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Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a large vessel vasculitis seen especially in young women who may present with findings such as fever, fatigue, and weight loss. In this disease, lung consolidation or infarction secondary to lung involvement may occur. TA can mimic the other parenchyma-like diseases that we see more frequently in our daily practice because constitutional findings are at the forefront and due to consolidation as a result of lung infarction. Complications associated with chronic processes may result in increased morbidity and mortality in this disease, which often presents with delays in diagnosis. For this reason, TA should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of diseases leading to consolidation in the lung. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We aimed to investigate coronavirus diease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes in patients with amyloid A protein (AA) amyloidosis secondary to rheumatic diseases and discuss factors associated with disease course. Methods: A retrospective cohort was formed from adult patients with a diagnosis of AA amyloidosis. In patients with a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, rates of hospitalization, intensive care unit admission and mortality due to COVID-19 were collected from medical records. Data regarding to demographics, comorbidities, laboratory tests, medical treatments, adherence to previous treatments during COVID-19 and treatment administered for COVID-19 were collected from hospital databases and patient reviews. Results: In 96 patients with AA amyloidosis, 16 had COVID-19 with a positive PCR. Ten (62.5%) patients were hospitalized, 2 (12.5%) were admitted to ICU, 1 (6.25%) was died. Hospitalized patients tended to be older. Comorbidities seemed to be more frequent in hospitalized patients. None of the patients had rapid progression to end-stage renal disease post-COVID-19. Seven patients had pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 proteinuria levels. Three had notable increase in proteinuria after COVID-19 in 2 of which amyloidosis treatment was revised accordingly. Conclusion: Despite high rates of hospitalization in AA amyloidosis patients, mortality was observed only in 1 patient. Progression of proteinuria requiring treatment adjustment may be an issue in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: The objective of this study is to evaluate the clinical presentations and adverse outcomes of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and assess the impact of SSc features on the clinical course of COVID-19. Materials and methods: In this multicenter, retrospective study, SSc patients with COVID-19 were included. Clinical features of SSc, along with detailed COVID-19 data, were extracted from medical records and patient interviews. Results: The study included 112 patients (mean age 51.4 ± 12.8 years; 90.2% female). SSc-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) was evident in 57.1% of the patients. The findings revealed hospitalization in 25.5%, respiratory support in 16.3%, intensive care unit admission in 3.6%, and a mortality rate of 2.7% among SSc patients with COVID-19. Risk factors for respiratory failure, identified through univariate analysis, included ILD (OR: 7.49, 95% CI: 1.63-34.46), =1 comorbidity (OR: 4.55, 95% CI: 1.39-14.88), a higher physician global assessment score at the last outpatient visit (OR 2.73, 95% CI: 1.22-6.10), and the use of mycophenolate at the time of infection (OR: 5.16, 95 %CI: 1.79-14.99). Notably, =1 comorbidity emerged as the sole significant predictor of the need for respiratory support in COVID-19 (OR: 5.78, 95% CI: 1.14-29.23). In the early post-COVID-19 period, 17% of patients reported the progression of the Raynaud phenomenon, and 10.6% developed new digital ulcers. Furthermore, progression or new onset of dyspnea and cough were detected in 28.3% and 11.4% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: This study suggests a potential association between adverse outcomes of COVID-19 and SSc-related ILD, severe disease activity, and the use of mycophenolate. Additionally, it highlights that having comorbidities is an independent risk factor for the need for respiratory support in COVID-19 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Medical Journal of Ankara Training & Research Hospital is the property of Medical Journal of Ankara Training & Research Hospital and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Turkish Society for Rheumatology is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Turkish Society for Rheumatology is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Turkish Society for Rheumatology is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Patients with familial Mediterranean fever and spondylitis often fail to respond to conventional and biologic therapies. Achieving remission in these patients usually requires conventional and biologic treatment combinations. Combination of biologic agents may be a promising option for patients with familial Mediterranean fever and spondylitis who have refractory disease. Until recently, limited evidence existed regarding the efficacy and safety of this treatment strategy. To address this, our report presented a case series of 4 patients with familial Mediterranean fever and spondylitis who were resistant to standard treatments and in whom remission is achieved only with dual biologic therapy. The authors also conducted a literature search for studies that reported dual biological therapy in inflammatory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the association between vascular inflammation, as detected by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and interleukin-6 (IL-6), pentraxin3, and B-cell-activating factor (BAFF) in subjects with LVV. Methods: The study included newly diagnosed giant cell arteritis (GCA, n=27) or Takayasu arteritis (n=9) patients and healthy control (HC, n=31) subjects. PET scan and blood samples were obtained before the introduction of treatments. IL-6, PTX3, and BAFF levels were determined quantitatively by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Results: Thirty-six patients with LVV (20 females, 16 males; age 64.5±16.6 years) and 31 HC (14 females, 17 males; age 37.1±9.6 years) were included. Serum levels of IL-6, PTX3, and BAFF were increased in patients with newly diagnosed LVV compared with healthy control subjects. In receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis, serum IL-6 and BAFF provided excellent discrimination of newly diagnosed LVV patients from HC (area under the ROC curve of >0.90 and >0.80, respectively). None of the inflammatory markers correlated with vascular inflammatory activity determined by PET scanning. Conclusions: Our results suggest that IL-6 and BAFF may serve as markers of large vessel vasculitis, while PTX3 is not useful. None of the inflammatory markers correlated with PET assessed vasculitis activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]