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La polyarthrite rhumatoïde (PR) est une maladie potentiellement sévère et invalidante. Un traitement efficace est indispensable afin d''l''eviter l''aapparition de lésions structurales. Lorsque la PR n''a pas répondu de façon satisfaisante an méthotrexate (MTX),l''étanercept est indiqué aussi bien au tours de la PR severe et active de l''adulte que de l''arthrite juvénile idiopathique. Les principaux travaux de la littérature sont passes en revue. Its montrent l''efficaeité de l''étanercept seul sur le plan clinique et biologique et le trés bon effet de l''association dtanercept-MTX sur les lésions structurales qui sont arrêtées par cette combinaison thdrapeutique. L''étanercept constitue une avancée thdrapeutique de premier plan dans les formes sévères de PR. [Copyright 2004 Elsevier]

Drug-induced aseptic meningitis is uncommon and occurs primarily in patients with autoimmune disease. We report the first known case of leflunomide-induced aseptic meningitis, in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective. – To evaluate agreement between a rheumatologist visit and a telephone interview by a patient organization member, regarding the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or spondylarthropathy (SpA) and the classification criteria for these 2 conditions.Method. – Patients underwent a standardized interview and physical examination by hospital-based rheumatologists, who diagnosed RA in 230 cases, SpA in 175, and other conditions (controls) in 195. Members of patient organizations then used a standardized questionnaire to interview the patients by telephone about their diagnosis and about 1987 ACR classification criteria for RA and the ESSG criteria for SpA.Results. – Agreement between the 2 sources of data was poor for the classification criteria but satisfactory for the diagnosis (kappa =0.84 [0.81–0.87] for RA and 0.78 [0.75–0.81] for SpA).Conclusion. – Standardized telephone interviews conducted by patient organization members accurately identify the diagnosis made by rheumatologists based on a physical examination and medical record review, whereas agreement is poor regarding classification criteria for RA and SpA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]