NAIL ABNORMALITIES IN RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

Many nail abnormalities have traditionally been described in associati on with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but their specificity has never bee n assessed in a controlled study. Our purpose was to evaluate the freq uency and the specificity of nail changes associated with RA in a case -controlled study including 50 patients suffering from RA and 50 contr ols. For each patient, a general skin examination was performed and th e 20 nails were examined. The flail features were noted and classified , A chi(2) test or a Fisher test was used to compare the two groups. T he only nail abnormalities significantly associated with RA were longi tudinal ridging on nine or 10 finger nails (29 patients in the RA grou p vs. three in the controls, chi(2): P < 0.001) and clubbing an at lea st one nail (24 patients vs, 10, chi(2): P < 0.01). Other nail changes were noticed but were not frequent enough to be significant. The pres ence of longitudinal ridging on the finger Hails was significantly ass ociated with RA.