Aseptic abscess (AA) syndrome is a rare type of inflammatory disorder involving polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs), often associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study sought to describe the clinical characteristics and evolution of this syndrome in a large cohort. We included all patients included in the French AA syndrome register from 1999 to 2020. All patients fulfilled the criteria outlined by André et al. in 2007. Seventy-one patients were included, 37 of which were men (52.1%), of a mean age of 34.5 ± 17 years. The abscesses were located in the spleen (71.8%), lymph nodes (50.7%), skin (29.5%), liver (28.1%), lung (22.5), and rarer locations (brain, genitals, kidneys, ENT, muscles, or breasts). Of all the patients, 59% presented with an associated disease, primarily IBD (42%). They were treated with colchicine (28.1%), corticosteroids (85.9%), immunosuppressants (61.9%), and biologics (32.3%). A relapse was observed in 62% of cases, mostly in the same organ. Upon multivariate analysis, factors associated with the risk of relapse were: prescription of colchicine (HR 0.52; 95% CI [0.28–0.97]; p = 0.042), associated IBD (HR 0.57; 95% CI [0.32–0.99]; p = 0.047), and hepatic or skin abscesses at diagnosis (HR 2.14; 95% CI [1.35–3.40]; p = 0.001 and HR 1.78; 95% CI [1.07–2.93]; p = 0.024, respectively). No deaths occurred related to this disease. This large retrospective cohort study with long follow up showed that AA syndrome is a relapsing systemic disease that can evolve on its own or be the precursor of an underlying disease, such as IBD. Of all the available treatments, colchicine appeared to be protective against relapse.

Lupus nephritis (LN) has been described as having worse survival and renal outcomes in African-descent patients than Caucasians. We aimed to provide long-term population-based data in an Afro-descendant cohort of LN with high income and easy and free access to specialized healthcare. Study design: We performed a retrospective population-based analysis using data from 2002–2015 of 1140 renal biopsies at the University Hospital of Martinique (French West Indies). All systemic lupus erythematosus patients with a diagnosis of LN followed for at least 12 months in Martinique or who died during this period were included. Results: A total of 89 patients were included, of whom 68 (76.4%) had proliferative (class III or IV), 17 (19.1%) had membranous (class V), and 4 (4.5%) had class I or II lupus nephritis according to the ISN/RPS classification. At a mean follow-up of 118.3 months, 51.7% of patients were still in remission. The rates of end-stage renal disease were 13.5%, 19.1%, and 21.3% at 10, 15, and 20 years of follow-up, respectively, and mortality rates were 4.5%, 5.6%, and 7.9% at 10, 15, and 20 years of follow-up, respectively. Conclusions: The good survival of our Afro-descendant LN patients, similar to that observed in Caucasians, shades the burden of ethnicity but rather emphasizes and reinforces the importance of optimizing all modifiable factors associated with poor outcome, especially socioeconomics.

(1) Background: The prevalence of Spondyloarthritis (SpA) varies significantly in different regions and ethnic groups due several factors such as heterogeneity in study populations, the diversity of classification criteria used in epidemiological studies, the prevalence variability of HLA-B27 or disparity in healthcare access. To our knowledge, there is no data on SpA in Martinique, a French region in the Caribbean with a predominantly Afro-descendant population and a high level of healthcare. (2) Methods: This was a retrospective study of all SpA patients treated at the Fort de France University Hospital between 1 January 1997 and 1 January 2008. (3) Results: In our cohort of 86 SpA patients, age at diagnosis was late (41 years old), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was the most frequent sub-type (60.5%), inflammatory bowel disease was the most frequent extra articular feature (23.3%) and no one had personal familial history of the disease. Inflammatory syndrome concerned 55.6% of patients, no one was positive for HIV and HLA-B27 positivity was low (42.2%). However, HLA-B27 was statistically associated with AS. Out of 64 patients, 41 had sacroiliitis. (4) Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive descriptive study of SpA subtypes in Martinique, a French region in the Caribbean. We report clinical and biological similarities in our SpA cohort with those of sub-Saharan Africa and with SpA subtypes reported in Afro-descendant populations.

Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs) control humoral and cellular immune responses and maintain the immune system balance. Functional polymorphisms of FcγRs, whose prevalence was dependent on ethnic origin, were found to be associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or kidney injuries in several ethnic groups. We aimed at investigating the association between the functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of FcγRIIa-H131R (rs1801274), FcγRIIb-I232T (rs1050501), FcγRIIIa-V158F (rs396991) and FcγRIIIb variants (NA1 and NA2) and lupus erythematosus systemic in an indigenous African Caribbean population. We compared the frequencies of the functional SNPs of FCGR2A (FcγRIIa-H131R, rs1801274), FCGR2B (FcγRIIb-I232T, rs1050501), FCGR3A (FcγRIIIa-V158F, rs396991) and FCGR3B variants (FcγRIIIb NA1 and NA2) between lupus and healthy controls in an indigenous African Caribbean population. We highlighted an association between the FCGR3B-NA1/NA1 and FCGR3A-158F alleles and systemic lupus erythematosus, in addition to an association between FCGR2A-131R and lupus nephritis. Furthermore, an increase in the 131R-158V haplotype in lupus nephritis (30.4%) vs. lupus non-nephritis (15.8%) was noticed. Surprisingly, in spite of the high frequency of the FCGR2B-232T allele in our population, our study did not highlight any association of this allele either with SLE or lupus nephritis (a severe and frequent form of SLE). CD72-Hap1, which has been shown to confer resistance to SLE against T232 allele, was not enhanced in the control group. Our results emphasize an association between FCGR2A-131R and lupus nephritis with a distinctive FCGR polymorphism distribution in an indigenous African Caribbean population, confirming the important variation in the FCGR locus depending on ethnic origin.

Higher risks of cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular events have been reported in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with the general population. However, data remain scarce in populations of African descent, and the Caribbean region is under-represented in this field. We aimed to assess the burden of hospitalized cardiovascular events (HCE) in Martinique, a French Caribbean overseas territory with a predominantly Afro-Caribbean population. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with RA from Martinique identified through the hospital discharge database. The 10-year cumulative incidence of HCE was estimated using the Fine and Gray competing-risk method, with a sensitivity analysis restricted to the classical 3-point major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) definition. Among 205 patients with RA, 50.5% had hypertension, 30.0% diabetes mellitus,39.4% had dyslipidemia and 59.5% were overweight or obese. Smoking exposure was uncommon. 10-year cumulative incidence of HCE was 8.3% (95% CI 4.5–12.1) for the overall composite endpoint and 4.0% (95% CI 1.3–6.8) when restricted to 3-point MACE. Acute heart failure (HF) accounted for 47.1% (8/17) of events and was mostly incident, with non-ischemic etiologies. Patients with RA who developed HCE were significantly older at RA diagnosis, more frequently diabetic, and exposed to fewer bDMARDs or tsDMARDs. HCE affected a substantial proportion of patients with RA in Martinique with incidence estimates comparable to other RA cohorts despite a distinct cardiometabolic profile. HF emerged as the leading cardiovascular outcome, supporting the integration of heart failure prevention and early detection into cardiovascular surveillance strategies for RA in this setting.

Background: Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) is poorly known in Black patients. Our objective was to describe the incidence and characteristics of GCA in the Black Caribbean population of Martinique. Methods: In this population-based retrospective observational study, all cases with a positive temporal artery biopsy diagnosed between 1991 and 2022 were collected from the two pathology laboratories of the island of Martinique (one public, one private). Population denominators were obtained from the yearly estimates of the French National Institute for Statistics (INSEE), and incidence rates were expressed per 100,000 inhabitants in the population aged 50 years and above. Poisson regression models were fitted to estimate risk ratios by sex, and age group. GCA incidence and patient characteristics were analysed and compared to published series. Results: 43 biopsy-proven GCA were reported in Black patients over the age of 50. Mean annual GCA incidence rate was 1.761/100,000 person-years in the population aged 50 years and above. The incidence rate rose from 0.777 (0.774–0.781) between 1991 and 1995 to 3.132/100,000 (3.127–3.136) between 2011 and 2016. Age at diagnosis was 76.3 ± 7.6 years, with a female: male ratio of 4.4. Initial manifestations were mainly: headache (65.1%), jaw claudication (32.6%), scalp tenderness (37.2%), anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (25.6%) and polymyalgia rheumatica (32.6%). Mean survival time was 13 ± 2 years, with an average relapse-free period of 6 ± 1 year. Conclusions: This population-based study of Black patients found a lower incidence of GCA in patients compared to White/Caucasian patients. However, the incidence is increasing and GCA is likely to be diagnosed more frequently in this population in the coming years. Trial registration: N/A.