Explaining Variability in the Prevalence of Achilles Tendon Abnormalities: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis of Imaging Studies in Asymptomatic Individuals

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the prevalence of, and factors associated with, Achilles tendon abnormalities observed on imaging in asymptomatic individuals.

DESIGN

Systematic review with stratified meta-analysis and meta-regression.

LITERATURE SEARCH

Embase, Scopus, MEDLINE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science were searched from 1980 to August 2020.

STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA

We included studies that reported the prevalence of Achilles tendon abnormalities, observed with any imaging modality, in an asymptomatic population. We excluded studies if participant mean age was younger than 12 years or if participants had current/previous lower-limb tendon injuries/symptoms or other systemic conditions.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Random-effects proportion meta-analysis was used to estimate prevalence. We used meta-regression for continuous variables (mean age and body mass index [BMI], sample size, proportion of female participants) and stratified categorical variables (imaging modality and participation in physical activity) to explain between-study heterogeneity.

RESULTS

We included 91 studies (10 156 limbs, 5841 participants). The prevalence of Achilles tendon abnormalities on imaging ranged from 0% to 80% per participant. Between-study heterogeneity was high (I²>90%, P<.001), precluding data pooling. Between-study heterogeneity was partly explained by participant mean BMI (slope, 2.8% per 1-unit increase in BMI; 95% confidence interval: 0.57%, 5.03%; P = .015) and participation in physical activity per limb, and mean age of 40 years old or older (P = .022) per participant.

CONCLUSION

There was substantial variability in the prevalence of Achilles tendon abnormalities on imaging in asymptomatic individuals. Higher prevalence of abnormalities was associated with older age (40 years old or older), higher BMI, and participation in physical activity. A large proportion of heterogeneity remains unaccounted for, likely due to variations in abnormality definitions and study design. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2021;51(5):232-252. Epub 28 Mar 2021. doi:10.2519/jospt.2021.9970.

Physical Activity and Investigation With Magnetic Resonance Imaging Partly Explain Variability in the Prevalence of Patellar Tendon Abnormalities: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis of Imaging Studies in Asymptomatic Individuals

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the pooled prevalence of, and factors associated with, the presence of patellar tendon abnormalities observed on imaging in people without symptoms.

DESIGN

Systematic review with stratified meta-analysis and meta-regression.

LITERATURE SEARCH

We searched Embase, Scopus, MEDLINE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science from 1980 to August 2020.

STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA

We included studies that reported the prevalence of asymptomatic patellar tendon abnormalities on imaging. We excluded studies of participants with current tendon pain, a history of tendon pain, or other systemic conditions.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Stratification and meta-regression of studies based on study-level descriptive statistics (mean age, body mass index, proportion of female participants, physical activity participation, imaging modality) were performed using a random-effects model to account for between-study heterogeneity. Risk of bias was assessed using the modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale.

RESULTS

Meta-analysis of 64 studies (7125 limbs from 4616 participants) found significant between-study heterogeneity (I²≥90%, P<.01), which precluded a summary prevalence estimate. Heterogeneity was partially explained by studies that included participants who were physically active and studies that assessed tendon abnormalities using magnetic resonance imaging compared to ultrasound (P<.05). Mean age, body mass index, proportion of female participants, and sample size did not explain the remaining heterogeneity.

CONCLUSION

There was substantial variability in the reported prevalence of asymptomatic patellar tendon abnormalities. A clear and valid method is needed to assess and report the presence of patellar tendon abnormalities to increase research capacity and establish the clinical value of imaging the patellar tendon. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2021;51(5):216-231. Epub 28 Mar 2021. doi:10.2519/jospt.2021.10054.

Celiac Disease: Extraintestinal Manifestations and Associated Conditions

Celiac disease is a common form of enteropathy with frequent extraintestinal manifestations (EIM). Misrecognition of these presentations may lead to significant delays in diagnosis. Any organ may be involved, either through an immune/inflammatory phenomenon, or nutritional deficiencies. Some EIM, such as gluten ataxia, may be irreversible if left untreated, but most will improve with a gluten-free diet. Knowledge of the various EIM, as well as the associated conditions which do not improve on a gluten-free diet, will avoid delays in the diagnosis and management of celiac disease and associated manifestations.

Entheseal involvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: an ultrasound study

Objectives

The main objective of this study is to explore the prevalence and distribution of entheseal US changes in a cohort of SLE patients, taking as controls a group including both PsA patients and healthy subjects. The secondary objective is to investigate the correlation between the US findings and the clinical and serological data in SLE patients.

Methods

Clinical and US assessment of quadriceps, patellar and Achilles tendons, and plantar fascia entheses were performed by independent rheumatologists on 65 patients with SLE, 50 patients with PsA and 50 healthy subjects. US findings were identified according to the OMERACT definitions. In SLE patients, the correlation between the US changes and the clinical and laboratory findings was evaluated.

