Microbiome abundance of Prevotellaceae in spondyloarthritis patients with positive depression screening: A cross-sectional analysis.

Introduction: Patients with autoimmune/autoinflammatory diseases are at increased risk for major depressive disorder. In spondyloarthritis (SpA), the prevalence of mild depression is 40 % approximately. This study aimed to assess the differences in gut microbiome abundance profiles between control subjects and patients with SpA, as well as between patients with positive and negative depression screening.

Performance of classification criteria for spondyloarthritis: where do we stand in many Latin American countries? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) encompasses a group of chronic inflammatory diseases affecting the spine and peripheral joints. Although classification criteria for SpA have been tested globally, their validity and performance in Latin American (LA) populations remain debated.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, with the protocol registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023464861).

Impact of gastrointestinal and psychological symptoms on disease activity and functional impairment in patients with spondyloarthritis: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) exhibits predominantly musculoskeletal symptoms but also significant gastrointestinal (GI) and psychological manifestations. Subclinical gut inflammation is common in SpA, with frequent symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea. Psychological issues like depression and anxiety are also prevalent, with a negative impact on quality of life.

Performance of spondyloarthritis-specific health utilities based on the ASAS Health Index: an ancillary analysis from the ASAS-HI validation study.

Objectives: To compare the Spondyloarthritis (SpA)-specific universal utility estimation from ASAS Health Index (U-ASAS-HI) with generic utilities and to understand the contribution of health outcomes, personal- and country-level factors to the U-ASAS-HI.

Methods: This was an ancillary analysis of the ASAS-HI international validation study. SpA patients who completed the ASAS-HI, 5-level EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D-5L) and Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaires were selected, and utilities calculated.

Allelic and haplotypic HLA analysis in patients with psoriatic arthritis: Low frequency of common alleles.

Introduction: Psoriatic arthritis is a complex disease, and human leukocyte antigens (HLA) are key to its development. Latin America and, specifically, Colombia, has scarce data about patients with psoriatic arthritis.

Objective: To describe the genotypic, allelic and haplotypic frequency of HLA alleles in psoriatic arthritis and associate them with clinical variables.

[HLA alleles heterogeneity in a sample of colombian patients with a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis].

Objective: The objective is to describe the HLA allelic frequency in PsA and correlate it with demographic and clinical variables.

Methods: Retrospective study of adult patients with a diagnosis of PsA (n=23) and healthy controls (n=46), all with a request for HLA-A, B, C, DR. Typing was performed using HLA-PCR/SSO LifeCodes and analyzed on the LUMINEX IS100/200 xMAP system.

[HLA genotypes associated with gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with spondyloarthritis without inflammatory bowel disease].

Objective: This study aimed to establish the association between HLA-A, B, DR genotypes and gastrointestinal variables in patients with SpA without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: Retrospective study of 91 patients with SpA and 401 healthy controls, with typing by Illumina Sequencing/PacBio and LIFECODES HLA-PCR/SSO multiplex sequencing technology. The presence of gastrointestinal symptoms was evaluated by administering a survey, and those who presented 2 or more symptoms were taken for clinical evaluation by rheumatology and gastroenterology, colonoscopy and histopathological study.

Low Frequency of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Despite Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Corticosteroids in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease. It has been identified that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids can be essential risk factors for developing complications such as upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB).

Objective: This study aimed to describe the safety profile of drugs used to treat RA focused in UGIB.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus without systemic activity.

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is an uncommon subtype of peripheral neuropathy, especially in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report a case of SLE presenting with CIDP successfully treated. The patient presented with bilateral, progressive, ascending, sensory, and motor neuropathy.

Analysis of Ana/Dfs70 Pattern in a Large Cohort of Autoimmune/Autoinflammatory Diseases Compared with First Degree Relatives and Healthy Controls Evaluated from Colombia.

