title: Hand flexor tenosynovitis in rheumatoid arthritis. Prevalence, distribution, and associated rheumatic features.
abstract: Tenosynovitis of one or more flexor tendons of the hand (mean 3.1 tendons per patient) was noted in 55% of 100 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) examined periodically during a mean period of 5 years. The third flexor tendon was involved most frequently (71% of patients), followed by the second (62%), fourth (53%), fifth (27%), and first (13%). Patients with flexor tendonitis (FT) had a significantly higher prevalence of rheumatoid nodules (56% vs 33%), carpal tunnel syndrome (47% vs 13%), wrist extensor tenosynovitis (47% vs 9%), and elbow epicondylitis (22% vs 7%) than patients without FT. Dupuytren's contracture, DeQuervain's tenovaginitis, flexor carpi radialis and ulnaris tendonitis, and Achilles tendonitis were found exclusively in patients with FT. A control group of 50 non-RA patients with FT had statistically fewer diseased tendons per patient (mean 1.5) and a different digital distribution, the thumb being affected more frequently (P less than 0.05) than in RA patients.
mesh_terms: D000125:Achilles Tendon; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D004387:Dupuytren Contracture / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000453:epidemiology; D013717:Tenosynovitis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014953:Wrist