Results

US revealed one or more abnormalities in at least one enthesis in 44 out of 65 SLE patients (67.7%), 47 out of 50 PsA patients (94.0%) and 22 out of 50 healthy subjects (44.0%). In SLE patients, US findings indicating active inflammation were significantly more frequently detected than in healthy subjects (P < 0.001). The distal enthesis of the patellar tendon was the most commonly involved. The presence of power Doppler signal at the enthesis was an independent predictor of SLE disease activity (SLEDAI-2k P < 0.001, β = 0.52; musculoskeletal-BILAG P < 0.001, β = 0.56).

Conclusion

The burden of entheseal sonographic changes was significantly higher in SLE patients than in healthy subjects, especially as regards active inflammation. The presence of power Doppler signal at the enthesis may represent a potential biomarker of SLE disease activity.

Similar subclinical enthesitis in celiac and inflammatory bowel diseases by ultrasound suggests a gut enthesis axis independent of spondyloarthropathy spectrum

Objective

Higher subclinical enthesitis on US has been reported in IBD and celiac disease, separately. The objective of this study was to compare IBD and celiac disease for enthesitis on US. Higher enthesitis scores in IBD compared with celiac disease would support a shared pathogenic mechanism between IBD and spondyloarthritis, whereas similar scores may suggest a general impact of gut inflammation on the enthesis.

Methods

Patients with IBD, celiac disease and healthy controls (HCs) were recruited and 12 entheses were scanned by US, blind to the diagnosis and clinical assessment. Elementary lesions for enthesitis were scored on a scale between 0 and 3, for inflammation, damage and total US scores.

Results

A total of 1260 entheses were scanned in 44 patients with celiac disease, 43 patients with IBD and 18 HCs. The three groups were matched for age and BMI. Patients with celiac disease and IBD had higher inflammation scores than HCs [10.4 (6.5), 9.6 (5.4) and 5.6 (5.2), respectively, P = 0.007) whereas damage scores were similar. Both age and BMI had significant effects on the entheseal scores, mostly for inflammation scores but when controlling for these the US enthesopathy scores were still higher in celiac disease and IBD.

Conclusion

The magnitude of subclinical enthesopathy scores is similar between celiac disease and IBD in comparison with HCs. These findings suggest that the common factor between both diseases and enthesopathy is abnormal gut permeability, which may be modified by the genetic architecture of IBD leading to clinical arthropathy.

REVIEW OF CELIAC DISEASE PRESENTATION IN A PEDIATRIC TERTIARY CENTRE

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Celiac disease is an immune-mediated disorder with a multiform presentation and therefore a challenging diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose is to identify the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory and histologic characteristics of children with celiac disease at diagnosis and on follow-up. METHODS: Children with previously established or newly diagnosed celiac disease, admitted in a tertiary centre in a two-year period (2014-2016) were recruited. Data was collected retrospectively from electronic medical records and clinical notes, and subsequently analysed with SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: A total of 159 patients, out of 312, were included. Age ranged from 1 to 17 years (mean ± SD: 8.5±4.5 years, 69% girls). Disease presentation was classical in 60%, non-classical in 25%, subclinical in 10% and 5% classified as potential celiac disease. Non-classical and subclinical profiles had a higher mean age at presentation but not statistically significant (P-value 0.24). The most frequent gastrointestinal features at presentation were abdominal pain (58%), diarrhea (43%) and bloating (27%). A positive family history for celiac disease was present in 24% (n=35). We found anaemia in 23%, low ferritin in 63% and a moderate to severe deficiency of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in 62%. celiac disease -specific serologic testing and esophagogastroduodenoscopy were performed in 99%. Histology revealed modified Marsh 2 or 3 enteropathy in 94%, the remaining had normal histology but positive human leukocyte antigen typing. Clinical improvement at 12 months of gluten-free diet was complete in 51% and partial in 49%. IgA tTG normalized after 12-30 months of gluten-free diet in 45%. On growth assessment at diagnosis and after 12-28 months of gluten-free diet, 100% had height increase (mean ±SD: 7.11±4.43 cm) and 96% weight gain (mean ±SD: 5.60±4.91 kg). CONCLUSION: Our findings outline the diverse clinical presentations of pediatric celiac disease that should be considered irrespective of age. Increased clinician’s awareness will enable an early diagnosis and treatment, with subsequent symptom and nutritional status improvement.

Direct Costs in Patients with Celiac Disease in the USA: A Retrospective Claims Analysis

BACKGROUND

Celiac disease (CeD) is an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten ingestion.

AIM

We assessed total direct costs burden associated with CeD in patients with CeD versus patients without CeD using administrative claims data.