Background: The presence of Antinuclear antibodies/Dense Fine Speckled 70 (ANA/DFS70) has been proposed as a negative biomarker in the process of exclusion of systemic autoimmune/autoinflammatory rheumatic diseases (SARD). The purpose was to evaluate and characterize ANA/DFS70 patients in a large Colombian population with SARD; rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Psoriasis (PsO), Undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD), first-degree relatives of (FDR), and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: ANA determination was performed using indirect immunofluorescence.

Evaluation of the adipokine profile (adiponectin, resistin, adipsin, vaspin, and leptin) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and its correlation with disease activity.

Introduction: Adipokines may play a role in the early stages of rheumatoid arthritis. This study evaluated the performance of adipokines in a Colombian population with early rheumatoid arthritis and its relationship with disease activity.

Material And Methods: A cross-sectional study evaluated serum adipokine levels (adiponectin, resistin, adipsin, vaspin, and leptin) in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (eRA), evaluating demographic and clinical variables, along with a control group matched by age and gender.

Bolivian hemorrhagic fever: A narrative review.

Bolivian hemorrhagic fever (BHF) is a sporadic high-mortality febrile illness. Two etiological agents are currently recognized: Machupo virus and Chapare virus. Infection in humans occurs by exposure to excreta and secretions of wild native rodents in Bolivia.

Religious affiliation and the intention to choose psychiatry as a specialty among physicians in training from 11 Latin American countries.

The worldwide scarcity of psychiatrists makes the identification of the factors associated with the intention to choose this specialty an important issue. This study aims to evaluate the association between religious affiliation and the intention to choose psychiatry as a specialty among medical students from 11 Latin American countries. We conducted a cross-sectional, multi-country study that included first- and fifth-year students of 63 medical schools in 11 Latin-American countries between 2011 and 2012.

Epididymo-orchitis caused by Histoplasma capsulatumin a Colombian patient.

Although histoplasmosis is generally a self-limited disease, disseminated infection can occur in patients lacking effective cell-mediated immunity, reaching virtually every organ, even the genitourinary tract in rare cases. We report a case of epididymo-orchitis in an immunocompetent 38-year-old bricklayer from the rural area of Villeta, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The patient presented with testicular pain and macroscopic scrotal changes requiring a left orchiectomy, with microbiological isolation and molecular confirmation of Histoplasma capsulatum.

Bartonella quintana and Typhus Group Rickettsiae Exposure among Homeless Persons, Bogotá, Colombia.

In 2015, we investigated Bartonella quintana and typhus group rickettsiae in body lice from homeless persons in Bogotá, Colombia. We found B. quintana-infected body lice and seroprevalence of this microorganism in 19% of homeless persons and typhus group rickettsiae in 56%.

Occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens among healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study of a registry in Colombia.

Background: Occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens caused by percutaneous injuries or mucosal contamination is frequent among Healthcare Workers (HCW).

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of HCW with an occupational exposure to blood reported to professional risk insurance agencies between 2009 and 2014 was performed. Comparisons between groups according to exposure level (mild, moderate, and severe) were evaluated.

Does non-erosive rheumatoid arthritis exist? A cross-sectional analysis and a systematic literature review.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with non-erosive rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: First, a cross-sectional analytical study was performed. Non-erosive disease, defined as the absence of any erosion on X-rays after 5 years of RA, was evaluated in 500 patients.

Lupus mimickers.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by multisystem organ involvement, heterogeneity of clinical features, and variety in degree of severity. The differential diagnosis is a crucial aspect in SLE as many other autoimmune diseases portray clinical similarities and autoantibody positivity. Lupus mimickers refer to a group of conditions that exhibit both clinical features and laboratory characteristics, including autoantibody profiles that resemble those present in patients with SLE, and prompt a diagnostic challenge in everyday clinical practice.

Socioeconomic status. The relationship with health and autoimmune diseases.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a hierarchical social classification associated with different outcomes in health and disease. The most important factors influencing SES are income, educational level, occupational class, social class, and ancestry. These factors are closely related to each other as they present certain dependent interactions.