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R A Geddes

Publications and source records attributed to R A Geddes.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Clinical utility of the flow cytometric technique for shared rheumatoid epitope.

The shared rheumatoid epitope (SRE) on the MHC class II antigen-presenting molecule constitutes a probable genetic risk factor for the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and may also determine disease severity. We have used a novel flow cytometric technique to determine the SRE in over 500 predominantly Caucasian patients attending a general rheumatology clinic. This technique has been validated against a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/SSO molecular method. The SRE was observed in 90% of patients with Felty's syndrome (n = 10) and 75% of patients with RA (n = 178) as compared with 39% of patients with osteoarthritis or non-inflammatory rheumatic disorders (n = 73). Thus, the SRE determined by this method has a sensitivity for RA of 0.75, a specificity of 0.62 and an estimated positive predictive value of 0.02. In our RA cohort, there was no correlation between the functional outcome (health assessment questionnaire score) and SRE status. In conclusion, the determination of the SRE status by a flow cytometric method was found to have only modest sensitivity and specificity for RA; furthermore, the SRE did not correlate with functional outcomes. The clinical utility of the SRE assay is yet to be defined.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1992

Rheumatic manifestations of infective endocarditis.

Rheumatic manifestations are common and varied in infective endocarditis. We performed a retrospective case analysis on 87 patients with 93 episodes of infective endocarditis admitted to Flinders Medical Centre over an 11 year period (1980-1990). Disabling musculoskeletal symptoms and signs were documented in 22 (25%) of the patients. Thirteen patients developed severe or moderately severe low back pain during their illness, two with radiological evidence of a septic discitis or vertebral osteomyelitis. Two patients developed polyarthralgia/arthritis, four had septic arthritis (all with acute Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis), three developed severe loin pain, two acute gout, two had severe buttock pain and sacroiliac joint tenderness and two each developed disabling jaw/facial pain, neck/scapular pain and flank pain respectively. Five patients presented initially to the orthopaedic or rheumatological unit for management of their musculoskeletal symptoms. Four of seven patients with Streptococcus bovis endocarditis demonstrated prominent low back pain supporting a previously noted association between this organism and back symptoms. Furthermore, in one patient who had three separate episodes of endocarditis involving three different organisms, florid back symptoms were only seen in the infective episode involving Streptococcus bovis.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Does steroid pulsing influence the efficacy and toxicity of chrysotherapy? A double blind, placebo controlled study.

To test the hypothesis that early steroid pulsing augments the efficacy and decreases the toxicity of chrysotherapy 40 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were studied in a double blind, placebo controlled study. During the first three months of gold treatment group 1 received monthly intravenous methylprednisolone pulsing (steroid group) while group 2 received placebo (placebo group). All patients were assessed clinically and serologically over a 24 week period. Twelve patients were withdrawn before completion of the study and all but one of the remaining 28 patients reported clinical and serological improvements. Two patients in the steroid group were withdrawn owing to gold induced side effects while four were withdrawn in the placebo group. These small numbers were not significantly different. Minor side effects occurred more commonly in the placebo group. The clinical response was clearly better in the steroid group with statistical significance almost being achieved. In an endeavour to obtain a significant conclusion further patients will now be entered into this study.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Adult onset Still's disease or coxsackie polyarthritis?

The clinical manifestations and laboratory findings of two patients with a presumptive diagnosis of coxsackie B4 virus infection are described. A striking feature was the similarity with adult onset Still's disease, with spiking fever, evanescent macular rash, and severe polyarthritis. This latter feature persisted for many weeks and required steroids to control the symptoms. Review of the literature has supported the proposition that many cases of adult onset Still's disease may be due to coxsackie B4 or other viral infection and it is suggested that these agents should be actively sought in future cases.

Adult↗