A case of pachydermoperiostosis treated by oral administration of a bisphosphonate and arthroscopic synovectomy

Role of bisphosphonates in hypertrophic osteoarthropathy: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The role of bisphosphonates (BP) in hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HPOA) is unclear. We presented a case of primary HPOA and performed a systematic review of literature on the effect of BP on treatment response in primary and secondary HPOA.

METHODS

The study was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022343786). We performed a PubMed literature search that restricted to the English language. We included patients diagnosed with primary or secondary HPOA who received BP. The primary endpoint assessed was the effectiveness of BP on response to pain or arthritis. Secondary outcomes included timing, degree, and duration of response, comparison to other HPOA therapies, impact of BP on radiology, bone scan, bone turnover markers, and adverse effects of BP.

RESULTS

Literature search retrieved only case reports. Forty-five patients (21 primary, 24 secondary HPOA) had received BP. Majority(88.3%) experienced improvement in pain or arthritis. Response was gradual for primary HPOA and within a median of 3 to 7 days for secondary HPOA after treatment with BP. Most patients had reduced bone scan uptake after BP. When other HPOA therapies were tried, half responded to BP after not having previously responded to other therapies, while a third received the treatments concurrently, making it difficult to attribute treatment response to a drug. Reporting of other secondary outcomes was very heterogenous and qualitative to draw conclusions. No major adverse effects have been reported for BP in HPOA.

CONCLUSION

Bisphosphonates provide an effective and safe treatment option for primary and secondary HPOA. However, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials.

A case report of an extremely rare association of ankylosing spondylitis with pachydermoperiostosis

Key Clinical Message

We describe a case of a young man with features of pachydermoperiostosis and spondyloarthropathy. By describing this rarity, we aim to help build a database for future studies and construct a management plan that rheumatologists and clinicians can use.

Abstract

This is the first case report in Iraq describing the combination of pachydermoperiostosis and ankylosing spondylitis. We report this interesting association in a 23-year-old male who presented with inflammatory back pain, coarse facial features, clubbing, signs of enthesitis, limitation of spine movement, and clinical and radiographic signs of sacroiliitis.

Inflammatory variant of pachydermoperiostosis responding to methotrexate: a report of two cases

Pachydermoperiostosis is a rare genetic disorder characterized by skin thickening, digital clubbing and periostitis. The pathogenesis is incompletely understood and there are no proven treatments for its manifestations. Although arthritis has been reported in 20–40% cases, most are non-inflammatory in nature and usually treated symptomatically with steroids or NSAIDs. We report two cases of pachydermoperiostosis with inflammatory variant of arthritis and raised inflammatory markers who were treated with tapering dose of prednisolone for 6 weeks and maintained on long-term low dose methotrexate like rheumatoid arthritis and followed for 2 years. In both cases, methotrexate was well tolerated and helped in maintaining symptomatic improvement and slowed the disease progression with significant steroid and NSAID sparing effect. We concluded that there exists an inflammatory subtype of disease where methotrexate can be beneficial.

Pachydermoperiostosis (Touraine-Solente-Gole syndrome): a case report

Background

Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP) is a rare disorder characterized by clubbing of the fingers, thickening of the skin (pachyderma), and excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis). It typically appears during childhood or adolescence, often around the time of puberty, and progresses slowly. Clinical presentations of PDP can be confused with secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid acropachy, and acromegaly.

Case presentation

A Mongolian male, aged 19 years, resident of a hilly district of Nepal, with history of consanguinity, presented to our outpatient department with chief complaints of pain and swelling in both hands and feet for 6 years. The pain was insidious in onset, throbbing in nature, and not relieved by over-the-counter medications. The patient also complained of profuse sweating, progressive enlargement of hands and feet, and gradual coarsening of facial features. On examination there were marked skin folds in the forehead, face, and eyelids. Clubbing and swelling of bilateral knee joints and ankle joints was also evident. He was subsequently investigated extensively for acromegaly. Insulin-like growth factor-1 level and oral glucose tolerance test were normal. Radiography of various bones showed periosteal hypertrophy with subperiosteal bone formation.

Conclusions

PDP should be considered as a differential diagnosis when a patient presents with hypertrophic osteoarthropathy and acromegalic features.

Effectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs among patients with primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (PHO), also known as pachydermoperiostosis is a rare genetic disease which predominantly affects skin, bone and soft connective tissue. It is characterized by the triad of pachydermia, digital clubbing and periostosis of long bones. Arthralgia or arthritis is also present in most of the cases. Genetic studies have identified the impaired PGE2 metabolism as a culprit for hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in PHO cases. We conducted a systematic review to examine the effectiveness of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), a PGE2 synthesis blocker to reduce the symptoms among PHO patients.

