Colchicine is an anti-inflammatory agent used in the treatment of several rheumatological conditions. The use of colchicine in pregnancy is controversial. The current study aimed to systematically review and meta-analyse the existing data in the literature regarding the safety of colchicine in pregnancy.

Several chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with cardiovascular disease, but the risk in ANCA-associated vasculitis is poorly quantified. The aim of the present study was to review the evidence for an increased cardiovascular risk, including ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular accidents and peripheral arterial disease, in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Skin involvement in SSc is an important marker of disease activity, severity and prognosis, making the assessment of skin a key issue in SSc clinical research. We reviewed the published data assessing skin involvement in clinical trials and summarized the major conclusions important in SSc clinical research. A systematic literature review identified randomized controlled trials using skin outcomes in SSc. Analysis examined the validity of the different skin measures based on literature findings. Twenty-two randomized controlled trials were found. The average study duration was 10.2 (s.d. 4.5) months, mean (s.d.) sample size 32.4 (32.6) and 26.7 (27.8) in intervention and control arms, respectively. The 17-site modified Rodnan skin score is a fully validated primary outcome measure in diffuse cutaneous SSc. Skin histology seems to be an appropriate method for evaluation of skin thickness. These findings have important implications for clinical trial design targeting skin involvement in SSc.

SSc is clinically and pathogenetically heterogeneous. Consensus standards for trial design and outcome measures are needed. International experts experienced in SSc clinical trial design and a researcher experienced in systematic literature review screened the PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in order to develop points to consider when planning a clinical trial for muscle involvement in SSc. The experts conclude that SSc-associated muscle involvement is heterogeneous and lacks a universally accepted gold-standard for measuring therapeutic response. Although outcome studies are currently limited by the inability to clearly distinguish active, reversible muscle inflammation from irreversible muscle damage and extramuscular organ involvement, strong consideration should be given to enrolling patients with a myopathy that features several elements of likely reversibility such as muscle weakness, biopsy-proven active inflammation, an MRI indicating muscle inflammation and a baseline serum creatinine kinase above three times the upper limit of normal to prevent floor effect. Randomized controlled trials are preferred, with a duration of at least 24 weeks. Outcome measures should include a combination of elements that are likely to be reversible, such as muscle weakness, biopsy-proven active inflammation, creatinine kinase/aldolase and a quality of life questionnaire. The individual measurements might require a short pre-study for further validation. A biological sample repository is recommended.

The aim was to review the worldwide incidence and prevalence of SLE and variation with age, sex, ethnicity and time.

To determine whether prospective testing for HLA-B*58:01, as a strategy to prevent serious adverse reactions to allopurinol in patients with gout, is cost-effective from the perspective of the National Health Service in the UK.

To systematically review the role of musculoskeletal US in patients suffering from PsA or psoriasis (Pso) in terms of prevalence, diagnosis, prognosis, monitoring and treatment.

To examine whether the RA MRI score (RAMRIS) for RA of the wrist/hand meets the OMERACT filter criteria-truth (validity), discrimination and feasibility.

To determine if urate-lowering treatment (ULT) in gout can reduce cardiovascular (CV) outcomes.

DISH is a condition characterized by flowing ossifications of the spine with or without ossifications of entheses elsewhere in the body. Studies on the prevalence and pathogenesis of DISH use a variety of partly overlapping combinations of classification criteria, making meaningful comparisons across the literature difficult. The aim of this study was to systematically summarize the available criteria to support the development of a more uniform set of diagnostic/classification criteria.

To evaluate diagnostic test accuracy of US compared with MRI for the detection of synovitis in RA patients.

The effectiveness of biologic therapies now means that remission or low disease activity are realistic targets for treatment. However, after achieving remission/low disease activity, the next steps remain unclear. The aim of this publication was to conduct a broad systematic literature review to evaluate dosing down of biologics. After screening papers and abstracts for relevance and application of inclusion/exclusion criteria, a structured extraction process was used to collect information on the included studies. Fifty-two papers were included in the analysis across rheumatic disease. In patients who discontinue therapy, remission is not typically sustained, with reported rates of relapse and flare across early RA (48-54%), established RA (2-84%), axial spondyloarthritis (11-53%) and PsA (44.9%). In many cases, an acceptable disease activity can be regained upon retreatment. More research is needed to understand the long-term impacts of these strategies on efficacy, safety and cost.

To identify whether sleep disturbances are more prevalent in primary SS (pSS) patients compared with the general population and to recognize which specific sleep symptoms are particularly problematic in this population.

To determine possible differences in serious adverse effects among the 10 currently approved biological and targeted synthetic DMARDs (b/ts-DMARDs) for RA.

To recommend robust and relevant measures of exercise adherence for application in the musculoskeletal field.

Cardiopulmonary manifestations have an important impact on the life expectancy of SSc patients. Functional and morphological macrovascular changes may appear early before the development of ischaemic symptoms. Several non-invasive methods are used in cardiovascular risk assessment. Heterogeneous data are available regarding these in SSc. We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to characterize the importance of atherosclerosis in SSc.

The aim was to assess the immunogenicity and the impact on disease activity of pneumococcal and influenza vaccines in SLE patients.

The aim was to evaluate whether anti-TNF discontinuation and tapering strategies are efficacious for maintaining remission or low disease activity (LDA) in patients with axial spondyloarthritis.

To evaluate, firstly, all published data on baseline and annual progression rates of radiographic damage from all longitudinal observational cohorts, and secondly, the association of standard clinical and laboratory parameters with long-term radiographic joint damage.

To review studies that address prediction of response to biologic treatment in RA and to explore the clinical utility of the studied (bio)markers.