Risk Factors
Pre-existing joint disease esp. Rheumatoid DM Immunosuppression Chronic renal failure Recent joint surgery Prosthetic joint IV drug use age >80 yrs
Investigations
Septic Arthrtis
Joint aspiration - synovial MC&S
X-R and CRP may be normal
main DD = crystal arthopathies
Blood cultures for guiding abx
Treatment
- Empirical Abx- common causes s. aureus, strep, neisseria gonococcus and gram -ve bacilli
Abx 2/52 IV, 2-4/52 PO
Removal of prosthetic joints
Rheumatoid arthritis
chronic systemic inflammatory disease
characterised by symmetrical deforming, peripheral polyarthritis
HLA DR4/DR1 linked
Presentation of RA
Typical
symmetrical swollen, painful and stiff small joints of the hands & feet
worse in the morning
Less common presentation of RA
Sudden onset widespread arthritis
Recurring mono/polyarthritis
Persistent monoarthritis
Systemic illness with extra-articular symptoms - fatigue, fever, weight loss, pericarditis and pleurisy
Polymyalgic onset - vague limb girdle aches
Recurrent soft tissue problems - frozen shoulder/carpal tunnel
Early Signs of RA
inflammation, no joint damage
swollen MCP, PIP, wrist or MTP joints
Look for tenosynovitis or busitits
Later signs of RA
joint damage, deformity
- ulnar deviation
- dorsal wrist subluxation
- Boutonniere and swan neck deformities of the fingers
- Z - shaped thumbs
- hand extensor tendons my rupture
- atlanto-axial joint subluxation may threaten spinal cord
Extra-articular signs of RA
Nodules - elbows and lungs Lymphadenopathy Vasculitis Fibrosing alveolitis Obliterative bronchiolitis Pleural and pericardial effusions Raynaurds carpal tunnel peripheral neuropathy splenomegaly
Investigation in RA
Rheumatoid Factor positive in ~70%
ACPA/ anti- CCP antibodies
Anaemia of chronic disease
Inflammation = raised platelets, ESR & CRO
X-rays show soft tissue swelling, juxta-articular osteopenia and reduced joint space
Later may have bony erosions, subluxation or complete carpal destruction
Management of RA
- Early use of DMARDs and biologics
- Steroids reduce symptoms and inflammation
- NSAIDs good for symptom relief
- specialist physio and OT
- Surgery - relieve pain, improve function and prevent deformity
Disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs
start within 3 months of persistent symptoms
- may take 6-12 weeks for symptomatic benefit
- combination of methotrexate, sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine
SE of DMARDs
Immunosupression - potentially fatal
Methotrexate - pneuomonitis, ulcers, hepatotoxicity
Sulfasalazine - rash, reduced sperm count, oral ulcers
Biological agents and RA
- TNFa inhibitors (infliximab, enanercept)
- B Cell depletion e.g. rituximab with methotrexate
- IL-1 & Il-6 inhibition
- Disruption of T-cell function - abatacept
SE of biological agents
Serious infection, reactivation of TB and hep B, worsening heart failure hypersensitivity reaction injection site reaction blood disorders
Gout presentation
Acute monoarthropathy with severe joint inflammation
>50% of MTP of big toe - podagra
- may be polyarticular
- caused by the deposition of monosodium urate crstals
Precipitated by trauma, surgery, starvation, infection or diuretics
–> long term = deposits (tophi) in pina, tendons and joints- renal disease may also occur
Differential diagnosis of gout
septic arthritis
haemarthrosis
CCPD
palidromic RA
Causes of gout
hereditary increased dietary purines alcohol excess diuretics leukaemia cytotoxics
Associated with: CVD, HTN, DM, CKD
Gout investigations
polarised light microscopy of synovial fluids
- negatively birefringent urate crystals
X-R shows only soft tissue swelling in early stages
later–> punched out erosions in juxta-articular bone
- no sclerotic reaction and joint spaces preserved until late
Treatment of Gout
Acute
High dose NSAIDs or coxib (etoricoxib)
if CI - colchicine is effective but slower to work
Prevention of gout
- loose weight
- avoid prolonged fasts , alcohol excess, purine rich meats and low dose aspirin
Prophylaxis of gout
allopurinol (wait 3 weeks after an acute episode to begin)
Calcium pyrophosphate deposition
- acute CPP crystal arthritis (pseudogout)
- chronic CPPD
- osteoarthritis with CPPD
Acute CPPD crystal arthritis (pseudogout)
acute monoarthropathy
typically larger joints in older patients
usually spontaneous and self limiting
may be provoked by illness, surgery or trauma
Chronic CPPD
inflammatory RA-like symmetrical polyarthritis and synovitis
Osteoarthritis with CPPD
chronic polyarticular osteoarthritis with super imposed acute CPP attacks
Risk factors for CPPD
Old age
hyperparathyroidism
haemochromatosis
hypophosphataemia
Tests for CPPD
polarised light microscopy of synovial fluid shows weakly positive birefringent crystals
Associated with soft tissue calcium deposition on X-ray
Management of CPPD
acute attacks- cool packs, rest, aspiration and intra-articular steroids
NSAIDs + PPI± cochicine may prevent attacks
Methotrexate and hydroxychlorquine have a role in chronic CPPD
What is ankylosing spondylitis
chronic inflammatory disease of the spine and sacroiliac joints