송정식 교수

To investigate whether the use of IL-6 receptor antagonist (tocilizumab) might be associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivationin rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, particularly in those with resolved HBV infection [HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) negativeand antibody to HBV core antigen (anti-HBc) positive, serologically]. HBsAg, anti-HBc, antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs), andHBV DNA titers were measured in RA patients who had continuously received tocilizumab for more than 3 months. Patients w

Purpose: Delta neutrophil index (DNI) represents the immature granulocytes count associated with neutrophil-consumption. We investigated whether DNI might be associated with Birmingham vasculitis activity score (BVAS) at diagnosis and could predictrelapse during the follow-up in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 97 patients having DNI results. Twenty patients had granulomatosiswith polyangiitis

Although bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) has been associated with a variety of underlying disorders, the majority of cases of BOOP are idiopathic. We present the case of a 61-year-old patient with fever, dry cough, bilateral patchy consolidation and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Open lung biopsy shows coexistence of BOOP and bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. It is interesting that both diseases are predominantly air space diseases and present similar radiologic features m

Purpose: The present study investigated chest computed tomography (CT) patterns and lung histological features, as well as theconsistency between radiological and histological features among patients with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), granulomatosiswith polyangiitis (GPA), and eosinophilic GPA (EGPA). Materials and Methods: The medical records of 74 antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV) patients withradiological lung parenchymal lesions were reviewed along with the hi

Purpose: The controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score was developed to detect undernutrition in patients. Here, we investigatedwhether the CONUT score estimated at diagnosis could help predict poor outcomes [all-cause mortality, relapse, and endstagerenal disease (ESRD)] of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed and collated data, including baseline characteristics, clinical manifestations(to calculate AAV-sp

Purpose: We investigated whether red blood cell distribution width (RDW) predicts vasculitis activity based on Birmingham vasculitisactivity score (BVAS) or BVAS for granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) at diagnosis and poor prognosis during follow-up in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). Materials and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 150 patients with AAV. We defined severe GPA as BVAS for GPA ≥7 (the highest quartile). Correlation

Purpose: There has been no extensive study to compare the efficacy between rituximab originator (Mabthera®) and its biosimilar(Truxima®) for microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Here, we investigated the clinical effectsof rituximab on poor outcomes of MPA and GPA in Korean patients, and compared those between Mabthera® and Truxima®. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of a total of 139 patients, including 97 MPA patients a

Purpose: We investigated whether antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) positivity is associated with vascular manifestationsat diagnosis of Behçet’s disease (BD) and poor outcomes during follow-up. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1060 patients with BD. Among them, 808 patientscould be diagnosed with BD based on the revised version of the International Criteria for Behçet’s Disease (ICBD) in 2014 (2014ICBD criteria) and 588 patients could be diagnose

Background: To evaluate the therapeutic benefits of the treat-to-target (T2T) strategy for Asian patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Korea. Methods: In a 1-year, multicenter, open-label strategy trial, 346 patients with early RA were recruited from 20 institutions across Korea and stratified into 2 groups, depending on whether they were recruited by rheumatologists who have adopted the T2T strategy (T2T group) or by rheumatologists who provided usual care (non-T2T group). Data regar

Purpose: To compare the clinical characteristics and renal outcomes between patients who initially had lupus nephritis (LN) atthe onset of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (initial-onset LN) and those who developed LN within 5 years after SLE onset(early-onset LN). Materials and Methods: SLE patients with biopsy-proven LN were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical parameters and renaloutcomes were compared between initial-onset and early-onset LN groups. We used Cox regression analysis to est

Background/Aims: We investigated the concordance rate of the classification of polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) between the Bohan and Peter criteria and the 2017 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) (the 2017 EULAR/ACR criteria) in Korean patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 137 patients with PM and DM. We finally included 72 PM patients an

Purpose: We investigated whether serum clusterin levels could reflect the current antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV)-specific indices. Materials and Methods: Fifty-seven patients with AAV and 40 healthy controls were included in this study. AAV-specific indices included the Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey Physical and Mental Component Summaries (SF-36 PCS and MCS) scores, Birmingham vasculitis activity score (BVAS), five-factor score (FFS), and vasculitis dam

Purpose: International consensus criteria for antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) require persistently positive antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) and medium or high titers in association with clinical manifestations. However, the clinical relevance of persistenceand titers of aPL in patients with stroke has not been identified. We aimed to investigate the risk of subsequent thrombotic events in patients with ischemic stroke with aPL positivity in terms of aPL status. Materials and Methods: We review