The following is a summary of “Peripheral joint and enthesis involvement in patients with newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease: symptoms, clinical and ultrasound findings – a population-based cohort study,” published in the February 2024 issue of Gastroenterology by Vladimirova et al.
Due to the frequent occurrence and negative impact of musculoskeletal issues in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients, early recognition is crucial for personalized treatment strategies.
They included patients newly diagnosed with IBD and collected musculoskeletal symptom data via questionnaires and structured rheumatological interviews. Using ultrasound (US), peripheral joints and entheses were clinically evaluated employing standardized definitions.
The results included 110 patients with a mean age of 42 years, 40% male, 70 with UC, and 40 with Crohn’s disease (CD)), 49% reported a history of ≥1 musculoskeletal symptoms. Clinical examination detected peripheral musculoskeletal manifestations in 52.3% of patients; 27.1% had ≥1 tender and/or swollen joints, and 45.8% had ≥1 tender entheses. Small peripheral joints were primarily affected. The US revealed inflammation in ≥1 joint or enthesis in 49.5% of patients; 27.4% had US synovitis in ≥1 joint, while 34% had US enthesitis. Fibromyalgia classification criteria were met by 7.9% of patients. There were no differences in clinical or US findings between patients with UC and CD, nor between patients with active and inactive IBD.
Investigators concluded that newly diagnosed IBD patients displayed widespread joint and enthesis inflammation, underscoring the importance of collaborative care to tackle inflammation across different body systems.
Source: academic.oup.com/ecco-jcc/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjae022/7608621