Rheumatoid arthritis patients are susceptible to interstitial lung disease, and joint manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis usually precede lung involvements by several years. Organizing pneumonia, as the first manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis, is extremely rare, and its clinical features remain currently unknown. We present a case and a literature review of patients who were pathological...

INTRODUCTION Epstein-Barr virus exposure appears to be an environmental trigger for rheumatoid arthritis that interacts with other risk factors. Relationships among anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, the shared epitope, and smoking status have been observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis from different populations. OBJECTIVE To perform an association analysis of anti-Epstein...

BACKGROUND Several anticitrullinated protein/peptide antibodies (ACPA) assays have been reported to be of diagnostic value for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We evaluated the technical performance and diagnostic accuracy of 6 ELISAs for the detection of antibodies to citrullinated protein/peptide antigens. METHODS ACPA were determined in 298 serum samples using 6 commercially available ACPA assay...

Volume 83, Number 10 www.aafp.org/afp American Family Physician 1203 A 61-year-old woman presented with a history of chronic pain and stiffness in multiple joints. She had morning stiffness in her hands, hips, and knees that gradually improved with activity. She did not report any foot pain or stiffness, fever, or rash. On examination she had swelling around the distal interphalangeal joints in...