Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging assessment of joint disease in symptomatic patients with cystic fibrosis arthropathy.

OBJECTIVES: Cystic fibrosis arthropathy (CFA) is a term commonly used for joint pain with and without swelling seen in some patients with CF. Early studies into CFA focused on the presence of rheumatoid factor and immunological changes on synovial biopsy, with parallels drawn between respiratory and joint activity. Identification of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) as a marker of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), along with increased access to sensitive imaging techniques including ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), offer great potential to investigate and more accurately understand the type(s) of inflammatory arthritis that may underlie CFA. The aim of this study was to phenotype an active CFA cohort using serology and imaging, as a basis for further work in this understudied area. METHODS: This was a prospective observational cohort study of symptomatic CFA patients presenting with joint pain. Participants underwent serological testing, clinical and US joint and entheseal assessment, as well as MRI of the most symptomatic joint/joint area. RESULTS: Ten symptomatic patients were studied with 9/10 having positive clinical findings. Inflammatory changes on US were seen in 8/10 cases. Five patients had positive findings on MRI (3 of whom had received IV gadolinium contrast). This included patients with significant erosive changes. One patient was anti-CCP positive suggestive of RA, and two were anti-nuclear antibody positive. CONCLUSION: Imaging, and to a lesser extent serology, identified inflammatory joint pathology in a proportion of cases, providing important data to explore in a large CFA cohort examining the clinical and imaging phenotype of this group.

MRI of rheumatoid arthritis image quantitation for the assessment of disease activity, progression and response to therapy.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows the direct visualization of many bone and soft tissue changes in rheumatoid arthritis. Synovitis volume, bone marrow oedema and bone erosions are suitable for serial measurement. The outcome measures in rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials (OMERACT) rheumatoid arthritis magnetic resonance imaging (RAMRIS) system is designed to allow straightforward, reproducible scoring of all these features. Alternatively, synovial volumes may be directly and quickly measured using semi-automated techniques. There is the potential for similar systems for measuring erosions. Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI depends on the rate of enhancement of the synovium after intravenous contrast agent. Measurements depend on the underlying physiology of the inflamed synovium, in particular the vascularity and capillary permeability which are expected to closely mirror inflammatory activity in the joint. Measurements from MRI have been shown to correlate with clinical, laboratory, imaging and histological measures of inflammation, predict erosive progression and respond rapidly to various types of treatment. They are, therefore, expected to be good measures of disease activity, progression and response to therapy.

Setting standards for training and competence: the UK alcohol treatment trial.

AIMS: To examine factors that influence the recruitment and training of therapists and their achievement of competence to practise two psychological therapies for alcohol dependence, and the resources required to deliver this. METHODS: The protocol for the UK Alcohol Treatment Trial required trial therapists to be competent in one of the two trial treatments: Social Behaviour and Network Therapy (SBNT) or Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET). Therapists were randomised to practise one or other type of therapy. To ensure standardisation and consistent delivery of treatment in the trial, the trial training centre trained and supervised all therapists. RESULTS: Of 76 therapists recruited and randomised, 72 commenced training and 52 achieved competence to practise in the trial. Length of prior experience did not predict completion of training. However, therapists with a university higher qualification, and medical practitioners compared to other professionals, were more likely to complete. The average number of clients needed to be treated before the trainee achieved competence was greater for MET than SBNT, and there was a longer duration of training for MET. CONCLUSIONS: Training therapists of differing professional backgrounds, randomised to provide a specific therapy type, is feasible. Supervision after initial training is important, and adds to the training costs.

Assessment and evaluation of football performance.

The most important variables for measuring performance in team sports such as football are physical condition and technical and tactical performance. However, because of the complexity of the game of football it is difficult to ascertain the relative importance of each of these variables. The aim of the present study was to develop a standardized test battery to evaluate physical performance in football players. The F-MARC test battery was designed to closely relate to the football player's normal activity and comprised a functional, structured training session of approximately 2.5 hours. It included a "quality rating" of the warm-up procedure, tests of flexibility, football skills, power, speed, and endurance. The players finished with a cool-down. A total of 588 football players underwent the F-MARC test battery. Mean values for performance on each test are presented for groups of differing age and skill levels. The test battery proved to be a feasible instrument to assess both physical performance and football skills. This study supports the proposal by Balsom (1994) that analysis of an individual player's physical profile, in relation to mean values for a similar age group and skill level, might be of assistance to the coach in objectively evaluating the effects of a specific training program. It may also be of use to the physician and physical therapist responsible for monitoring progress during rehabilitation after football injuries.

North Staffordshire Community Beds Study: longitudinal evaluation of psychiatric in-patient units attached to community mental health centres. 2: Impact upon costs and resource use.

BACKGROUND: Innovative approaches to the provision of psychiatric care must justify their ability to improve the quality of life within the resource constraints imposed on psychiatry. AIMS: To examine the average costs per patient of the experimental and control group services. METHOD: An individual patient costing methodology that identified, measured and valued all public and private resources. RESULTS: The experimental group was more likely to remain in contact with services over a 12-month period, had fewer acute readmissions and spent less time in acute in-patient units. There were significantly different levels and patterns of resource consumption between the groups and between the two separate catchment areas. CONCLUSION: The cost analysis should be assessed in the context of the previous outcome analysis. It is likely, but not inevitable, that such units will increase the overall costs of care provision; this largely depends on the effectiveness with which such units are integrated into existing care provision.

