Diabetic cheiroarthropathy: a case report and review of the literature

Diabetic Cheiroarthropathy in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Coeliac Disease

Diabetes mellitus can be associated with a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. Diabetic cheiroarthropathy or diabetic hand syndrome is one of the complications encountered in long-standing uncontrolled diabetes. It is characterized by limited movement of the joints of the hands along with thickening of the skin on the palmar and dorsal surfaces. There is an association between diabetic cheiroarthropathy and microvascular complications of diabetes, most commonly diabetic retinopathy. Early diagnosis of cheiroarthropathy can give the clinician an opportunity to screen for microvascular complications. Cheiroarthropathy is usually a clinical diagnosis. Treatment involves achievement of good glycemic control along with physiotherapy and occupational therapy. We have described the case of a 16-year-old adolescent male with uncontrolled type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease who presented to us with diabetic cheiroarthropathy.

Palmar Fasciitis and Polyarthritis Syndrome Associated with Lung Adenocarcinoma

Palmar fasciitis and polyarthritis syndrome (PFPAS) is a rare paraneoplastic rheumatic disease with characteristic features. We herein report a 77-year-old man with lung adenocarcinoma and contralateral pulmonary metastasis receiving chemotherapy who presented with progressive symmetrical flexion contractures associated with palmar fascial thickening and arthritis of both hands and shoulders. He was diagnosed with PFPAS as paraneoplastic manifestations. Salazosulfapyridine was not effective, but 15 mg/day of oral prednisolone improved his symptoms. Physicians should consider PFPAS and rule out malignancy in patients with arthritis in the extremities and flexion contractures associated with palmar fascial thickening.

Manifestaciones dermatológicas de la diabetes: clasificación y diagnóstico

Se estima que en Colombia hay 2.836.500 adultos con diabetes, una enfermedad con una prevalencia del 8,4 %. La exposición a niveles elevados de glucosa afecta los procesos de proliferación y diferenciación en las células de todos los órganos y tejidos, así mismo en los queratinocitos, fibroblastos y demás células presentes en la piel, alteraciones que ocurren en más de un tercio de los diabéticos y que pueden ser la manifestación inicial de la enfermedad. La frecuencia y presentación de estas dermatosis varía según la población estudiada. La dermopatía diabética, la acantosis nigricans, los fibromas laxos, el prurito y la xerosis son las formas más comunes y se consideran marcadores cutáneos de la diabetes. La presente revisión se enfoca en las manifestaciones dermatológicas específicas y no específicas de la diabetes, así como en las relacionadas con su tratamiento. Estas pueden ser un reflejo del estado metabólico actual o previo del paciente diabético y su oportuna identificación permite orientar el diagnóstico primario, sospechar un estado rediabético u optimizar el tratamiento de la enfermedad en los individuos ya diagnosticados.

DPP-4 inhibitor (sitagliptin)-induced seronegative rheumatoid arthritis

Sitagliptin is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor commonly used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus for glycaemic control. Concerns have arisen regarding adverse events caused by this drug, particularly concerning arthralgias. Here, we report on a 56-year-old man being treated with sitagliptin who developed inflammatory arthritis after taking the drug for 6 months. The patient presented with pain, swelling and erythema in multiple joints and was eventually diagnosed with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) under the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria. His symptoms continued for several months after stopping sitagliptin and eventually went into remission after a tapered course of steroids, hydroxychloroquine and methotrexate. Furthermore, the patient is HLA-DRB3 positive, a genetic marker that is still being investigated for its role in the pathogenesis of RA and that may have been a predisposing factor in the development of this patient's inflammatory arthropathy.

An overlooked rheumatologic manifestation of diabetes: diabetic cheiroarthropathy

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study were to analyze the clinical characteristic of diabetic cheiroarthropathy (DCA) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM), type 2 DM, and prediabetes and to evaluate the frequency of DCA among groups.

METHOD

The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism outpatient clinic over a 14-month period. A total of 239 patients (160 female, 79 male), who had type 1 DM, type 2 DM, and prediabetes, were enrolled. The demographics, clinical variables, and laboratory outcomes were recorded. Diabetic cheiroarthropathy was defined according to physical examination. The functional disability of patients with DCA was assessed by the self-administered questionnaire (disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand-DASH).

RESULTS

Diabetic cheiroarthropathy was determined in 35.1% of all patients. The frequency of DCA was higher in patients with prediabetes (x² = 0.009, post hoc power = 0.794). According to the logistic regression analysis, prediabetes (OR = 4.52, 95% CI 2.16-9.47, p < 0.001), presence of polyneuropathy (OR = 3.82, 95% CI 1.61-9.07, p = 0.002), and fasting glucose level (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.01, p = 0.004) found as the most effective risk factors in determining DCA. DASH disability scores were significantly higher in prediabetic patients than that in type 2 DM group (p = 0.021).

CONCLUSION

High frequency of DCA and impaired hand function are observed in prediabetic patients. Musculoskeletal manifestations can emerge as an early sign of diabetic status. Also, people who suffer from hand involvement should be examined for diabetes along with rheumatologic diseases.

Less-known clinical signs in dermatology

This paper describes various less-known clinical signs observed either on clinical examination and investigations in the subject of dermatology.

[Skin disorders in diabetes mellitus]

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common diseases in the Western industrialized countries with about 300 million affected patients worldwide. The hyperglycemic state of diabetes mellitus leads to changes in practically every cell type and organ of the human body. Skin changes are considered the most common manifestations of diabetes mellitus. As skin changes can manifest before onset of diabetes mellitus they may have a diagnostic relevance. Other changes and diseases of the skin develop during the course of diabetes mellitus and may be associated with complications in internal organs or may occur as an adverse effect of antidiabetic therapy. In particular the presence of the diabetic foot syndrome is associated with significantly increased morbidity and mortality of diabetes patients as well as with markedly elevated direct and indirect costs for the health care system. In this article the most common skin diseases of patients with diabetes mellitus as well as their pathophysiology and current treatment are reviewed.