AB0501 COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED SJÖGREN’S SYNDROME: 5-YEAR RESULTS OF A MULTIDISCIPLINARY SJÖGREN’S SYNDROME CLINIC

Background

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a systemic rheumatic disease that affects several organ systems, most frequently the ocular, oral and musculoskeletal domains. Multidisciplinary care is thus crucial in the optimal management of SS patients.

Objectives

To report the clinical impact of a Multidisciplinary SS Clinic (MSSC) over a 5-year period.

Methods

We prospectively included patients assessed in the MSSC from September 2015 to October 2020. All patients had a full clinical evaluation, including disease-related questionnaires, specialized oral/ocular assessment, salivary gland biopsy (SGB) and ultrasound (SGUS), tear and salivary flow and ocular staining scores. We compared the results of patient-reported outcomes, comprehensive clinical assessments and specialized complementary exams in patients with pSS and other diagnoses.

Results

445 patients (96% women, mean age 57±14 years) with sicca symptoms underwent complete multidisciplinary evaluation. Patients were most frequently referred from Rheumatology (91%), but also from Stomatology (5%), Ophthalmology (2%), Internal Medicine (1%) and other medical specialties (1%). Most patients were diagnosed with pSS (n=221; 50%), followed by non-Sjögren sicca syndrome (nSSS, n=134; 30%), secondary SS (sSS, n=60; 13%) and undifferentiated connective tissue disease (n=30; 7%). Positive sicca tests were present in 217/385 patients (56%): unstimulated whole salivary flow (UWSF) ≤0.1ml/min in 84/317 (27%); Schirmer’s test ≤5mm/5min in 163/354 (46%); van Bijsterveld score ≥4 in 42/349 (12%); Ocular Staining Score (OSS) ≥5 in 36/343 (11%). Subjective complaints assessed by the EULAR Sjögren’s Syndrome Patient Reported Index (ESSPRI), the EULAR Sicca Score (ESS), the Profile of Fatigue and Discomfort - Sicca Symptoms Inventory (PROFAD-SSI), the Xerostomia Inventory (XI), and the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) did not differ between patients with pSS and other diagnoses. However, objective dryness measures such as UWSF (31vs20%, p=0.028), Schirmer’s test (51vs40%, p=0.040) and OSS (14vs7%, p=0.048) were significantly associated with pSS. A positive SGB (focus score≥1) was seen in 48% of patients with a clinical diagnosis of pSS (p<0.001 vs. other diagnoses), with a mean focus score of 1.1±1.6. Instead, 94% of patients with nSSS had grade 0-1 biopsies. Mean SGUS scores (p=0.006) and the frequency of moderate/severe changes (p<0.001) were higher in pSS patients.

Conclusion

Multidisciplinary evaluation was crucial in the assessment of patients with similar sicca complaints and in the management of ocular/oral/systemic involvement. Objective measurements and specialized complementary exams greatly contribute to establishing or confirming the diagnosis of pSS.

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

Thriving Beyond Resilience Despite Stress: A Psychometric Evaluation of the Newly Developed Teacher Stress Scale and Teacher Thriving Scale

Building on theoretical and empirical insights and applying the thriving theory as the conceptual framework, the authors developed two new teacher-specific scales, namely the Teacher Stress Scale (TSS) and the Teacher Thriving Scale (TTS). The goal of this investigation was to evaluate the psychometric properties of these two scales. Data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to a national sample of 122 participating early childhood teachers (ages 22–72 years, M = 41.01) teaching in preschool through third grade in 26 states of the United States during the 2020–2021 school year amidst COVID-19. This study revealed some important psychometric results. First, with respect to their internal structures, both the TSS and the TTS appeared to be best represented as bifactorial and trifactorial, respectively. Specifically, the TSS comprised two constructs: (1) Inadequate School-based Support, and (2) Teaching-related Demands; and the TTS encompassed three constructs: (1) Adaptability and Flexibility, (2) Personal Strengths and Professional Growth, and (3) Positive Mindset. Second, the negative correlation between the TSS and the TTS provided discriminant evidence for each other’s construct validity, while the positive correlations between the TTS and six conceptually cognate constructs (Stress Resilience, Resilience Coping, Coping Efficacy, Teaching Satisfaction, Emotional Support, and Gratitude) demonstrated convergent evidence for construct validity for the TTS. Third, both the overall TSS and the overall TTS as well as their subscales exhibited good internal consistency reliability. Fourth, both the overall TSS and the overall TTS also demonstrated test–retest reliability.

