Efecto condicional de las actitudes hacia pacientes con diagnósticos de salud mental sobre la toma de decisiones en contexto de urgencia según la autopercepción de conocimientos asociados al trabajo con pacientes de salud mental

Introducción: En la actualidad existen pocos estudios con respecto a la evaluación de actitudes y autopercepción de conocimientos de los profesionales de la salud hacia los pacientes con alguna condición de salud mental, y la relación de estas variables con la toma de decisiones respecto de estos pacientes. Desde la experiencia se conoce la dificultad que tienen médicos que no están relacionados con el área de salud mental de afrontar a pacientes con alguna patología psiquiátrica y más aún en las urgencias, ya sea porque reconocen falta de conocimientos del tema, instancias no adecuadas para evaluación además de la alta exigencia de estos servicios. Metodología: El estudio consistió en una encuesta online de carácter transversal aplicada a profesionales de la salud pertenecientes al Hospital Dr. Hernán Henríquez Aravena, ubicado en la ciudad de Temuco, Chile. La encuesta incluyó preguntas sociodemográficas, caracterización de experiencias asociadas a diagnósticos de salud mental, y escalas dedicadas a medir variables (autopercepción, actitudes y toma de decisiones). Resultados: A medida que la autopercepción de conocimientos es mayor, el efecto de las actitudes sobre la toma de decisiones también es mayor. Conclusiones: Tanto las actitudes de los profesionales de la salud hacia este tipo de pacientes, así como su autopercepción de conocimientos, son dos componentes fundamentales para asegurar un buen manejo clínico. Resulta importante que exista un balance en cómo se manejan ambas dentro de un servicio, con el fin de asegurar una atención apropiada y centrada en el bienestar del paciente.

Introduction: Currently there are few studies regarding the evaluation of attitudes and self-perception of knowledge of health professionals towards patients with some mental health condition, and the relationship of these variables with decision making regarding these patients. From experience, its known the difficulty that doctors who are not related to the area of mental health have in dealing with patients with some psychiatric pathology and even more so in emergencies, either because they recognize a lack of knowledge of the subject and instances that are not suitable for evaluation. in addition to the high demand of these services. Methodology: The study consisted of a cross-sectional online survey applied to health professionals belonging to the Dr Hernán Henriquez Aravena Hospital, located in the city of Temuco, Chile. The survey included sociodemographic questions, characterization of experiences associated with mental health diagnoses, and scales dedicated to measuring variables (self-perception, attitudes and decision making). Results: As self-perception of knowledge grows, the effect of attitudes on decision making also increases. Conclusions: Both the attitudes of health professionals towards this type of patients, as well as their self-perception of knowledge, are two fundamental components to ensure good clinical management. It is important that there is a balance in how both are managed within a service, in order to ensure appropriate care focused on the patient's well-being.

Macular optical coherence tomography for screening of pathology prior to cataract surgery: An approach based on tele-evaluation.

BACKGROUND: To assess the benefit of macular spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) as a part of the routinary preoperative study of patients undergoing cataract surgery. METHODS: A prospective single-center study study was performed. Consecutive patients with normal biomicroscopic funduscopy, moderate cataract and no history of ophthalmological pathologies were enrolled. All patients underwent macular SD-OCT. The obtained images were analysed by a general ophthalmologist and two retina specialists. Incidence of macular pathology and its relation to age and comorbidities were assessed. RESULTS: Eight-hundred and thirty-six eyes of 419 patients were enrolled in this study. All images were analysed telematically by a general ophthalmologist. Forty-nine eyes were excluded due to insufficient quality of the obtained images. Abnormal images were observed in 156 eyes (18.6%), including age-related macular degeneration in 68 (8.2%), epiretinal membrane (ERM) in 67 (8.0%), cystoid macular edema in 3 eyes (0.4%), among others. Diagnostics with severe impact on patient visual prognosis were observed in 16 eyes (3.82%) from 12 patients. The relationship between incidence of macular pathologies and age or comorbidities was not statistically significant. To assess accuracy of the first observer, images were subsequently analysed by two retinologists. The kappa index of concordance was 0.80 and 0.85. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing a systematic macular SD-OCT as a preoperative test prior to cataract surgery would improve quality of postoperative visual prognosis information. A general ophthalmologist would be suitable to screen for pathology through macular OCT images.

