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Andra Balanescu

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Articles signed on Romanian Journal of RHEUMATOLOGY:

OPTIMIZING EXISTING TOOLS FOR REACHING AN ADEQUATE DISEASE CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH SPONDYLOARTHRITIS

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Romanian Journal of Rheumatology, Volume XXV, No. 2, 2016
ISSN 1843-0791  |  e-ISSN 2069-6086
ISSN-L 1843-0791
DOI: 10.37897/RJR

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OPTIMIZING EXISTING TOOLS FOR REACHING AN ADEQUATE DISEASE CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH SPONDYLOARTHRITIS

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ABSTRACT

Background/Objective. Disease activity in spondyloarthritis (SpA) is evaluated through conventional scores such as BASDAI or ASDAS. The aim of this study was to determine disease activity in SpA patients under biological therapy with further assessment on the quality of each activity indicator and their clinical value together with their impact on NSAID intake.
Materials and methods. Over nine months (January–August 2015) we enrolled 100 patients with SpA on anti-TNF therapy (33% IFX; 35% ADL; 32% ETA). We collected demographic, clinical (BASDAI, ASDAS, PtGA) and laboratory data (ESR, CRP). Frequency of NSAID ingestion expressed as days per week was included in a questionnaire. Considering their biologic treatment, patients were divided into disease activity groups and sample characteristics were correlated and compared. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 20.0, using specific tests such as Pearson, Spearman or ANOVA.
Results. Patients with active disease, stated by both activity scores had an increased NSAID intake. Out of 86% of patients with a BASDAI under 4, only 82.6% had an ASDAS-CRP lower than 1.3. BASDAI correlated to both ASDAS scores (r = 0.65 and 0.71, P<0.001) and PtGA correlated to both disease activity scales, with a stronger correlation to BASDAI (r = 0.912, P<0.01) than ASDAS (r = 0.67 and 0.71, P<0.01 for both).
Conclusion. We proved that disease activity scores have good discriminatory power, with a strong correlation between the subjective BASDAI and PtGA. However, ASDAS-CRP proves to be more rigorous than other variables when targeting high and low disease activity, thus indicating the need of an objective component in assessing these patients.

Keywords: spondyloarthritis, disease activity scores, discriminatory power, anti-TNF therapy

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HERPES VIRUS, HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS AND POLYOMAVIRUS INFECTION IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING BIOLOGICAL THERAPY

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Romanian Journal of Rheumatology, Volume XXIV, No. 2, 2015
ISSN 1843-0791  |  e-ISSN 2069-6086
ISSN-L 1843-0791
DOI: 10.37897/RJR

Indexed

DOI - Crossref
Similarity Check by iThenticate, worldwide No 1 professional plagiarism checking system
DOAJ
Scopus
NLM Catalog
Ebsco Host - Medline
Google Academic
Semantic Scholar

HIGHLIGHTS

National Awards “Science and Research”

NEW! RJR has announced the annually National Award for "Science and Research" for the best scientific articles published throughout the year in the official journal.

ICMJE- Recommendations

Read the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals.

Promoting Global Health

The published medical research literature is a global public good. Medical journal editors have a social responsibility to promote global health by publishing, whenever possible, research that furthers health worldwide.

HERPES VIRUS, HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS AND POLYOMAVIRUS INFECTION IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING BIOLOGICAL THERAPY

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ABSTRACT

Biological therapy has redesigned the treatment of certain systemic inflammatory disorders, and it is currently employed in clinical practice by specialties such as rheumatology, dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology and oncology.

A decade’s worth of data has classified biological therapy as safe and effective for the treatment of a large number of diseases. However, its associated risk of secondary infections remains a major issue, particularly when discussing long-term immunosuppressive treatment. Secondary viral infections can require delaying or discontinuing biological therapy, thus leading to a relapse or reactivation of the underlying disorder, and this can happen in patients with already limited therapeutic options.

Thorough screening and timely diagnosis of viral reactivations are necessary in order to maximize the benefits and reduce the risks associated with biological therapy. Viruses frequently associated with such reactivations include hepatitis B and C viruses, cytomegalovirus, varicella-zoster virus, and Epstein-Barr virus. This review focuses on the risk of reactivation associated with biological therapy in patients with autoimmune diseases and underlying herpes virus, human papilloma virus and polyomavirus infections.

Keywords: biological therapy, viral infections, herpes virus, human papilloma virus, polyomavirus

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