Are Patient Expectations and Illness Perception Associated with Patient-reported Outcomes from Surgical Decompression in de Quervain's Tenosynovitis?

BACKGROUND: Psychological factors such as depression, pain catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, pain anxiety, and more negative illness perceptions are associated with worse pain and function in patients at the start of treatment for de Quervain's tenosynovitis. Longitudinal studies have found symptoms of depression and pain catastrophizing at baseline were associated with worse pain after treatment. It is important to study patients opting for surgery for their condition because patients should choose surgical treatment based on their values rather than misconceptions. Psychological factors associated with worse patient-reported outcomes from surgery for de Quervain's tenosynovitis should be identified and addressed preoperatively so surgeons can correct any misunderstandings about the condition. QUESTION/PURPOSE: What preoperative psychosocial factors (depression, anxiety, pain catastrophizing, illness perception, and patient expectations) are associated with pain and function 3 months after surgical treatment of de Quervain's tenosynovitis after controlling for demographic characteristics? METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of 164 patients who underwent surgery for de Quervain's tenosynovitis between September 2017 and October 2018 performed by 20 hand surgeons at 18 centers. Our database included 326 patients who underwent surgery for de Quervain's tenosynovitis during the study period. Of these, 62% (201 of 326) completed all baseline questionnaires and 50% (164 of 326) also completed patient-reported outcomes at 3 months postoperatively. We found no difference between those included and those not analyzed in terms of age, sex, duration of symptoms, smoking status, and workload. The mean ± SD age of the patients was 52 ± 14 years, 86% (141 of 164) were women, and the mean duration of symptoms was 13 ± 19 months. Patients completed the Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE), the VAS for pain and function, the Patient Health Questionnaire for symptoms of anxiety and depression, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Credibility/Expectations Questionnaire, and the Brief Illness Perceptions questionnaire at baseline. Patients also completed the PRWE and VAS for pain and function at 3 months postoperatively. We used a hierarchical multivariable linear regression model to investigate the relative contribution of patient demographics and psychosocial factors to the pain and functional outcome at 3 months postoperatively. RESULTS: After adjusting for demographic characteristics, psychosocial factors, and baseline PRWE score, we found that only the patient's expectations of treatment and how long their illness would last were associated with the total PRWE score at 3 months postoperatively. More positive patient expectations of treatment were associated with better patient-reported pain and function at 3 months postoperatively (ß = -2.0; p < 0.01), while more negative patient perceptions of how long their condition would last were associated with worse patient-reported pain and function (timeline ß = 2.7; p < 0.01). The final model accounted for 31% of the variance in the patient-reported outcome at 3 months postoperatively. CONCLUSION: Patient expectations and illness perceptions are associated with patient-reported pain and functional outcomes after surgical decompression for de Quervain's tenosynovitis. Addressing misconceptions about de Quervain's tenosynovitis in terms of the consequences for patients and how long their symptoms will last should allow patients to make informed decisions about the treatment that best matches their values. Prospective studies are needed to investigate whether addressing patient expectations and illness perceptions, with decision aids for example, can improve patient-reported pain and function postoperatively in those patients who still choose surgery for de Quervain's tenosynovitis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, therapeutic study.

Enthesitis and its relationship with disease activity, functional status, and quality of life in psoriatic arthritis: a multi-center study.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory arthritis with distinct phenotypic subtypes. Enthesitis is assigned as a hallmark of the disease, given its significant relations to disease activity and quality of life. Our objective is to evaluate the prevalence of enthesitis and its association with some clinical parameters, particularly quality of life, using data from a national registry. Patients with PsA meeting ClASsification criteria for Psoriatic Arthritis (CASPAR) were enrolled by means of a multi-centre Turkish League Against Rheumatism (TLAR) Network Project. The following information was recorded in web-based case report forms: demographic, clinical and radiographic data; physical examination findings, including tender and swollen joint counts (TJC and SJC); nail and skin involvement; Disease Activity Score-28 for Rheumatoid Arthritis with Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (DAS 28-ESR); Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI); Maastricht Ankylosing Spondylitis Enthesitis Score (MASES); Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI); Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiology Index for the spine (BASRI-s); Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ); Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI); Health Assessment Questionnaire for the spondyloarthropathies (HAQ-s); Psoriatic arthritis quality of Life scale (PsAQoL); Short Form 36 (SF-36); Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS); Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F); and Fibromyalgia Rapid Screening Tool (FiRST) scores. The patients were divided into two groups, namely with and without enthesitis, based on the triple Likert-type physician-reported statement of 'active enthesitis', 'history of enthesitis' or 'none' in the case report forms. Patients with active enthesitis were compared to others in terms of these clinical parameters. A total of 1130 patients were enrolled in this observational study. Of these patients, 251 (22.2%) had active enthesitis according to the clinical assessment. TJC, HAQ-s, BASDAI, FiRST and PsAQoL were significantly higher whereas the SF-36 scores were lower in patients with enthesitis (p < 0.05). Chronic back pain, dactylitis, and tenosynovitis were more frequent in the enthesopathy group (59.4%/39%, 13.1%/6.5% and 24.7%/3.4%, respectively). Significant positive correlations between the MASES score and the TJC, HAQ, DAS 28-ESR, BASDAI, FiRST and PsAQoL scores, and a negative correlation with the SF-36 score were found. When linear regression analysis was performed, the SF-36 MCS and PCS scores decreased by - 9.740 and - 11.795 units, and the FiRST scores increased by 1.223 units in patients with enthesitis. Enthesitis is an important involvement of PsA with significant relations to quality of life determined with PsAQoL and SF-36 scores. Our study found higher frequency of dactylitis and chronic back pain, and worse quality of life determined with SF-36 and PsAQoL scores in patients with enthesitis.

