RESEARCH - Alterations to the lumbar spine in RA

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Orthopade. 2007 Aug;36(8):735-8.

[Alterations to the lumbar spine in rheumatoid arthritis][Article in German]

Rehart S, Pfister A, Kerschbaumer F.

Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Markus-Krankenhaus,

Akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus, Wihelm-Epstein-Str. 2, 60431 furt.

In rheumatoid arthritis the anatomical structures of the lumbar spine

are affected by the same mechanisms of destruction as are known from

other skeletal regions. Although spinal symptoms do not become

apparent until the later stages of rheumatoid arthritis, patients do

sometimes complain of typical symptoms. We present data recorded in 19

patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis who underwent hospital

treatment directed exclusively at isolated low-back pain. The patients

were questioned in some detail with the aid of instruments including

the Oswestry, TypE, HAQ and RADAI questionnaires and a

visual-analogue-pain scale. Roentgen exposures were also evaluated. A

comparison was drawn between patients treated surgically with

decompression and various spondylodeses (n=13) and those who received

conservative treatment (n=6). Better results were obtained in the

group of patients treated surgically, though a statistical evaluation

was not possible. No histological evidence of rheumatoid alterations

was found in the intervertebral disc tissue samples available.

PMID: 17657475

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17657475

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Not an MD