Randomized controlled pilot trial with ion-exchange water softeners to prevent eczema (SOFTER trial).

BACKGROUND: Observational studies suggest an increased risk of eczema in children living in hard versus soft water areas, and there is, therefore, an interest in knowing whether softening water may prevent eczema. We evaluated the feasibility of a parallel-group assessor-blinded pilot randomized controlled trial to test whether installing a domestic ion-exchange water softener before birth in hard water areas reduces the risk of eczema in infants with a family history of atopy. METHODS: Pregnant women living in hard water areas (>250 mg/L calcium carbonate) in and around London UK, were randomized 1:1 antenatally to either have an ion-exchange water softener installed in their home or not (ie to continue to receive usual domestic hard water). Infants were assessed at birth and followed up for 6 months. The main end-points were around feasibility, the primary end-point being the proportion of eligible families screened who were willing and able to be randomized. Clinical end-points were evaluated including frequency of parent-reported doctor-diagnosed eczema and visible eczema on skin examination. Descriptive analyses were conducted, and no statistical testing was performed as this was a pilot study. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-nine families screened were eligible antenatally and 28% (41/149) could not have a water softener installed due to technical reasons or lack of landlord approval. Eighty of 149 (54%) were randomized, the primary end-point. Two participants withdrew immediately after randomization, leaving 39 participants in each arm (78 total). Attrition was 15% (12/78) by 6 months postpartum. All respondents (n = 69) to the study acceptability questionnaire reported that the study was acceptable. Fifty-six of 708 (7.9%) water samples in the water softener arm were above the hard water threshold of 20 mg/L CaCO3 . At 6 months of age 27/67 infants (40%) developed visible eczema, 12/36 (33%) vs. 15/31 (48%) in the water softener and control groups, respectively, difference -15% (95% CI -38, 8.3%), with most assessments (≥96%) remaining blinded. Similarly, a lower proportion of infants in the water softener arm had parent-reported, doctor-diagnosed eczema by 6 months compared to the control arm, 6/17 (35%) versus 9/19 (47%), difference -12% (95% CI -44, 20%). CONCLUSION: A randomized controlled trial of water softeners for the prevention of atopic eczema in high-risk infants is feasible and acceptable. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03270566 (clinicaltrials.gov).

Longitudinal analysis of the effect of water hardness on atopic eczema: evidence for gene-environment interaction.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have identified an association between water hardness and atopic eczema (AE); however, there is a paucity of longitudinal data in early life. OBJECTIVES: To examine whether water hardness is associated with an increased risk of AE and skin barrier dysfunction in infants and to assess effect modification by filaggrin (FLG) loss-of-function variants. METHODS: We performed a longitudinal analysis of data from infants in the Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) study, who were enrolled at 3 months and followed up until 36 months of age. RESULTS: Of 1303 infants enrolled in the EAT study, 91·3% (n = 1189) attended the final clinic visit and 94·0% (n = 1225) of participants' families completed the 36-month questionnaire. In total, 761 (58·4%) developed AE by 36 months. There was no overall association between exposure to harder (> 257 mg L-1 CaCO3 ) vs. softer (≤ 257 mg L-1 CaCO3 ) water: adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1·07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·92-1·24. However, there was an increased incidence of AE in infants with FLG mutations exposed to hard water (adjusted HR 2·72, 95% CI 2·03-3·66), and statistically significant interactions between hard water plus FLG and both risk of AE (HR 1·80, 95% CI 1·17-2·78) and transepidermal water loss (0·0081 g m-2 h-1 per mg L-1 CaCO3 , 95% CI 0·00028-0·016). CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence of an interaction between water hardness and FLG mutations in the development of infantile AE.

Risankizumab vs. ustekinumab for plaque psoriasis: a critical appraisal.