De facto gatekeeping and informed consent in intensive care.

Medical decision-making is based on the doctrine of informed consent which is, in turn, based on autonomy, which represents one of four pillars of medical ethics, the others being beneficence, non-malfeasance and social justice. Decision-making in intensive care with respect to the withdrawal of treatment, in particular ventilator therapy, is often extremely difficult for patients or their relatives and they would rather not make any decision other than to insist on the maintenance of therapy in spite of sound, reasonable medical advice that such therapy is of no value to the patient. Aside from issues of a dignified death, this is likely to be to the detriment of other patients who might be refused admission to intensive care and thus is counter to the dictates of social justice. Under these circumstances, there would appear to be a need to give authority to the reasonable medical decision to discontinue resuscitation.

Social indicators and the prediction of psychiatric admission in different diagnostic groups.

BACKGROUND: Recent findings indicate that the established association between social indicators of deprivation and psychiatric admission rates may not hold across all diagnoses. METHOD: Admission rates in individuals aged 16-64 years for 71 electoral wards in North Staffordshire were calculated for six diagnostic groups using data from the Korner Episode System for 1987-1993. These were correlated with selected individual census variables, Townsend and Jarman indices. The ability of regression models to predict admission rates was tested. RESULTS: The strongest correlations were found for total admissions (r 0.44-0.79). Strong correlations were found for neurotic disorders/depression (r 0.29-0.62), schizophrenia (r 0.24-0.59), all non-psychotic disorders combined (r 0.41-0.71) and all psychotic disorders combined (r 0.33-0.67). Predicted admission rates for total admissions, psychotic and non-psychotic admissions using regression models showed strong positive correlations with observed admission rates. CONCLUSIONS: The strong correlations between social indicators of deprivation and total psychotic admission rates are consistent with the results of previous studies. The strong associations between social indicators and admissions for non-psychotic disorders is contrary to previous findings and may be partly explained by the relatively high admission rates for neurotic disorders.

Chlamydia trachomatis: the prevalence, trend and importance in initial infertility management.

One thousand and five women, and 354 of their partners, attending an infertility clinic have been assessed for the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies in their serum. The overall prevalence in women was 12.4% (125/1,005) but appeared to have increased over a 2-year period. A similar trend was not apparent for men and the prevalence was only 4.2% (15/354). Of the 125 seropositive women 81 had their pelvis examined for the first time by laparoscopy. Fifty seven had tubal disease of varying severity, but only 16 had had an ectopic pregnancy or admitted to a previous history of pelvic inflammatory disease or nonspecific urethritis. These findings suggest that laboratory testing for chlamydial antibodies should be routine in the initial investigation of an infertile couple and that early laparoscopy is indicated in seropositive women.

Amelioration of chronic renal allograft dysfunction in cyclosporine-treated patients by addition of azathioprine.

Management of chronic renal allograft dysfunction in cyclosporine-prednisone treated renal allograft recipients remains problematic. We therefore initiated a protocol of azathioprine addition (1.0-1.5 mg/kg/day) to ongoing CsA/Pred therapy. Three groups were treated. Group A (n = 21) had chronic progressive renal dysfunction (serum creatinine greater than or equal to 2.5 mg/dl or more than 15% above baseline) four or more months after transplantation. Group B (n = 8) had frequent or severe rejection episodes occurring despite adequate CsA levels. Group C (n = 7) had constitutional side effects of CsA with or without renal dysfunction persisting despite drug taper or financial difficulty in affording CsA. Aza was initiated 17.8 +/- 2.8 months after transplantation in group A, the mean serum creatinine having risen from 2.55 +/- 27 mg/dl to 3.04 +/- .20 mg/dl (P = .07) over the six months preceding Aza initiation, despite stable and low therapeutic range HPLC whole-blood CsA levels (118 +/- 10 ng/ml vs. 133 +/- 11 ng/ml, P = NS). Renal function declined at a rate of -0.20 +/- .06 Cr1/year in the six-month period before addition of Aza, and then improved at a rate of 0.09 +/- .04 Cr-1/year after addition of Aza (P = .002). These changes in renal function occurred without a decrease in CsA levels (118 +/- 10 six months before Aza vs. 126 +/- 26 six months after Aza, P = NS). In group B Aza was initiated at 58 +/- 8 days after transplantation when mean sCr was 3.56 +/- .29 mg/dl and mean CsA level was 222 +/- 17 ng/ml. At least follow-up 12.7 +/- 2.0 months after addition of Aza, all group B grafts were functioning, mean sCr was 2.69 +/- .31 mg/dl (P = .09 compared with baseline), and mean CsA level was 128 +/- 34 ng/ml (P = .07 compared with baseline). Group C patients had addition of Aza at 43 +/- 19 months after transplantation when mean sCr was 2.97 +/- .60 and mean CsA level was 125 +/- 30 ng/ml; addition of Aza had no influence on the rate of decline in renal function in this group. Of these 36 patients, 6 received therapy for acute rejection over the entire follow-up period of 12.3 +/- 1.4 months after addition of Aza; 4 of these retain graft function. Infectious complications consisted of 2 urinary tract infections, 1 bacterial pneumonia, and one case of otitis media.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)