METHODS

We searched the evidence in five databases; Cochrane Library, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PubMed. We reported the evidence using narrative synthesis.

RESULTS

Out of 238 identified studies, we selected 26 for the synthesis. All were case reports which included a total of 54 patients. Among them, 39 patients were treated with at least one type of NSAIDs. Around 70% of the patients treated with NSAIDs had clinical improvement for their symptoms, mostly arthritis or arthralgia symptoms.

CONCLUSION

NSAIDs were effective in improving arthralgia or arthritis symptoms in majority of the PHO patients. Therefore, we recommend the use of NSAIDs in PHO patients to treat arthralgia or arthritis.

Successful treatment of pachydermoperiostosis patients with etoricoxib, aescin, and arthroscopic synovectomy: Two case reports

RATIONALE

Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP) is a rare hereditary disorder that affects the skin and bones. PDP is characterized by periostosis, digital clubbing, and pachydermia. Previous studies demonstrated that increased prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels resulting from defective protein degradation pathways play a crucial role in PDP pathogenesis, and males were more commonly and severely affected than females. Moreover, nearly all PDP patients suffer from refractory arthralgia. Although several different treatment modalities are used for PDP, therapy for this disease remains challenging.

PATIENTS CONCERNS

Two cases of PDP showing symptoms consistent with polyarthritis and arthralgia that mainly affected the knees and ankles.

DIAGNOSES

The diagnostic criteria for PDP include digital clubbing, periostosis, and pachydermia. The 2 patients were diagnosed as PDP based on the finger clubbing, facial cutis furrowing, knee and ankle arthritis, and radiographic evidence of periosteal proliferation.

INTERVENTIONS

Patient 1 had massive joint effusion that was treated by oral administration of etoricoxib and aescin combined with arthroscopic synovectomy, whereas Patient 2 had mild joint swelling and accepted only oral medication.

OUTCOMES

Clinical symptoms of the 2 patients greatly improved after the treatment. During the 1-year follow-up, the patient experienced no adverse effects or recurrence.

LESSONS

The therapeutic results showed that oral etoricoxib could reduce inflammation and retard progression of pachydermia, or even relieve facial skin furrowing, but had limited efficacy for arthralgia. However, oral aescin had satisfactory efficacy for arthralgia. Thus, etoricoxib combined with aescin is a safe and effective treatment for PDP. Meanwhile, arthroscopic synovectomy can be used to treat joint effusion, but had no therapeutic effect on arthralgia. Therefore, postoperative oral medications would be needed as subsequent therapy for joint problems. In conclusion, this study proposes an effective and safe treatment plan to address symptoms experienced by PDP patients.

Clinical, Biochemical, and Genetic Features of 41 Han Chinese Families With Primary Hypertrophic Osteoarthropathy, and Their Therapeutic Response to Etoricoxib: Results From a Six-Month Prospective Clinical Intervention

Primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (PHO) is a rare inherited disease caused by genetic defects in the prostaglandin metabolism pathway; disturbed prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂ ) catabolism resulting in increased PGE₂ level is suggested in the pathogenesis. Forty-three Han Chinese patients with PHO were studied and 41 of them were treated. Mutations in the HPGD gene, causing hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, primary, autosomal recessive 1 (PHOAR1; OMIM 259100), were identified in seven patients, and mutations in the SLCO2A1 gene, causing hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, primary, autosomal recessive 2 (PHOAR2; OMIM 614441), were identified in 36 patients. Clinical phenotypes of PHO varied, ranging from mild isolated finger clubbing to severe pachydermia and disabling joint swelling, even within families. Circulating PGE₂ metabolism features of PHOAR2 were different from those of PHOAR1. Different frequency and severity of pachydermia between the subgroups were also indicated. A percentage of PHOAR2 patients suffered from gastrointestinal hemorrhage, but this symptom was not observed in the PHOAR1 subgroup. Clinical evidence highlighted the essential role of sex hormones in prostaglandin transporter regulation with respect to PHOAR2 onset, although no significant associations of urinary PGE₂ or PGE-M with sex hormones were identified. Treatment with etoricoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, was proved to be beneficial and safe. We detected its notable efficacy in decreasing urinary PGE₂ levels in the majority of the enrolled patients during 6 months of intervention; clinical phenotypes assessed, including pachydermia, finger clubbing, and joint swelling, were improved. We found no visible evidence of a positive effect of etoricoxib on periostosis; however, significant links between urinary PGE₂ and serum bone turnover markers indicated a potential role of decreased PGE₂ in periostosis management. This is the largest reported cohort of subjects genetically diagnosed with PHO. For the first time, we systematically investigated the biochemical and clinical differences between PHOAR1 and PHOAR2, and prospectively showed the positive efficacy and safety of etoricoxib for PHO patients. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Identification of the Mutations in the Prostaglandin Transporter Gene, SLCO2A1 and Clinical Characterization in Korean Patients with Pachydermoperiostosis