AIM: Gordon et al. investigated the efficacy and safety of risankizumab [an anti-interleukin (IL)-23p19 biologic] compared with ustekinumab (anti-IL-12/23p40) and placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. This was a parallel-group controlled study up to 16 weeks with a planned switch of the placebo group to risankizumab at 16 weeks. SETTING AND DESIGN: This study consisted of two replicate phase III, double-blinded randomized controlled trials (UltIMMa-1 and UltIMMa-2) conducted across 139 centres in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain and the U.S.A. STUDY EXPOSURE: Patients with a minimum 6-month history of chronic plaque psoriasis were randomly assigned to receive either 150 mg risankizumab, 45 mg or 90 mg ustekinumab or placebo. Prior to this, each group was also stratified by weight (either more than or less than 100 kg) and previous exposure to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors. Those assigned to receive placebo were transitioned onto risankizumab at week 16. The study drugs were given at weeks 0, 4, 16, 28 and 40. OUTCOMES: The severity of psoriasis was measured using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and a static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA). The authors additionally recorded the number of adverse events in each treatment arm, and a measure of quality of life. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The coprimary outcomes were the proportions of patients achieving ≥ 90% reduction in their baseline PASI (PASI 90) and an sPGA score of 0 or 1 (clear or almost clear) at week 16. RESULTS: In total 506 patients were included in UltIMMa-1 and 491 patients in UltIMMa-2. In UltIMMa-1, PASI 90 by week 16 was achieved by 75·3% of patients receiving risankizumab, compared with 42·0% receiving ustekinumab and 4·9% receiving placebo (P < 0·001 vs. placebo and ustekinumab). sPGA of 0 or 1 by week 16 was achieved by 87·6% of patients receiving risankizumab, compared with 63·0% receiving ustekinumab and 7·8% receiving placebo (P < 0·001 vs. placebo and ustekinumab). The results for UltIMMa-2 are similar. The frequencies of adverse events in the risankizumab, ustekinumab and placebo groups were similar in both studies. CONCLUSIONS: Gordon et al. conclude that risankizumab has a higher efficacy than placebo and ustekinumab in the treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis, and that the adverse-event profiles were similar across all treatment groups.

Persistence and effectiveness of nonbiologic systemic therapies for moderate-to-severe psoriasis in adults: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The persistence and effectiveness of systemic therapies for moderate-to-severe psoriasis in current clinical practice are poorly characterized. OBJECTIVES: To systematically review observational studies investigating the persistence and effectiveness of acitretin, ciclosporin, fumaric acid esters (FAE) and methotrexate, involving at least 100 adult patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, exposed to therapy for ≥ 3 months. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library and PubMed were searched from 1 January 2007 to 1 November 2017 for observational studies reporting on persistence (therapy duration or the proportion of patients discontinuing therapy during follow-up) or effectiveness [improvements in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) or Physician's Global Assessment (PGA)]. This review was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42018099771. RESULTS: Of 411 identified studies, eight involving 4624 patients with psoriasis were included. Variations in the definitions and analyses of persistence and effectiveness outcomes prevented a meta-analysis from being conducted. One prospective multicentre study reported drug survival probabilities of 23% (ciclosporin), 42% (acitretin) and 50% (methotrexate) at 1 year. Effectiveness outcomes were not reported for either acitretin or ciclosporin. The persistence and effectiveness of FAE and methotrexate were better characterized, but mean discontinuation times ranged from 28 to 50 months for FAE and 7·7 to 22·3 months for methotrexate. At 12 months of follow-up, three studies reported that 76% (FAE), 53% (methotrexate) and 59% (methotrexate) of patients achieved ≥ 75% reduction in PASI, and one reported that 76% of FAE-exposed patients achieved a markedly improved or clear PGA. CONCLUSIONS: The comparative persistence and effectiveness of acitretin, ciclosporin, FAE and methotrexate in real-world clinical practice in the past decade cannot be well described due to the inconsistency of the methods used.

Morphometrical and molecular evidence suggests cryptic diversity among hookworms (Nematoda: Uncinaria) that parasitize pinnipeds from the south-eastern Pacific coasts.

