Current medical research and opinion
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Functionality and health-status benefits associated with reduction of osteoarthritis pain.
To evaluate the association between pain intensity improvement and improvements in functionality and health status in patients with chronic osteoarthritis pain of the hip or knee. ⋯ Pain intensity improvement is associated with corresponding improvements in function and health status. While large improvements in pain intensity are associated with large improvements in health status and functionality, modest pain reductions are also associated with improvement of certain health status parameters.
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To investigate the relationship between time spent in the recommended target International Normalised Ratio (INR) range and the setting and intensity of anti coagulant monitoring, in both treatment-experienced and treatment-naive atrial fibrillation (AF) patients receiving oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy for the prevention of ischaemic stroke. ⋯ INR control is variable and dependent on monitoring intensity and duration of anticoagulant therapy.
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To evaluate the clinical and biological activity of apremilast in patients with severe plaque-type psoriasis. ⋯ Apremilast demonstrated biological activity and improved psoriasis clinical efficacy scores in patients with severe plaque-type psoriasis. The majority of adverse events were mild in nature. Two adverse events (fatigue and dizziness) were judged by the investigator to be moderate and related to apremilast. In addition, there were no clinically-relevant abnormal laboratory test results in subjects treated with apremilast for 29 days.
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a common chronic disease with a lifetime prevalence estimated to range from 4.2% to 12.7%. GAD places a substantial burden upon patients and healthcare resources. ⋯ Escitalopram was found to be cost-effective compared with paroxetine in treatment of GAD from the Canadian MoH perspective, and dominating paroxetine from the SOC perspective. Therefore, a possible advantage may exist at the population level in the treatment of GAD with escitalopram in Canada.
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Review Comparative Study
Comparative effects of biological therapies on the severity of skin symptoms and health-related quality of life in patients with plaque-type psoriasis: a meta-analysis.
The comparative effects of biological response modifiers (BRMs) on the severity of psoriasis and its effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have not been evaluated. ⋯ Infliximab significantly reduced disease severity by both fixed- and random-effects models. All biological therapies improved HRQoL compared with placebo, and proportions of patients discontinuing treatment were similar in active-treatment and placebo groups. The analysis is potentially limited by statistical factors and did not systematically account for different toxicity profiles, but the findings establish a foundation for head-to-head comparative trials.