New Osteoarthritis Recommendations and Classification Criteria for Sjögren’s Syndrome and Polymyalgia Rheumatica

“There have been lots of criteria out there for polymyalgia rheumatica, and many of those criteria have been dropped because they were not found to be essential or helpful,” Dr. Matteson says. “These criteria formally say that if you have rheumatoid serology, you are much less likely to have PMR. None of the other criteria out there for polymyalgia, diagnostic or otherwise, have addressed that. That is very important.”

Another key feature of the new criteria is the role of ultrasound. “The main finding here is that ultrasound differentiated it from most other conditions that affect the shoulders that can be confused with polymyalgia, except rheumatoid arthritis. Ultrasound was not helpful for differentiating polymyalgia from rheumatoid arthritis because they have very similar or identical findings on ultrasound,” he says.

Dr. Matteson notes that researchers are still “on the search for better disease markers. We understand that, just as for other classification criteria, these criteria need to be validated further. We view this as a very dynamic area.”

For More Information

Researchers who would like more information about the SICCA registry can find that at http://sicca.ucsf.edu/index.html. To apply for access to the data and biospecimens available from the SICCA registry, visit http://sicca.ucsf.edu/specimen-data-dissemination-index.html.

Kathy Holliman is a medical journalist based in New Jersey.

References

1. American College of Rheumatology Subcommittee on Osteoarthritis Guidelines. Recommendations for the medical management of osteoarthritis of the hip and knee: 2000 update. Arthritis Rheum. 2000;43:1905-1915.
2. Hochberg MC, Altman RD, April KT, et al. American College of Rheumatology 2012 recommendations for the use of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies in osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012;64:465-474.
3. Shiboski SC, Shiboski CH, Criswell LA, et al. American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for Sjögren’s syndrome: A data-driven, expert consensus approach in the Sjögren’s international collaborative clinical alliance cohort. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2012;64:475-487.
4. Dasgupta B, Cimmino MA, Kremers HM, et al. 2012 Provisional classification criteria for polymyalgia rheumatica: A European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology collaborative initiative. Arthritis Rheum. 2012;64:943-954.