J Rheumatol
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To determine the quality and content of English language Internet information about juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) from the perspectives of consumers and healthcare professionals. ⋯ Our study highlights the paucity of high quality Internet health information at an appropriate reading level for youth with JIA and their parents.
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Clinical Trial
Sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography in early diagnosis of metatarsal bone stress fractures: a pilot study of 37 patients.
To date, early diagnosis of stress fractures depends on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or bone scan scintigraphy, as radiographs are usually normal at onset of symptoms. These examinations are expensive or invasive, time-consuming, and poorly accessible. A recent report has shown the ability of ultrasonography (US) to detect early stress fractures. Our objective was to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of US versus dedicated MRI (0.2 Tesla), taken as the gold standard, in early diagnosis of metatarsal bone stress fractures. ⋯ In cases of normal radiographs, US is indicated in the diagnosis of metatarsal bone stress fractures, as it is a low cost, noninvasive, rapid, and easy technique with good sensitivity and specificity. From these data, we propose a new imaging algorithm including US.
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Diabetes is associated with several disorders of the hand, including stenosing flexor tenosynovitis (SFTS). The feature of SFTS in diabetics is a higher prevalence of multiple digit involvement. We examined the magnitude of the tendency for involvement of more digits by SFTS in diabetic patients than in nondiabetic patients, and attempted to clarify the factors influencing multiple digit involvement by SFTS in diabetics. ⋯ LJM in diabetics is closely associated with SFTS involving multiple digits.
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To test the efficacies of a strategy for preventing tuberculosis (TB) in Indian patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitor. ⋯ With the use of these 4 TB screening tests in India, where TB is highly prevalent, TB could be excluded with a high degree of certainty (NPV 0.97). However, as even this combination of tests has only moderate sensitivity and specificity and poor PPV for detecting TB, vigilance may be advisable even if only one of the tests is positive.