title: Extra-articular features in early rheumatoid disease.
abstract: One hundred and two patients who presented with rheumatoid disease within the first year of onset were studied prospectively every four months for a mean 4.5 years to assess the incidence of extra-articular features. The features that seemed to be common in the early stages included hand-muscle wasting, carpal tunnel syndrome, lymphadenopathy, non-specific ankle swelling, and rheumatoid nodules, and to a lesser extent hepatomegaly, being underweight, conjunctivitis, skin transparency, and a palpable thyroid gland. Those features which seldom occurred early included scleromalacia, temporal artery inolvement, salivary gland enlargement, distal-motor neuropathy, splenomegaly, digital vasculitis, and pulmonary and cardiac complications. Being underweight indicated a significantly more severe outcome.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006529:Hepatomegaly / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008199:Lymphadenitis / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000150:complications; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000150:complications; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012216:Rheumatic Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D012218:Rheumatoid Nodule / Q000150:complications