Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Aug 2011
Hospital volume and surgical outcomes after elective hip/knee arthroplasty: a risk-adjusted analysis of a large regional database.
To examine the relationship between hospital procedure volume and surgical outcomes following elective primary total hip arthroplasty/total knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA). ⋯ Performance of elective primary THA and TKA surgeries in low-volume hospitals was associated with a higher risk of venous thromboembolism and mortality. Confounding due to unmeasured variables is possible. Modifiable system-based factors/processes should be targeted to reduce the number of complications associated with THA/TKA procedures.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Aug 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialFocal fat lesions at vertebral corners on magnetic resonance imaging predict the development of new syndesmophytes in ankylosing spondylitis.
Focal fat infiltration is frequently visible on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and likely reflects postinflammatory tissue metaplasia. To support the concept of coupling between inflammation and new bone formation, we tested the hypothesis that focal fat infiltration at a vertebral corner is more likely to evolve into a de novo syndesmophyte. ⋯ Our data lend support to the hypothesis that inflammatory lesions evolve into new bone through a process of tissue metaplasia that includes fat infiltration.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Aug 2011
Patterns of pharmacotherapy and health care utilization and costs prior to total hip or total knee replacement in patients with osteoarthritis.
To examine patterns of pharmacotherapy and health care utilization and costs prior to total knee replacement (TKR) or total hip replacement (THR) in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). ⋯ Patients with OA who undergo THR or TKR have relatively high levels of use of pain-related pharmacotherapy and high total health care costs in the 2-year period preceding surgery. Levels of utilization and cost increase as the date of surgery approaches.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Aug 2011
Burden and viability of Borrelia burgdorferi in skin and joints of patients with erythema migrans or lyme arthritis.
To determine the burden and viability of Borrelia burgdorferi in the skin and joints of patients with Lyme disease. ⋯ B burgdorferi in the skin lesions of EM patients were active and viable, whereas those in the SF of LA patients were moribund or dead at any time point. Thus, detection of B burgdorferi DNA in SF is not a reliable test of active joint infection in Lyme disease.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Aug 2011
Association of hepatocyte growth factor promoter polymorphism with severity of interstitial lung disease in Japanese patients with systemic sclerosis.
To examine associations of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within genes for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c-met with disease susceptibility and organ involvement in Japanese patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). ⋯ A SNP in the HGF promoter region may modulate the severity of interstitial lung disease by controlling the transcriptional efficiency of the HGF gene.