TOPLINE

Patients with mononeuritis multiplex associated with rheumatic diseases presented predominantly with acute, asymmetric lower extremity involvement, most commonly foot drop, and more than 80% achieved favorable neurologic outcomes with immunosuppressive therapy.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study across multiple rheumatology centers in Türkiye, to describe the clinical features, treatments, and outcomes in 72 adults with mononeuritis multiplex associated with rheumatic diseases (mean age, 53.5 years; 61.1% men).
• They evaluated comprehensive clinical records, relevant laboratory findings, and electrophysiological confirmation.
• The primary outcome was a favorable neurological response, defined as complete or partial clinical improvement in motor and/or sensory deficits at last follow-up.

TAKEAWAY

• ANCA-associated vasculitis accounted for 68% of patients. Foot drop was the most common clinical presentation, occurring in 69.4% of patients.
• Most patients (83.3%) received high-dose pulse glucocorticoids. Nearly all patients (97.2%) received induction immunosuppression, most commonly cyclophosphamide or rituximab.
• Over a median follow-up duration of 29 months, 81.9% of patients achieved favorable clinical neurologic outcome, while 18% experienced progression despite treatment.
• Electroneuromyography showed a typical axonal mononeuritis multiplex pattern in 91.7% of patients, and nerve biopsy was performed in a small number of selected cases.

IN PRACTICE

"[The] findings underscore the importance of early recognition, aggressive treatment, and multidisciplinary care, while highlighting the need for more precise prognostic markers to better stratify risk and guide management in this heterogeneous condition," the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Firdevs Ulutaş, Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine in Denizli, Türkiye. It was published online on August 1 in Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease.

LIMITATIONS

The retrospective design introduced a risk of missing data. The study lacked a formal sample size calculation, which may have limited statistical power. The outcome measures were not standardized.

DISCLOSURES

The study received no specific funding. The authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.