Pachydermoperiostosis (PDP), or primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, is a rare genetic disease affecting both skin and bones. Both autosomal dominant with incomplete penetrance and recessive inheritance of PDP have been previously confirmed. Recently, hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (HPGD) and solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 2A1 (SLCO2A1) were reported as pathogenic genes responsible for PDP. Both genes are involved in prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) degradation. We aimed to identify responsible genes for PDP and the clinical features in Korean patients with PDP. Six affected individuals and their available healthy family members from three unrelated Korean families with PDP were studied. All of the patients displayed complete phenotypes of PDP with finger clubbing, pachydermia, and periostosis. Mutation analysis revealed a novel heterozygous mutation in the SLCO2A1 gene at nucleotide 302 causing a substitution of the amino acid isoleucine to serine at codon 101 (p.IIe101Ser) in affected individuals. We also identified known SLCO2A1 mutations, one homozygous for c.940+1G>A, and another compound heterozygous for c.940+1G>A and c.1807C>T (p.Arg603*) from two PDP families. Genetic analyses of the PDP patients showed no abnormality in the HPGD gene. Our study further supports the role of mutations in the SLCO2A1 gene in the pathogenesis of PDP and could provide additional clues to the genotype-phenotype relations of PDP.

A complicated case of pachydermoperiostosis with spondyloarthritides: a case report

Introduction

Pachydermoperiostosis is a rare, hereditary disease commonly presenting with digital clubbing, pachydermia and periosteal hypertrophy. Therapeutic options for pachydermoperiostosis are few because of the unknown pathogenesis. Here, we report the complicated case of a patient with pachydermoperiostosis combined with spondyloarthritides, who was refractory to steroids and tumor necrosis factor alpha antagonists. We treated this patient with zoledronic acid and performed an arthroscopic synovectomy, with a satisfactory outcome. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in English on the combination of zoledronic acid administration and synovectomy for the treatment of a patient with pachydermoperiostosis and spondyloarthritides.

Case presentation

An 18-year-old Han Chinese man was diagnosed with pachydermoperiostosis in the presence of digital clubbing, periostitis and swollen limbs. Combined spondyloarthritides was also considered based on his lower back pain, lower limbs synovitis, bilateral sacroiliac sclerosis and a positive test for human leukocyte antigen B27, as well as immunoglobulin A nephropathy. He was refractory to steroids and tumor necrosis factor alpha antagonists, but treated with intravenous zoledronic acid and an arthroscopic synovectomy, with a satisfactory outcome.

Conclusion

This is a rare, complicated case of pachydermoperiostosis with spondyloarthritides. Combination therapy of zoledronic acid administration with synovectomy is a novel, convenient and effective option for patients with pachydermoperiostosis with remarkable synovitis.

Prostaglandin E2 and bone turnover markers in the evaluation of primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (pachydermoperiostosis): a case report

Primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, or pachydermoperiostosis (PDP), is an infrequent genetic condition characterized by digital clubbing, periostosis, and pachydermia and is distinct from a more common form, secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, which always associates with an underlying cause (frequently pulmonary or cardiac disease). The diagnosis of this disorder as well as its clinical evaluation can be difficult. We report a 15-year-old boy presenting with intermittent arthralgias and clubbing of fingers and toes for the previous 2 years. The ankles and knees were enlarged, and X-rays showed periosteal apposition. The search for a secondary cause was negative. The skin appearance was normal, but a skin biopsy was indicative of pachydermia, further confirming the diagnosis of PDP. Bone turnover markers were increased at diagnosis and progressively decreased during follow-up; prostaglandin E(2), a recently implicated mediator of this disorder, was markedly elevated. In the present case, carrying out a skin biopsy helped us to diagnose this condition. In addition, bone turnover markers were useful for monitoring the disease activity; whereas, increased prostaglandin E(2) levels seems to confirm the role of this mediator in the etiopathogenesis of this disorder.