Rheumatology
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Multicenter Study
Unmet education and training needs of rheumatology health professionals in adolescent health and transitional care.
To determine the perceived education and training needs of health professionals involved in transitional care for adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). ⋯ Unmet education and training needs of health care professionals exist in key areas of transitional care and provide useful directions for the development of future training programmes.
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Multicenter Study
User perspectives of transitional care for adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
To gain insight into the transitional needs of adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to examine how these needs may be addressed within a structured programme of transitional care. ⋯ These results provide a useful guide to transitional care and suggest an approach that is adolescent-focused and evidence-based.
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To evaluate the measurement properties of an evidence-based selection of measures of spinal mobility in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). ⋯ All mobility measures had adequate levels of reliability and validity. The MSI had a strong relationship with all mobility measures, and the FFD and Crot were the most responsive to self-perceived changes in health at 6 months. The MSI, FFD and Crot are recommended for clinical practice and research.
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Microvascular lesions are a predominant feature in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and seem to play a central pathogenetic role. Recently, we graded scleroderma microangiopathy by nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) into three NVC patterns (early, active and late). The aim of the present study was to confirm, in a larger number of SSc patients, the presence of three patterns of microvascular damage, and to detect any possible relationship between these patterns and both specific serum autoantibodies and the subsets of cutaneous involvement. ⋯ NVC is an appropriate tool for differential diagnosis between primary and secondary RP through the clear recognition of the early NVC scleroderma pattern. This study confirms, in a large number of SSc patients, the existence of three distinct NVC patterns that might reflect the evolution of SSc microangiopathy. The presence of anti-Scl70 antibodies seems be related to earlier expression of the active and late NVC patterns of SSc microvascular damage. The presence of ACA seems to be related to delayed expression of the late NVC pattern.