Hookworms of the genus Uncinaria parasitize pinniped pups in various locations worldwide. Four species have been described, two of which parasitize pinniped pups in the southern hemisphere: Uncinaria hamiltoni parasitizes Otaria flavescens and Arctocephalus australis from the South American coast, and Uncinaria sanguinis parasitizes Neophoca cinerea from the Australian coast. However, their geographical ranges and host specificity are unknown. Uncinaria spp. are morphologically similar, but molecular analyses have allowed the recognition of new species in the genus Uncinaria. We used nuclear genetic markers (internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) rDNA) and a mitochondrial genetic marker (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI)) to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of Uncinaria spp. parasitizing A. australis and O. flavescens from South American coasts (Atlantic and Pacific coasts). We compared our sequences with published Uncinaria sequences. A Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) analysis was also used to delimit species, and principal component analysis was used to compare morphometry among Uncinaria specimens. Parasites were sampled from A. australis from Peru (12°S), southern Chile (42°S), and the Uruguayan coast, and from O. flavescens from northern Chile (24°S) and the Uruguayan coast. Morphometric differences were observed between Uncinaria specimens from both South American coasts and between Uncinaria specimens from A. australis in Peru and southern Chile. Phylogenetic and GMYC analyses suggest that south-eastern Pacific otariid species harbour U. hamiltoni and an undescribed putative species of Uncinaria. However, more samples from A. australis and O. flavescens are necessary to understand the phylogenetic patterns of Uncinaria spp. across the South Pacific.

[APACHE II and SAPS II as predictors of brain death development in neurocritical care patients]. / APACHE II y SAPS II como predictores de evolucion a muerte encefalica en pacientes neurocriticos.

AIM: To assess the prognostic value of APACHE II and SAPS II scales to predict brain death evolution of neurocritical care patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective observational study performed in a tertiary hospital. Include 508 patients over 16 years old, hospitalized in ICU for at least 24 hours. The variables of interest were: demographic data, risk factors, APACHE II, SAPS II and outcome. RESULTS: Median age: 41 years old (IR: 25-57). Males: 76.2%. Most frequent reason for admission: trauma (55.3%). Medians: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), 10 points; APACHE II, 13 points; SAPS II, 31 points; and ICU stay, 5 days. Mortality in the ICU was 28.5% (n = 145) of whom 44 (8.7%) evolved to brain death. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that GCS, APACHE II and SAPS II scores, as well as ICU stay days behaved as predictors of brain death evolution. However, the multivariate analysis performed including APACHE II and SAPS II scores showed that only APACHE II maintained statistical significance, despite the good discrimination of both scores. CONCLUSION: Transplant coordinators might use the APACHE II score as a tool to detect patients at risk of progression to brain death, minimizing the loss of potential donors.

TITLE: APACHE II y SAPS II como predictores de evolucion a muerte encefalica en pacientes neurocriticos.Objetivo. Evaluar si las escalas pronosticas APACHE II (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II) y SAPS II (Simplified Acute Physiology Score II) son capaces de predecir la evolucion a muerte encefalica en pacientes neurocriticos. Pacientes y metodos. Estudio retrospectivo, observacional, realizado en un hospital de tercer nivel. Se incluyo a 508 pacientes mayores de 16 años, ingresados con patologia neurocritica aguda, con estancia en la unidad de cuidados intensivos de al menos 24 horas. Las variables de interes fueron: datos demograficos, factores de riesgo, APACHE II, SAPS II y resultado pronostico. Resultados. Mediana de edad: 41 años (rango intercuartilico: 25-57). Varones: 76,2%. Motivo de ingreso mas frecuente: traumatismo (55,3%). Medianas: escala de coma de Glasgow (GCS), 10 puntos; APACHE II, 13 puntos; SAPS II, 31 puntos; y estancia en cuidados intensivos, cinco dias. La mortalidad en la unidad de cuidados intensivos fue de 145 (28,5%). De ellos, 44 (8,7%) evolucionaron a muerte encefalica. El analisis de regresion logistica univariante mostro que la GCS, las escalas APACHE II y SAPS II, y los dias de estancia en la unidad de cuidados intensivos se comportaron como variables predictoras de evolucion a muerte encefalica. Sin embargo, en el analisis multivariante realizado con APACHE II y SAPS II, se evidencio que solo APACHE II mantiene significacion estadistica, a pesar de la buena discriminacion de ambas escalas. Conclusion. Los coordinadores de trasplantes podrian usar la escala APACHE II como una herramienta para detectar pacientes con riesgo de evolucion a muerte encefalica, minimizando la perdida de potenciales donantes.

