Close Menu

Books in a Library

Importance of Smoking in Pulmonary Involvement of Rheumatoid Arthritis

DOI: 
10.7727/wimj.2015.568

ABSTRACT

Objectives:  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of smoking on disease activity and pulmonary involvement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).  

Methods: Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed in patients who were diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis with pulmonary involvement. Rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rates were recorded to evaluate disease activity. BAL findings were compared between smoker and non-smoker patients with RA and age-matched healthy controls.

Results: A total of 34 patients were included in the study. The age of onset for RA found to be lower (45.35±8.44 vs 50.82±13.02, p=0.005) and duration of disease found to be shorter (6.67±5.67 vs 11.26±9.09, p=0.005) in the smoker group. There was a significant correlation between smoking history and positivity of RF and anti-CCP. Alveolar macrophages in the BAL fluid was higher in patients with RA, whereas neutrophil count was higher in healthy controls. No significant difference was found between smoker and non-smoker patients in terms of BAL fluid findings.

Conclusion: Smoking might be associated with markers of disease activity, younger age of onset and pulmonary involvement within shorter disease duration in rheumatoid arthritis.

Accepted: 
08 Feb, 2016
PDF Attachment: 
e-Published: 31 Mar, 2016

Disclaimer

Manuscripts that are Published Ahead of Print have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by the Editorial Board of the West Indian Medical Journal. They may appear in their original format and may not be copy edited or formatted in the style guide of this Journal. While accepted manuscripts are not yet assigned a volume, issue or page numbers, they can be cited using the DOI and date of e-publication. See our Instructions for Authors on how to properly cite manuscripts at this stage. The contents of the manuscript may change before it is published in its final form. Manuscripts in this section will be removed once they have been issued to a volume and issue, but will still retain the DOI and date of e-publication.

Top of Page