METHODS

Patients with CeD (cases) with ≥1 occurrences of CeD diagnosis were selected at a randomly chosen date (index date) from the OptumHealth Reporting and Insights database from 01/01/1998 through 03/31/2013. Cases were continuously enrolled throughout baseline (1 year before index date) and study (1 year after index date) periods. Cases were categorized as full remission and partial remission and matched 1:1 based on age, sex, region, index date, company, and employment status. Total all-cause and CeD-related costs were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 12,187 cases were matched with an equal number of controls. Mean total all-cause costs were $12,217 in cases versus $4935 in controls (P < 0.0001). In full remission (N = 10,181 [83.5 %]) and partial remission (N = 2006 [16.5 %]) cases, mean total all-cause direct costs (cases versus controls) were $11,038 versus $4962 and $18,206 versus $4796, respectively. All-cause medical costs ($9839 for all cases, $8723 for full remission cases, $15,499 for partial remission cases) accounted for the majority of all-cause total costs and included outpatient costs ($6675; $6456; and $7785, respectively) and hospitalizations ($2776; $1963; and $6906, respectively). CeD-related medical costs were 13 and 27 % of all-cause medical costs for all cases and partial remission cases, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with CeD and partial remission of CeD incurred significantly higher (2.5 and 3.8 times) total all-cause costs compared with matched controls.

Nationwide population-based cohort study of celiac disease and risk of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and joint hypermobility syndrome

BACKGROUND

Patients with celiac disease (CD) often have articular complaints, and small prior studies suggest an association with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS)/joint hypermobility syndrome (JHS).

AIMS

This study examines the risks of EDS/JHS in patients with CD.

METHODS

This cohort study compared all individuals in Sweden diagnosed with CD based on small intestinal biopsy between 1969-2008 (n=28,631) to 139,832 matched reference individuals, and to a second reference group undergoing biopsy without having CD (n=16,104). Rates of EDS/JHS were determined based on diagnostic codes in the Swedish Patient Register. Hazard ratios (HRs) for EDS/JHS were estimated through Cox regression.

RESULTS

There are 45 and 148 cases of EDS/JHS in patients with CD and reference individuals, respectively. This corresponds to a 49% increased risk of EDS/JHS in CD (95%CI=1.07-2.07). The HR for EDS was 2.43 (95%CI=1.20-4.91) and for JHS 1.34 (95%CI=0.93-1.95). Compared to reference individuals undergoing intestinal biopsy, CD was not a risk factor for EDS/JHS. A stronger association was seen in patients initially diagnosed with EDS/JHS and subsequently diagnosed with CD (odds ratio=2.29; 95%CI=1.21-4.34).

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals with CD have higher risk of EDS/JHS than the general population, which may be due to surveillance bias or factors intrinsic to celiac development.

Entheseal involvement in systemic disorders

The objective of this study is to review the data on entheseal involvement in systemic disorders. A Pubmed search utilizing the indexing terms "enthesis" and "enthesitis" was conducted and the data pertinent to the aim of the review was extracted and organized in accordance with the preplanned structure of the manuscript. A number of cadaver-based studies, as well as studies using ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging, have detailed new distinct aspects of enthesis physiology and pathology in a variety of rheumatic and non-rheumatic systemic disorders. Major progress has been done in characterization of separate components of the enthesis organ, imaging of entheses, elaboration of the role and features of entheseal disease in spondyloarthropathies, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, osteoarthritis, familial Mediterranean fever, hyperuricemia, and other systemic conditions. The knowledge acquired and summarized herein shows that entheses can be affected in various ways in variety of medical disorders with different pathogenesis. Better understanding of the risk factors, mechanisms and natural history of enthesopathies is warranted. The current progress in the understanding of entheseal involvement in systemic disorders represents just the first step in resolving the entheses-related enigmas.

Rheumatoid arthritis-celiac disease relationship: joints get that gut feeling

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and celiac disease (CD) belong to the autoimmune disease family. Despite being separate entities they share multiple aspects. Epidemiologically they share comparable incidence environmental influences, associated antibodies and a recent incidental surge. They differ in their HLA pre-dispositions and specific predictive and diagnostic biomarkers. At the clinical level, celiac disease exhibits extra-intestinal rheumatic manifestations and RA gastrointestinal ones. Small bowel pathology exists in rheumatic patients. A trend towards responsiveness to a gluten free diet has been observed, ameliorating celiac rheumatic manifestations, whereas dietary interventions for rheumatoid arthritis remain controversial. Pathophysiologically, both diseases are mediated by endogenous enzymes in the target organs. The infectious, dysbiotic and increased intestinal permeability theories, as drivers of the autoimmune cascade, apply to both diseases. Contrary to their specific HLA pre-disposition, the diseases share multiple non-HLA loci. Those genes are crucial for activation and regulation of adaptive and innate immunity. Recently, light was shed on the interaction between host genetics and microbiota composition in relation to CD and RA susceptibility, connecting bugs and us and autoimmunity. A better understanding of the above mentioned similarities in the gut-joint inter-relationship, may elucidate additional facets in the mosaic of autoimmunity, relating CD to RA.

Complete remission of plantar fasciitis with a gluten-free diet: relationship or just coincidence?

We report the case of a 46-year-old woman with no known history for gluten sensitivity who presented severe heel pain, and was successfully managed with a gluten-free diet. Previously she had been unsuccessfully treated with several conservative remedies. The presence of musculoskeletal problems in patients with gluten sensitivity is not rare. To the best of our knowledge, however, this is the first case report mentioning the successful management of plantar fasciitis with a gluten-free diet. The case report highlights the importance of considering gluten sensitivity among other possible differential diagnosis for musculoskeletal pain insensitive to traditional therapies.