Swollen joints and peripheral arthritis are signs of malignancy in polymyalgia rheumatica

AbstractAim: To analyze the clinical course and prognosis in patients diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica(PMR) complicated by the presence of malignancies.Methods: We retrospectively screened the case files of 216 patients hospitalized in our department between 2011 and December 2016 for the results of a thorough physical examination and data on treatment for rheumaticdiseases. We identified 53 patients with PMR according to Bird’s criteria and 43 patients with 2012 European League Against Rheumatism(EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology( ACR) classification criteria for PMR, then analyzed the clinical and serologic manifestations of PMR in patients with (n = 6) and without (n = 47 in Bird’ criteria, n = 37 in 2012 EULAR/ ACRcriteria) malignancy.Result: No significant differences in age, gender, smoking, and serum markers were observed between PMR patients with and without malignancy, but there were statistically significant differences in tender joint counts and the presence of swollen joints and ...