Rheumatology
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Multicenter Study
Performance of screening tools for psoriatic arthritis: a cross-sectional study in primary care.
. To compare the screening performance of the Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool (PEST), Psoriatic Arthritis Screening and Evaluation (PASE) and Early Arthritis for Psoriatic Patients (EARP) questionnaires for detecting PsA among psoriasis patients in a primary care setting. ⋯ The PEST questionnaire has the most favourable trade-off between sensitivity and specificity to screen for PsA. However, as the prevalence of psoriasis and PsA is fairly low in primary care, screening only psoriasis patients with musculoskeletal complaints may be a better allocation of resources.
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To characterize a cohort of patients with RA who have interstitial lung disease (ILD) and to assess the utility of previously developed mortality staging systems [gender, age, lung physiology (GAP) and ILD-GAP]. ⋯ In this large single-centre cohort of patients with RA-ILD, most patients were seropositive and had a history of smoking. ILD most commonly occurred after the RA diagnosis. Mortality was high and did not differ among the types. The GAP model may be useful in assessing mortality risk.
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Observational Study
Adult primary angiitis of the central nervous system: isolated small-vessel vasculitis represents distinct disease pattern.
We aimed to identify whether presentations and outcomes in adult patients with isolated small-vessel primary angiitis of the CNS (PACNS) would differ from other patients with large/medium-vessel involvement. ⋯ In our cohort, adult patients with isolated small-vessel PACNS presented some distinct disease features and relapsed more often than other PACNS patients who had large/medium-vessel involvement. Functional outcomes and mortality did not differ.
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To compare the survival outcomes between myositis-associated usual interstitial pneumonia (MA-UIP) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF-UIP). ⋯ MA-UIP patients demonstrated a significant survival advantage over a matched IPF cohort, suggesting that despite similar histological and radiographic findings at presentation, the prognosis of MA-UIP is superior to that of IPF-UIP.
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A national audit was performed assessing the early management of suspected inflammatory arthritis by English and Welsh rheumatology units. The aim of this audit was to measure the performance of rheumatology services against National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standards (QSs) for the management of early inflammatory arthritis benchmarked to regional and national comparators for the first time in the UK. ⋯ The audit has highlighted gaps between NICE standards and delivery of care, as well as substantial geographic variability.