ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: CRUSE® is an app that allows patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) to monitor their daily disease activity through the use of visual analogue scales (VASs). We aimed to determine the concurrent validity, reliability, responsiveness and minimal important difference (MID) of CRUSE® VASs. METHODS: We evaluated the properties of three daily VASs: VAS for how much patients were affected by their CSU ('VAS urticaria'), VAS for the impact of urticaria on work/school productivity ('VAS productivity') and the VAS of EQ-5D. Concurrent validity was assessed by measuring the association between each VAS and the Urticaria Activity Score (UAS). Intra-rater reliability was determined based on the data of users providing multiple daily questionnaires within the same day. Test-retest reliability and responsiveness (ability to change), respectively, were tested in clinically stable and clinically unstable users. MIDs were determined using distribution-based methods. RESULTS: We included 5938 patients (67,380 days). Concurrent validity was high, with VAS urticaria being more strongly associated with the UAS score than the remaining VASs. Intra-rater reliability was also high, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) being above 0.950 for all VASs. Moderate-high test-retest reliability and responsiveness were observed, with reliability ICC being highest for VAS EQ-5D and responsiveness being highest for VAS urticaria. The MID for VAS urticaria was 17 (out of 100) units, compared to 15 units for VAS productivity and 11 units for VAS EQ-5D. CONCLUSION: Daily VASs for CSU available in the CRUSE® app display high concurrent validity and intra-rater reliability and moderate-high test-retest reliability and responsiveness.
ABSTRACT
Eight million Ukrainians have taken refuge in the European Union. Many have asthma and/or allergic rhinitis and/or urticaria, and around 100,000 may have a severe disease. Cultural and language barriers are a major obstacle to appropriate management. Two widely available mHealth apps, MASK-air® (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK) for the management of rhinitis and asthma and CRUSE® (Chronic Urticaria Self Evaluation) for patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria, were updated to include Ukrainian versions that make the documented information available to treating physicians in their own language. The Ukrainian patients fill in the questionnaires and daily symptom-medication scores for asthma, rhinitis (MASK-air) or urticaria (CRUSE) in Ukrainian. Then, following the GDPR, patients grant their physician access to the app by scanning a QR code displayed on the physician's computer enabling the physician to read the app contents in his/her own language. This service is available freely. It takes less than a minute to show patient data to the physician in the physician's web browser. UCRAID-developed by ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) and UCARE (Urticaria Centers of Reference and Excellence)-is under the auspices of the Ukraine Ministry of Health as well as European (European Academy of Allergy and Clinical immunology, EAACI, European Respiratory Society, ERS, European Society of Dermatologic Research, ESDR) and national societies.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is unpredictable and can severely impair patients' quality of life. Patients with CSU need a convenient, user-friendly platform to complete patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) on their mobile devices. CRUSE® , the Chronic Urticaria Self Evaluation app, aims to address this unmet need. METHODS: CRUSE® was developed by an international steering committee of urticaria specialists. Priorities for the app based on recent findings in CSU were defined to allow patients to track and record their symptoms and medication use over time and send photographs. The CRUSE® app collects patient data such as age, sex, disease onset, triggers, medication, and CSU characteristics that can be sent securely to physicians, providing real-time insights. Additionally, CRUSE® contains PROMs to assess disease activity and control, which are individualised to patient profiles and clinical manifestations. RESULTS: CRUSE® was launched in Germany in March 2022 and is now available for free in 17 countries. It is adapted to the local language and displays a country-specific list of available urticaria medications. English and Ukrainian versions are available worldwide. From July 2022 to June 2023, 25,710 observations were documented by 2540 users; 72.7% were females, with a mean age of 39.6 years. At baseline, 93.7% and 51.3% of users had wheals and angioedema, respectively. Second-generation antihistamines were used in 74.0% of days. CONCLUSIONS: The initial data from CRUSE® show the wide use and utility of effectively tracking patients' disease activity and control, paving the way for personalised CSU management.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the actual parameters of bacterial load in subgingival plaque during periodontitis and peri-implantitis pathologies using the RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) method and evaluate their associations with clinical periodontal indicators. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five different groups of subjects were selected according to a formulated design of the study: with mild/moderate periodontitis, with severe periodontitis, with peri-implantitis, healthy periodontal group and healthy peri-implant group. Subgingival plaque samples were formed with paper points inserted in the pocket/sulcus area for 30 seconds. A standardized test the "ParodontoScreen" was provided for identification of target opportunistic pathogens (A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, P. intermedia, T. denticola) by the RT-PCR. RESULTS: Bacterial load parameters demonstrated a significant tendency towards an increase within periodontitis progression and during the presence of peri-implantitis pathology. Each targeted mean bacterial load level was statistically associated with periodontitis or peri-implantitis pathology (p < 0, 05) according to the provided univariate analyses and upon condition that bacterial load parameters of healthy sites were used as reference for equiparation. The highest correlation values were found between periodontal probing depth and bacterial load parameters of A. actinomycetemcomitans (r=0, 37; p < 0, 05) and P. gingivalis (r=0, 28; p < 0, 05); and also between clinical attachment loss and bacterial load values of A. actinomycetemcomitans (r=0, 38; p < 0, 05) and P. gingivalis (r=0, 24; p < 0, 05). CONCLUSIONS: Periodontitis and peri-implantitis are associated with the same microbial pathogens even though the distribution pattern of their bacterial load and detection frequency parameters registered with RT-PCR could be distinct and linked to the individual patient-related conditions and the severity stage of pathology.