Erectile dysfunction and HTLV-I infection: a silent problem

The human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is a retrovirus associated with a chronic myelopathy known as HTLV-I-Associated Myelopathy or Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The main objective was to assess the frequency of erectile dysfunction (ED) in HTLV-I-infected individuals from Salvador and other cities from Bahia, Brazil, as well as to verify if sexual dysfunction correlates with urinary symptoms and overall neurological impairment. From January 2001 to April 2004, 218 HTLV-I carriers (111 male and 107 female subjects) had complete clinical, neurological, and urological evaluation. They were assessed using standardized questionnaires to determine urinary complaints (Urinary Distress Inventory) and ED (Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory). Neurological impairment was established by Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) from 0 to 10. HAM/TSP was considered as EDSS> or =2. A total of 17 males had clinically defined HAM/TSP (group 1). From the 94 HTLV-I-infected males, 62 were selected (group 2) and paired by age with patients in group 1. A total of 79 individuals were selected for this study. The age ranged from 35 to 81 y (mean=47.9+/-9.65). The percentage of ED in the studied population was 40.5%. In the HAM/TSP group, ED frequency was 88.2%. The associations among sexual dissatisfaction, erectile dysfunction, urinary symptoms (frequency, nocturia, and urgency) and EDSS> or =2 were statistically significant. In HAM/TSP, there is a slow and progressive degeneration of the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord. HTLV-I-infected individuals present a high frequency of ED and it is closely associated to urinary symptoms and the overall neurological picture. The HTLV-I carriers already had prominent compromise of the sexual activity.

X-ray imaging and microspectroscopy of plants and fungi

X-ray fluorescence microscopy and microspectroscopy with micrometre spatial resolution and unprecedented capabilities for the study of biological and environmental samples are reported. These new capabilities are a result of both the combination of high-brilliance synchrotron radiation and high-performance X-ray microfocusing optics and the intrinsic advantages of X-rays for elemental mapping and chemical-state imaging. In this paper, these capabilities are illustrated by experimental results on hard X-ray phase-contrast imaging, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging and microspectroscopy of mycorrhizal plant roots and fungi in their natural hydrated state. The XRF microprobe is demonstrated by the simultaneous mapping of the elemental distributions of P, S, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn with a spatial resolution of approximately 1 x 3 micron and with an elemental sensitivity of approximately 500 p.p.b. Microspectroscopy with the same spatial resolution is demonstrated by recording near-edge X-ray absorption (XANES) spectra of Mn at a concentration of approximately 3 p.p.m.

Cesarean delivery in northeast region of Brazil, 1978-80

This study presents information on cesarean section rates for the last baby born to 1,746 women in Northeast Brazil between January 1978 and the date of a 1980 household survey. For hospital deliveries, the c-section rate is 19 per cent. Rates were highest in the major urban areas and lowest in rural areas. Within residence categories, the section rate was related directly to education, early prenatal care, and delivery in private hospitals.

Sterilization in the northeast of Brazil

Results of household surveys carried out in four states in the Northeast of Brazil showed that female sterilization is the most prevalent method among women who want no more children. Many women who indicated an interest in tubal ligation, however, had not been sterilized. Access to sterilization depends on the type of hospital in which the child was delivered and the type of delivery the woman had. Over 60% of the sterilized women reported that they had a tubal ligation at the time they were hospitalized for a cesarean delivery. Compared with unsterilized women, the sterilized women are characterized by relatively higher education levels and a greater likelihood of urban residence and were far more likely to have had cesarean deliveries and, therefore, to have qualified for postpartum sterilization on medical grounds.

Breastfeeding and use of the health care system in Bahia State, Brazil: three multivariate analyses

Three multivariate methods--deviation from total proportion breastfeeding, polynomial regression, and proportional hazards--are used on current status breastfeeding data to explain an inverse relationship between use of the health care system and breastfeeding in Bahia State, Brazil. Among the intervening variables analyzed--urban/rural residence, educational attainment, age of woman, and place of last live birth--education and place of last live birth are found to have a net effect on breastfeeding by all three methods of analysis. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are described.