Ultrasound-detected joint inflammation and B cell count: related variables for rituximab-treated RA patients?

• Published in: Rheumatology international Vol. 36; no. 6; pp. 793 - 797
• Main Authors: Valor, Lara, Martínez-Estupiñán, Lina, Janta, Iustina, Nieto, Juan Carlos, Ovalles-Bonilla, Juan Gabriel, González-Fernández, Carlos, del Rio, Tamara, Hernández-Flórez, Diana, Monteagudo, Indalecio, López-Longo, Francisco Javier, Naredo, Esperanza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antirheumatic Agents - therapeutic use; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - blood; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - diagnostic imaging; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - immunology; B-Lymphocytes - drug effects; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disability Evaluation; Female; Humans; Joints - diagnostic imaging; Joints - drug effects; Lymphocyte Count; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Observational Research; Predictive Value of Tests; Rheumatology; Rituximab - therapeutic use; Severity of Illness Index; Synovitis - blood; Synovitis - diagnostic imaging; Synovitis - drug therapy; Synovitis - immunology; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Ultrasonography, Doppler; Young Adult; B cells; DMARDs; Rheumatoid arthritis; Ultrasonography; Biological therapies
• ISSN: 0172-8172; 1437-160X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00296-016-3477-4

This cross-sectional observational study aimed to explore the relationship between B cell count and ultrasound (US)-detected synovitis, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with rituximab. Thirty-seven consecutive RA patients treated with RTX were recruited for the study. The patients underwent clinical [i.e., Disease Activity Score 28 joints (DAS28)], laboratory, and US assessment of 12 joints. Each joint was semiquantitatively (0–3) scored on B-mode and power Doppler mode. The scores were summed, and a global index was created for BM (BMS) and PD scores (PDI) synovitis. BM subclinical synovitis was evident in all patients, with PD synovial signal detected in 16 patients (43.2 %). No correlation was found between DAS28 and US scores. B cells were detected in 27 (72.9 %) patients, but there was no association in the mean B cell count and disease activity as measured by DAS28 (DAS28 < 2.6 = 34.53, DAS28 > 2.6 = 49.45, p  = 0.52) and PDI score (PDI < 1 = 49.48, PDI > 1 = 35.44, p  = 0.54). There was no correlation between the B cell count and DAS28, BMS, and PDI ( r  = 0.020, p  = 0.907; r  = −0.151, p  = 0.371; r  = −0.099, p  = 0.558, respectively). In RTX-treated RA patients, no relationship could be established between US-detected synovitis and peripheral blood B cell count.