Postoperative Care in Kidney Transplantation: A Comparison Between Controlled and Uncontrolled Donation After Circulatory Death.

Recent research in kidney transplantation has revealed differences in the evolution of renal function among patients transplanted from 2 alternative programs for donation after circulatory death (DCD). A retrospective, observational, single-center study was carried out from 2013 to 2016 at a level III hospital intensive care unit (ICU) to assess the progression of kidney recipients after transplants from uncontrolled DCD (uDCD) or controlled DCD (cDCD). The following variables were collected for data analysis: demographics, comorbidities, type of donation, lactate, hemoglobin and glucose levels at ICU admission, creatinine concentration at ICU admission, at-hospital ward transfer, at-hospital discharge, radioisotope imaging results, ICU and in-hospital length of stay, and mortality. There were 87 patients eligible for analysis, 42.5% of which were uDCD recipients. Improvement in kidney function was significantly delayed after uDCD compared with cDCD. A multivariate analysis showed that both uDCD and lactate levels at ICU admission increase the risk of poor outcome after renal transplantation. No deaths were registered in either patient group. Our results suggest that kidney transplantation recipients from uDCD recover renal function at a slower rate than patients transplanted from cDCD, a factor that does not affect mortality.

Results of Controlled Donation After Circulatory Death in a Third-Level Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics and evolution of controlled donation after circulatory death (DCD) type III. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Observational and retrospective study of controlled DCD type III of donors conducted from 2014 to 2016. Clinical data, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, cause of death, warm ischemia time, and total time were collected. Delayed graft function (DGF) and survival of renal transplant were also registered. Qualitative variables are described as frequencies and absolute values and quantitative variables as medians and interquartile ranges. RESULTS: A total of 21 donors were collected; 71% (15) were males, median age was 55 years (interquartile range [IR] 48-72), and median ICU stay was 7 days (IR 4-12). The main cause of death was anoxic encephalopathy (57%, 12), followed by intracerebral hemorrhage (28%, 6). In 48%, withdrawal of life support occurred in the operating room, and 98% of donors were preserved by abdominal super-rapid cannulation technique. Average warm ischemia time was 20 minutes (IR 16-24), and total ischemia time was 26 minutes (IR 23-34). Of the donations, 57% were livers and 90% were kidneys. Out of 42 kidneys donated, 54% (23) of them were valid. Median renal transplant hospital stay was 18 days (IR 6-24), and 46% develop DGF. Survival at discharge was 100%. CONCLUSION: DCD type III ensures a source of organs. The main cause of death was anoxic encephalopathy. Most donors were able to donate some solid organ.

Living Donor in Renal Transplantation: Minimizing Risks.

In recent years, the broadening of indications for renal transplantation, together with the progressive reduction of donations following brain stem death, has led to living donation being considered in increasing numbers of cases for renal transplantation. To investigate this further, it is necessary to assess the impact it has on the postoperative outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). Our group conducted a retrospective, observational, single-center study from 2013 to 2016 to evaluate differences in outcomes between living and cadaveric kidney donation both during ICU admission and total hospitalization. We compared differences in characteristics between living and deceased graft recipients including demographics, comorbidities, analytical data, radioisotope imaging test results, complications, ICU and hospital ward length of stay, and mortality. In all, 387 patients were eligible for analysis, and 13% received living donor grafts. Our results demonstrate that this group had significantly fewer complications, shorter length of hospital stay, and reduced mortality in comparison with recipients of cadaveric donor grafts. The better postoperative outcomes from living donor grafts could result from careful selection of the donor and less inflammatory injury, minimizing risk in the postoperative period.

