Abstract:
BACKGROUND : Involvement of the cervical spine is common in patients with rheumatoid
arthritis and can lead to devastating or even fatal consequences. Currently no guidelines exist
as to whether radiographs of the cervical spine should be included in follow-up visits.
OBJECTIVES : To determine whether the Simple Erosion Narrowing Score (SENS) of the hands
correlate with the presence of cervical spine subluxation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
METHOD : This was a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study. A total of 56
rheumatoid arthritis patients with hand radiographs and lateral radiographs of the
cervical spine were evaluated. The SENS of the hands and the presence of cervical spine
subluxation were compared. The SENS of the hands was correlated with the prevalence of
cervical spine subluxation, as was the erosion and joint space narrowing scores of the
hands.
RESULTS : A correlation between the SENS of the hands and the prevalence of cervical spine
subluxation was confirmed. A higher prevalence of cervical spine subluxation correlated
with an increase in the SENS of the hands (p = 0.0002). The erosion and joint space
narrowing scores of the hands also correlated with the prevalence of cervical spine
subluxation (p = 0.0001).
CONCLUSION : This study confirmed that a correlation exists between cervical spine subluxation,
peripheral joint space erosions and joint space narrowing in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
and SENS may therefore be used as a predictor of cervical spine disease.
Description:
E.G. Primary researcher, wrote the manuscript; M.M.T.M.A.
conception and design of project, revisions and editing of
manuscript; P.W.A.M. statistical analysis and contribution to
writing of results, revisions and editing of manuscript; F.E.S.
assisted in conception and design, supervised the research,
assisted with writing of the manuscript, revisions and editing
of manuscript.
