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ObjectiveTo identify predictors of flare in a 2-year follow-up study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in sustained clinical remission tapering towards withdrawal of biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs).MethodsSustained clinical remission was defined as Disease Activity Score for 28 joints (DAS28)-C reactive protein (CRP) ≤2.6 without radiographic progression for >1 year. bDMARDs were tapered according to a mandatory clinical guideline to two-thirds of standard dose at baseline, half of dose at week 16 and discontinuation at week 32. Prospective assessments for 2 years included clinical evaluation, conventional radiography, ultrasound and MRI for signs of inflammation and bone changes. Flare was defined as DAS28-CRP ≥2.6 with ∆DAS28-CRP ≥1.2 from baseline. Baseline predictors of flare were assessed by logistic regression analyses.ResultsOf 142 included patients, 121 (85%) flared during follow-up of which 86% regained remission within 24 weeks after flare. Patients that flared were more often rheumatoid factor positive, had tried more bDMARDs and had higher baseline ultrasound synovitis sum scores than those not flaring. For patients on standard dose, predictors of flare within 16 weeks after reduction to two-thirds of standard dose were baseline MRI-osteitis (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.33; p=0.014), gender (female) (OR 6.71; 95% CI 1.68 to 46.12; p=0.005) and disease duration (OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.11; p=0.020). Baseline predictors for flare within 2 years were ultrasound grey scale synovitis sum score (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.44; p=0.020) and number of previous bDMARDs (OR 4.07; 95% CI 1.35 to 24.72; p=0.007).ConclusionThe majority of real-world patients with RA tapering bDMARDs flared during tapering, with the majority regaining remission after stepwise dose increase. Demographic and imaging parameters (MR-osteitis/ultrasound greyscale synovitis) were independent predictors of immediate flare and flare overall and may be of importance for clinical decision-making in patients eligible for tapering.

AimTo describe salivary gland involvement in patients suspected of Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) using the OMERACT Ultrasound Scoring System for SS. Next, using different ultrasound cut-offs, to assess the performance of the scoring system for diagnosis and fulfilment of 2016 ACR/EULAR SS classification criteria.MethodsAll patients referred to our department with a suspicion of SS in a 12-month period were included. All underwent grey-scale ultrasound of the parotid and submandibular glands prior to clinical examination, Schirmer’s test, unstimulated salivary flow, blood samples including autoantibody analysis. Labial biopsy was performed according to clinicians’ judgement. Images of the four glands were scored 0–3 according to the scoring system and a consensus score was obtained using a developed ultrasound atlas.ResultsOf the 134 patients included in the analysis, 43 were diagnosed with primary SS (pSS) and all fulfilled the 2016 American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/EULAR classification criteria. More patients with pSS compared with non-pSS had score ≥2 in at least one gland (72% vs 13%; pConclusionThe OMERACT Ultrasound Scoring System showed good sensitivity (0.72) and excellent specificity (0.91) for fulfilling 2016 ACR/EULAR criteria using cut-off score >2 in at least one gland. Our data supports the use of ultrasound for diagnosing pSS and supports incorporation of ultrasound in the classification criteria.

Key messages #### What is already known about this subject? #### What does this study add? #### How might this impact on clinical practice? Entheses are sites where tendons, fascia, ligament or joint capsule attach to bones of the appendicular or axial skeleton.1 2 Inflammation at these sites, enthesitis, involves both soft tissue and bone, and is considered as a core pathological process in spondyloarthritis (SpA), including psoriatic arthritis (PsA).3 4 The prevalence of enthesitis in SpA, including PsA, has been reported to be 13.6%–35%, with Achilles tendon and plantar fascia insertion being the most common sites.5 6 Assessing enthesitis as primary or secondary outcome in clinical trials requires a comprehensive, sensitive and validated assessment method. Clinical examination using different enthesitis indices has been shown to have low sensitivity and specificity, with suboptimal reproducibility.7 8 MRI allows sensitive assessment of enthesitis,9–11 and the OMERACT MRI in Arthritis Working Group has recently developed and validated the OMERACT Heel Enthesitis MRI Scoring System (HEMRIS), along with consensus-based definitions of the MRI features to be scored.12 Thus, this method may facilitate a more reliable assessment of enthesitis in clinical trials. The exact area of assessment and the individual grades of HEMRIS may be difficult for new readers to conceptualise. Furthermore, the applicability and reproducibility of …

ObjectiveTo validate the Canada-Denmark (CANDEN) MRI scoring system for the spine in axial spondyloarthritis with updated lesion definitions.MethodsLesion definitions in the CANDEN system were updated and illustrated by a consensus set of reference images. Sagittal spine MRIs of 40 patients with axial spondyloarthritis obtained at baseline and at week 52 after initiation of treatment with the tumour necrosis factor inhibitor golimumab were evaluated in unknown chronology by seven readers blinded to all other data.ResultsCANDEN MRI spine inflammation score had very good reliability for status scores (single-measure intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 21 reader pairs median of 0.91 (IQR 0.88–0.92)) and change scores (ICC 0.88 (0.86–0.92)). CANDEN MRI spine fat score had good to very good reliability for status scores (ICC 0.79 (0.75–0.86)) and moderate to good reliability for detecting change (ICC 0.59 (0.46–0.73)). CANDEN MRI spine bone erosion score and CANDEN MRI spine new bone formation score had slight to moderate reliability for status scores (ICC 0.38 (0.32–0.52) and 0.39 (0.27–0.49), respectively).ConclusionThe CANDEN MRI spine scoring system allows a comprehensive evaluation of inflammation, fat, bone erosion and new bone formation of the spine in patients with axial spondyloarthritis. It demonstrated very good reliability for detecting change in inflammation, moderate to good reliability for detecting change in fat, and slight to moderate reliability for detecting bone erosions and new bone formation. Studies with longer follow-up or patients with more advanced spinal involvement may be needed to reliably detect change in bone erosion and new bone formation scores.Trial registration numberNCT02011386.