Entries Tagged as 'J Rheumatol'
Impact of a rheumatology consultation service on the diagnostic accuracy and management of gout in hospitalized patients.
J Rheumatol. 2009 Aug;36(8):1699-704
Authors: Barber C, Thompson K, Hanly JG
OBJECTIVE: To determine if a hospital rheumatology consultation service improves diagnostic accuracy and adherence to treatment recommendations for gout. METHODS: This was a retrospective, single-center, case-control study of consecutive hospitalized patients with gout. Demographic, diagnostic, and treatment variables were compared in patients with and without a rheumatology consultation (controls). American College of Rheumatology (ACR) preliminary criteria for the classification of acute gout and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations were used to determine diagnostic accuracy. Adherence to EULAR drug management recommendations and Quality Indicators for treatment were compared between groups. RESULTS: In total, 138 patients were studied. The mean (SD) age was 71.3 (13.4) years and 70% were men. Forty-eight (35%) patients had gout on admission, 90 (65%) during their hospital stay, and 8 (6%) had multiple attacks. A total of 79 (57%) patients had a rheumatology consultation. These patients had more joints involved (p < 0.001), more frequent synovial fluid analysis (p < 0.001), and fulfilled ACR classification criteria more frequently than those who did not have a rheumatology consultation (65% vs 37%; p = 0.002). Intraarticular corticosteroid use was more common (44% vs 12%; p < 0.001) in patients who were seen by rheumatology. In contrast, colchicine was used more frequently in controls (63% vs 40%; p = 0.006). Patients seen by rheumatology were more likely to use nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs or colchicine for gout prophylaxis while titrating allopurinol to target (p = 0.033). CONCLUSION: A rheumatology consultation service for hospitalized patients with gout significantly improved the diagnostic accuracy and adherence to established guidelines for short and longterm treatment.
PMID: 19567626 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Serum urate during acute gout.
J Rheumatol. 2009 Jun;36(6):1287-9
Authors: Schlesinger N, Norquist JM, Watson DJ
OBJECTIVE: To study the frequency of normal serum urate (SU) levels during acute gout in the largest studies of acute gout treatment to date. METHODS: Data collected from 2 randomized controlled clinical trials assessing the efficacy of etoricoxib or indomethacin for 7 days in acute gout were used to assess SU levels during acute gouty attacks. Efficacy was similar with both agents, so both groups were combined for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 339 patients were enrolled in the 2 studies; 94% were male; mean age was 50.5 years. At baseline, 14% of patients had a "true" normal SU (<or=6 mg/dl) and 32% had SU<or=8 mg/dl during acute gout. Baseline mean SU was 7.1 versus 8.5 mg/dl (p<0.001) in those taking allopurinol versus nonusers. Patients taking chronic allopurinol were more likely to have lower SU at baseline compared to those not taking chronic allopurinol (p<0.001) during the acute attack. CONCLUSION: A normal SU level at presentation does not exclude an acute gouty attack. In the largest studies of acute gout to date, attacks still occurred despite SU levels being below 6.8 mg/dl, the saturation level for urate. This may be attributed to persistence of tophi and an increased body uric acid pool. Additional studies are needed to determine the correlation between SU and the body uric acid pool as well as the relationship to timing of changes during acute gout.
PMID: 19369457 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Poor outcomes after acute myocardial infarction in systemic lupus erythematosus.
J Rheumatol. 2009 Mar;36(3):570-5
Authors: Shah MA, Shah AM, Krishnan E
OBJECTIVE: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with higher risk for acute myocardial infarction (MI); but the post-infarction outcomes among these patients are unknown. Our objective was to compare post-acute MI outcomes in patients with SLE to those with diabetes mellitus (DM) and those with neither condition. METHODS: We analyzed the risk for prolonged hospitalization and in-hospital mortality following acute MI in the 1993-2002 US Nationwide Inpatient Sample. We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) for prolonged hospitalization and Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for in-hospital mortality with and without adjustments for age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and presence of congestive heart failure. RESULTS: For the SLE (n = 2192), DM (n = 236,016), SLE/DM (n = 474), and control (n = 667,956) groups, the in-hospital mortality rates were 8.3%, 6.2%, 5.7%, and 4.7%, respectively. In multivariable regression models, all 3 disease groups had higher adverse outcome risk compared to control. The OR for prolonged hospitalization was higher for those with SLE (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.32-1.79) compared to those with DM (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.28-1.32). A similar pattern was observed for hazard ratios for in-hospital mortality as well (SLE, HR 1.65, 95% CI 1.33-2.04; DM, HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.07-1.14). CONCLUSION: SLE, like DM, increases risk of poor outcomes after acute MI. These patients need to be triaged appropriately for aggressive care.
PMID: 19208594 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Patient pain and tissue trauma during syringe procedures: a randomized controlled trial.
J Rheumatol. 2008 Jun;35(6):1124-9
Authors: Moorjani GR, Michael AA, Peisajovich A, Park KS, Sibbitt WL, Bankhurst AD
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of needle control to tissue trauma and hemorrhage during syringe procedures. METHODS: Forty-seven subjects with a palpable knee effusion underwent needle and syringe aspiration. Subjects were randomized to the conventional syringe or a safety technology, the reciprocating procedure device (RPD). This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov. Pain was measured with the Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAPS). Cell count, crystal examination, culture, and aspirated fluid volume were determined. Red blood cell (RBC) counts were used to measure blood in aspirated fluid. RESULTS: Patient pain during the syringe procedure significantly predicted blood (RBC) in aspirated fluid (r = 0. 53, p = 0.001). When compared to the conventional syringe, the RPD safety device reduced blood in aspirated fluid by 66.7% (RBC, 10(3)/ml: RPD 8.9 +/- 11.4; syringe 26.7 +/- 90.2; p 0.01), reduced patient pain by 73.9% (VAPS: RPD 1.68 +/- 2.34; syringe 6.44 +/- 2.86; p < 0.01), and improved fluid aspirate yield by 132% (aspirate volume: RPD 20.9 +/- 19.7 ml; syringe 9.00 +/- 6.58 ml; p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Inadequate control of needle and syringe during physician-performed syringe procedures is an important cause of trauma to patient tissues resulting in hemorrhage, increased patient pain, and decreased aspirate yield. The RPD — a safety device that improves needle control and decreases needle trauma to tissues — reduces hemorrhage and improves the safety, outcome, and aspirate yield of physician-performed syringe procedures.
PMID: 18412301 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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