Clin Exp Rheumatol
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A 61 year-old man developed painful swelling of his right knee shortly after arthroscopy of the joint. Synovial fluid analysis revealed a polymorphonuclear leukocytosis of 51,600 X 10(6) cells/litre and culture grew Staphylococcus epidermidis. He responded favorably to 4 weeks of intravenous therapy with cloxacillin. S. epidermidis, an important cause of prosthetic joint infection, must be considered a potential pathogen in other joint infections.
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We studied in vitro platelet aggregation response to serotonin in 19 patients with systemic sclerosis and 18 matched controls. Individuals with early systemic sclerosis had increased % platelet aggregation at 3 minutes over a wide range of serotonin concentrations when compared to individuals with late systemic sclerosis. ⋯ No significant differences in initial slope of platelet aggregation were detected in any patient subgroup. These data support previous studies suggesting platelet activation in systemic sclerosis and further suggest that future studies of platelet abnormalities in systemic sclerosis should consider the effects of disease duration.
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A new pain rating scale, Analogue Chromatic Continuous Scale (ACCS), has been developed. The ACCS was tested in fifty consecutive patients suffering from pain of different origins, and compared with a simple descriptive scale (SDS) and a traditional 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). ⋯ The ACCS proved to be more sensitive than VAS (P less than 0.05), allowing a greater discrimination of grades of pain. Furthermore, the ACCS is very easy to use.
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Review Case Reports
Pulmonary hypertension in a patient with mixed connective tissue disease: clinical and pathologic findings, and review of literature.
A patient with pulmonary hypertension (PH) complicating mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is described. The patient died suddenly after catheterization documenting the pulmonary hypertension. ⋯ Review of the literature revealed few and differing reports concerning the pathology of PH as seen in MCTD. Sudden death in patients with pulmonary hypertension undergoing invasive procedures is not an uncommon occurrence.