Current opinions regarding the management of pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis: a survey of Pulvertaft Hand Trauma Symposium attendees.

PURPOSE: Pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis (PFT) is recognized as a severe infection of the hand with potentially disastrous outcomes. The mainstay of treatment has been emergent surgical washout. Recent evidence suggests potential for conservative management with a combination of intravenous antibiotics, elevation and splinting. We aim to determine current management of PFT to guide further education and research. METHOD: An electronic survey was distributed to attendees at the Pulvertaft Hand Trauma Symposium in May 2017. The survey was also sent to previous attendees. The survey was compiled by hand surgeons and piloted within a tertiary centre prior to dissemination. Questions focused on three clinical vignettes describing PFT of increasing severity. Responses were analyzed using Surveymonkey. RESULTS: A total of 91 clinicians responded. Almost 50% would proceed to surgical decompression and washout even in patients diagnosed early. This increased to 88% when treating a patient whose diagnosis was delayed. The majority of those advising surgery felt this should be within 24 h. More than 50% advocate active mobilization either immediately or as soon as possible regardless of severity. Almost all would use either general or regional anaesthesia and a two-incision technique with catheter irrigation. CONCLUSIONS: Our survey demonstrates large variation in the management of PFT. Advice from the pre-antibiotic era continues to be followed with some clinicians continuing to advocate open surgery. There is substantial discrepancy regarding duration of immobilization. Further investigation into the management and outcomes of PFT is required to establish best practice guidelines for this rare but potentially devastating condition.

Self-reported upper extremity health status correlates with depression.

BACKGROUND: The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire is the most widely used upper extremity-specific health-status measure. The DASH score often demonstrates greater variability than would be expected on the basis of objective pathology. This variability may be related to psychosocial factors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the correlation between the DASH score and psychological factors for specific diagnoses with relatively limited variation in objective pathology. METHODS: Two hundred and thirty-five patients with a single, common, discrete hand problem known to have limited variations in objective pathology completed the DASH questionnaire, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) to assess neuroticism, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale to quantify depressive symptoms, and the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS). Forty-five patients had carpal tunnel syndrome, forty-four had de Quervain tenosynovitis, forty-eight had lateral elbow pain, and seventy-one had a single trigger finger. In addition, twenty-seven patients were evaluated six weeks after a nonoperatively treated fracture of the distal part of the radius. Relationships between psychosocial factors and the DASH score were determined. RESULTS: A significant positive correlation between the DASH score and depression was noted for all diagnoses (r = 0.38 to 0.52; p < 0.01 for all). The DASH score also correlated with pain anxiety for four of the five diagnoses (carpal tunnel syndrome, r = 0.40; de Quervain tendinitis, r = 0.46; lateral elbow pain, r = 0.42; and trigger finger, r = 0.24) (p < 0.05 for all). The DASH score was not correlated with neuroticism for any diagnosis. There was a highly significant effect of depression (as measured with the CES-D score) on the DASH score for all diagnoses. Both the CES-D score (F = 62.68, p < 0.0001) and gender (F = 11.36, p < 0.001) were independent predictors of the DASH score. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported upper extremity-specific health status as measured with the DASH score correlates with depression and pain anxiety but not neuroticism. These data support the contention that psychosocial factors have a strong influence on health-status measures.