Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18787830›Full record

ArticleRheumatology international2009

Effects of leflunomide and methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis detected by digital X-ray radiogrammetry and computer-aided joint space analysis.

Alexander Pfeil, Julia Lippold, Thorsten Eidner, Gabriele Lehmann, Peter Oelzner, Diane M Renz, Andreas Hansch, Gunter Wolf, Gert Hein, Werner A Kaiser and 1 more

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Rheumatology international, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis: a new perspective on risk factors and clinical prediction models.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Skeletal complications of rheumatoid arthritis.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2017
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Alexander PfeilInstitute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Erlanger Allee 101, 07747, Jena, Germany.
Julia Lippold
Thorsten Eidner
Gabriele Lehmann
Peter Oelzner
Diane M Renz
Andreas Hansch
Gunter Wolf
Gert Hein
Werner A Kaiser
Joachim Böttcher
Friedrich Schiller University Jena · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of long-term leflunomide and methotrexate (MTX) therapy during the course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) estimated by digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR) and computer-aided joint space analysis (CAJSA) as diagnostic tools for the quantification of disease-related periarticular osteoporosis and joint space narrowing. Fourty matchable patients with verified RA were treated with leflunomide or MTX during an observation period of 2.5 years. All patients underwent complete computerized calculations of bone mineral density (BMD) and metacarpal index (MCI) by DXR as well as semi-automated measurements of joint space widths (JSW) at the metacarpophalangeal articulations (MCP, thumb to small finger) and proximal interphalangeal joints (PIP, index finger to small finger) using digitized hand radiographs. DXR-BMD revealed an increase of 0.4% (leflunomide-group) versus a reduction of -9.1% (MTX-group). Regarding DXR-MCI, a reduction of -1.1% (leflunomide-group) and -5.3% (MTX-group) was observed. The CAJSA parameters showed a decline of -2.7% (JSW-MCP) versus -2.1% (JSW-PIP) in patients treated with leflunomide. An accentuated joint space narrowing was revealed (JSW-MCP: -5.7%; JSW-PIP: -6.2%) in the MTX group. Digital X-ray radiogrammetry and CAJSA could discriminate the influence of different therapeutic regimes on periarticular osteoporosis and joint space narrowing showing a less accentuated radiographic progression in patients treated with leflunomide.

Indexed as

Image Interpretation, Computer-AssistedAdultAgedAntirheumatic AgentsArthritis, RheumatoidBone DensityFemaleFinger JointHumansIsoxazolesLeflunomideLongitudinal StudiesMaleMetacarpophalangeal JointMethotrexateMiddle AgedAntirheumatic AgentsIsoxazolesLeflunomideMethotrexate

Identifiers

PMID18787830
OpenAlexW2127611608

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.