Chronic osteomyelitis as a risk factor for development of rheumatoid arthritis: a nationwide, population-based, cohort study

Role of biomarkers in the diagnosis of bacterial infections in rheumatic diseases

In modern rheumatology, the problem of differential diagnosis of bacterial infection and active rheumatic process still retains its relevance. At the same time, it is very important to search for a biomarker - the gold standard for the diagnosis of an infection in patients with rheumatic diseases (RDs) in order to rapidly determine a treatment policy. This review analyzes the diagnostic significance and possibility of using some laboratory markers for bacterial infections in modern rheumatology. It emphasizes the importance of a multimarker approach that allows increasing the significance of individual parameters in the diagnosis of infections in RD.

Interleukin-1 Beta Gene Polymorphism rs16944 May Associate with Increased Susceptibility to Extremity Chronic Osteomyelitis in Chinese Han Population

Background

Previous studies had indicated that interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associate with different inflammatory diseases. However, potential links between these polymorphisms and susceptibility to extremity chronic osteomyelitis (COM) remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate relationships between IL-1β gene polymorphisms (rs16944, rs1143627, rs1143634, and rs2853550) and risks of developing extremity COM in Chinese Han population.

Methods

Altogether 233 extremity COM patients and 200 healthy controls were genotyped for the four tag SNPs of the IL-1β gene using the SNapShot genotyping method. Comparisons were performed regarding genotype distribution, mutant allele frequency, and four genetic models (dominant, recessive, homozygous, and heterozygous models) of the four SNPs between the two groups.

Results

Significant associations were identified between rs16944 polymorphism and the risk of developing COM by dominant model (P = 0.026, OR = 1.698, 95% CI 1.065-2.707) and heterozygous model (P = 0.030, OR = 1.733, 95% CI 1.055-2.847). Although no statistical differences were found of rs1143627 polymorphism between the two groups, there existed a trend that rs1143627 may be linked to an elevated risk of developing COM by outcomes of dominant (P = 0.061), homozygous (P = 0.080) and heterozygous (P = 0.095) models. However, no statistical correlations were found between rs1143634 and rs2853550 polymorphisms and susceptibility to COM in Chinese Han population.

Conclusions

To our knowledge, we reported for the first time that IL-1β gene rs16944 polymorphism may contribute to the increased susceptibility to extremity COM in Chinese Han population, with genotype of AG as a risk factor.

Serum TNF-α, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and IL-6 are more valuable biomarkers for assisted diagnosis of extremity chronic osteomyelitis

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the values of preoperative serum levels of white blood cell, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, IL-6, TNF-α and serum amyloid A for diagnosis of chronic osteomyelitis (COM) in Chinese patients. Methods: All 586 eligible patients were included for analysis. Results: Outcomes revealed that positive ratios of TNF-α, ESR and IL-6 lied in top three. Taken predicted probability and detection cost into consideration, combination of ESR, IL-6 and TNF-α might be the optimal model due to its high predicted probability for COM (91.02%) with an acceptable cost (CN¥161). Conclusion: Combination of preoperative serum TNF-α, ESR and IL-6 can help a reliable predication of COM.