Clinical rheumatology
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Clinical rheumatology · Dec 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialPlatelet-rich plasma in treatment of patients with idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy in the upper extremity. Treatments for CTS alternate from conservative strategies to surgical decompression of median nerve. Few studies have applied platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for treating idiopathic CTS, with acceptable success rates. Further studies are needed to reach concrete conclusion. ⋯ Platelet-rich plasma could be effective treatment of mild to moderate idiopathic CTS and superior to corticosteroid in improving pain, function, and distal sensory latency of median nerve.
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Clinical rheumatology · Dec 2019
Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, physical fitness, and cognitive performance in women with fibromyalgia who engage in reproductive and productive work: the al-Ándalus project.
Reproductive labour refers to activities and tasks directed at caregiving and domestic roles, such as cleaning, cooking, and childcare. Productive labour refers to activities that involve economic remuneration. The aim of the present study was to analyse physical activity, sedentary behaviour, physical fitness, and cognitive performance in women with fibromyalgia who engaged, or did not engage, in productive work. ⋯ Altogether, our findings suggest that productive work is consistently related to better physical and cognitive functioning in women with fibromyalgia. If future research corroborates causality of our findings, then, to maintain women with fibromyalgia engaging in productive work may be strived for not only because of societal or economic reasons but also for better health. However, we should keep in mind that people with fibromyalgia have a chronic condition, and therefore, adaptations at the workplace are imperative.Key Points• Women with fibromyalgia, who spend more time in reproductive labour, have higher levels of light physical activity and lower sedentary behaviour; however, it is associated with poorer general health (as lower physical fitness or cognitive performance).• Household tasks are often seen as a responsibility associated with the gender roles that women with fibromyalgia perform, despite the feelings of incapacity they cause. Policies focused on reducing reproductive labour demands for fibromyalgia patients (i.e. social help on housework or childcare) might facilitate the inclusion of daily active behaviours.• People with fibromyalgia who engage in productive work seem to have better health outcomes than those who have not; however, we cannot forget that adaptations and flexibility at the workplace are imperative.
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Clinical rheumatology · Dec 2019
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes and associated risk factors with generalized osteoarthritis: a retrospective study using ICD codes for clinical data repository system.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been associated with osteoarthritis (OA). T2DM may be associated with generalized OA (GOA ≥ 3 joints) rather than localized OA (LOA < 3 joints). The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of T2DM in people with GOA compared with LOA and to investigate the association between demographic risk factors and chronic diseases (i.e., T2DM, hypertension, dyslipidemia, neuropathy, and body mass index (BMI)) with GOA compared with LOA. ⋯ Higher prevalence of T2DM was found in people with GOA when compared with LOA across both age groups. T2DM, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were associated with GOA. Future research with longitudinal designs is needed to test the causality of this association.Key Points• The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in people with generalized osteoarthritis was almost double compared with localized osteoarthritis, although generalized osteoarthritis group were older.• Among people with osteoarthritis, the risk of generalized osteoarthritis is increased by 37% when people had type 2 diabetes, by 99% when people had hypertension, and by 246% when people had dyslipidemia.
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Clinical rheumatology · Dec 2019
Observational StudyOutcomes of dose reduction, withdrawal, and restart of tofacitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective observational study.
This study was designed to compare outcomes of dose reduction, withdrawal, and continuation of tofacitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to examine effectiveness of rescue with an original treatment regimen for disease flare. ⋯ After achievement of remission or LDA, the dose-reduction strategy seems preferable to immediate withdrawal of tofacitinib. Restart of the original regimen can reinduce RA control in flare cases.Key Points• During the 1-year tofacitinib therapy, two-thirds of RA patients with high or moderate disease activity achieved rapid and sustained remission or low disease activity.• During subsequent years, the incidence rate and adjusted hazard ratio for disease flare were significantly higher following tofacitinib immediate withdrawal than following dose reduction.• Half of the patients were estimated to remain flare-free for 21 months after dose reduction and for 7 months after withdrawal of tofacitinib.• Restart of the original treatment regimen rapidly restored disease control in almost all flare cases.
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Clinical rheumatology · Dec 2019
Simplified risk stratification for pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with connective tissue disease.
To explore the long-term prognostic value of a simplified risk assessment strategy based on the 2015 European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) pulmonary hypertension (PH) guidelines in Chinese patients with connective tissue disease (CTD) associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). ⋯ A simplified risk stratification model based on the 2015 ESC/ERS PH guidelines helped to identify CTD-PAH patients with poor long-term prognosis , which was useful in evaluating the severity and treatment response of patients with CTD-PAH.Key Point•This study showed that the simplified version of the 2015 ESC/ERS risk stratification model could help identify Chinese CTD-PAH patients with poor prognosis at diagnosis and after treatment initiation.