THU0423 CCL18 – a potential biomarker of fibro-inflammatory activity in chronic periaortitis (original) (raw)

2013, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

Background: Both MRI and ultrasonography (US) detect subclinical disease activity in most remission and low disease activity patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (1, 2). Fluorescence optical imaging (FOI) has been shown to be not only a sensitive detector of synovitis (3), but also a useful tool in assessing treatment response in patients with RA and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) (4). Objectives: This is the first data on FOI in RA and PsA patients in clinical remission. The objective was to evaluate FOI as a method to detect subclinical disease activity in these patients. Methods: Admission criteria of this prospective study was patient or physician global assessment of disease activity of 10% or less on a visual analogue scale (VAS 0-10), thus resulting in the inclusion of 113 consecutive patients into the inception cohort. Admitted patients received a clinical examination by an independent investigator, and blood samples were taken for measurement of systemic inflammation (ESR, CRP). With these data, patients in DAS28 remission (DAS28 <2.6), SDAI remission (SDAI ≤3.3), CDAI remission (CDAI ≤2.8) and 2011 ACR/EULAR remission (Boolean based definition) were determined. Inflammatory activity in FOI was assessed by an experienced reader using the semiquantitative fluorescent optical imaging activity score (FOIAS) (3), which comprises of the measurement of joint-related fluorescent signal in an automatically generated composite image (Prima Vista Mode, PVM) and in three predefined phases of FOI (P1, P2, P3). Results: 78-87% of patients in remission showed remaining inflammatory activity in the PVM (table).