Cold Ischemia Time as a Factor in Post-transplantation Complications for Orthotopic Hepatic Transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to compare a shorter cold ischemia time with the present one in relation to the complications developed in liver transplantations. DESIGN: This is a retrospective, observational study of orthotopic liver transplantations performed with grafts from brain-dead donors during 12 months at a University Hospital (Seville). We compare incidence rates of complications (reperfusion syndrome, arterial and biliary complications, and prostaglandin requirements) between two groups according to cold ischemia times (group A < 6 hours; group B > 6 hours). RESULTS: Sixty cases were included. There were more males in both groups as donors (55.5%) and recipients (75%). The median age was higher in group B in two cases. The Model for End-stage Liver Disease score was higher in patients with a shorter cold ischemia time, with a median of 20 hours (range, 16 to 26.5 hours). We observed that reperfusion syndrome (3.4% vs. 13.3%; P = .353), vascular complications (6.9% vs. 24.1%; P = .144), biliary tract complications (13.8% vs. 20.7%; P = .730), and prostaglandin requirements (3.4% vs. 20.7%; P = .102) were more common in group B, although without reaching statistical significance. After uni- and multivariate analyses, cold ischemia time longer than 6 hours was the only risk factor to develop complications (odds ratio: 3.578; 95% confidence interval: 1.125 to 11.374, P = .031). CONCLUSION: According to the results of our analysis, cold ischemia times longer than 6 hours, as tends to be the usual procedure in most centers, imply higher rates of complications after liver transplantation.

Orthotopic Liver Transplantation: Preliminary Analysis of Complications With Grafts From Elderly Donors.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine if donor grafts of patients older than 65 years develop more post-transplantation complications than those of younger patients. DESIGN: This is a retrospective, observational study of liver transplant recipients during 12 months in Virgen del Rocio University Hospital. We compare incidence rates of reperfusion syndrome, acute kidney injury, and need for intra- and postoperative red blood cell transfusions in two donor age groups in which group A is <65 years old and group B is ≥65 years old. RESULTS: Sixty cases were included. Reperfusion syndrome, acute kidney injury, and both intra- and postoperative red blood cell transfusion were more frequent in group A than group B (11.4% vs. 4%, P = .390; 44% vs. 32%, P = .423; 68.8% vs. 48%, P = .120; and 70.6% vs. 64%, P = .779, respectively). Six recipients (17.1%) died at 12 months from group A whereas there were no deaths register in group B during that time (P = .036). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that including elderly donors does not aggravate incidence of complications, emphasizing that advanced age should not be an exclusion criteria for liver transplantation.

Subcutaneous methotrexate in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis: a critical appraisal.

AIM: Warren et al. set out to assess the effect of an intensified dosing schedule of subcutaneous methotrexate in patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. SETTING AND DESIGN: This was a prospective, double-blind, randomized (3 : 1), placebo-controlled study, conducted across 16 centres in Germany, France, the Netherlands and the U.K. STUDY EXPOSURE: Methotrexate-naive adults with a diagnosis of moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis for at least 6 months before baseline were randomly assigned to receive weekly subcutaneous injections of either methotrexate at a starting dose of 17·5 mg, or placebo for 16 weeks (first phase). Dose escalation to 22·5 mg per week was implemented after 8 weeks if patients did not achieve ≥ 50% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 50). Treatment was combined with folic acid 5 mg per week. The first phase of the study was followed by an open-label period from 16 to 52 weeks (second phase), in which both groups received weekly methotrexate injections. At week 24, dose escalation to 22·5 mg per week was possible in patients not achieving PASI 50. OUTCOMES: Psoriasis severity was measured using PASI. The authors also used two other psoriasis severity measures and two quality-of-life measures, looked at safety indices and performed a substudy analysing paired skin biopsies at baseline and week 16 (histopathology, immunohistochemistry and expression of interleukin-17A, interferon-γ and tumour necrosis factor-α). PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the proportion of patients reaching PASI 75 at week 16. RESULTS: In total 120 patients were included in this trial, most of whom were middle-aged white men with long-standing psoriasis, and the mean body mass index was 30·1 kg m-2 . PASI 75 was achieved in 41% of patients receiving methotrexate vs. 10% of patients receiving placebo (relative risk 3·93, 95% confidence interval 1·31-11·81; P = 0·0026) at week 16. Subcutaneous methotrexate was generally well tolerated, with no serious adverse events related to this treatment over the 52-week study. CONCLUSION: Warren et al. conclude that the 52-week risk-benefit profile of subcutaneous methotrexate is favourable in patients with psoriasis.