Safety and effectiveness of cantharidin-podophylotoxin-salicylic acid in the treatment of recalcitrant plantar warts.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical cantharidin-podophylotoxin-salicylic acid (CPS) treatment of recalcitrant plantar warts (RPW). This study was carried out in a health center in the city of A Coruña (Spain) between January and December 2013. A total of 75 patients completed all the stages of the research process. Information related to treatment with CPS and adverse effects was abstracted from medical records. Of 93 potential patients identified, 75 had at least one follow-up visit or telephone call after treatment and were included in this study. Patients experienced an average of 5.4 visits until complete resolution of their plantar wart occurred, although CPS was not applied at every visit. Fifty-four patients required one application to eliminate the wart and 21 patients required two applications/patient. Seventy-seven percent of patients experienced blistering - an expected therapeutic side effect. All patients experienced some form of an adverse event, the most common being pain (81.3%) and significant blistering (15%). Other side effects were rare (18.7%) and included pruritus, possible mild infection, significant irritation, and bleeding. All patients reported treatment, supporting our results that CPS is a safe and efficacious treatment modality for RPW and should be considered when symptomatic infection necessitates treatment.

Depression Symptoms Among Older Adults With and Without Subacute Low Back Pain.

PURPOSE: Lumbago, or low back pain (LBP), is a common musculoskeletal complaint among older adults that may also be associated with depression. The study objective was to investigate differences in Beck Depression Inventory depression symptoms scores among older adult patients with and without LBP. DESIGN: This was a case-control study. METHODS: A total of 152 older adult patients, recruited at an outpatient healthcare clinic (47 men, 105 women; 74.81 ± 6.9 years), were classified as having subacute LBP (n = 76) or non-LBP (n = 76) according to clinic records. FINDINGS: Beck Depression Inventory scores (mean ± SD) among LBP patients (10.93 ± 6.18) were significantly higher compared to the non-LBP group (7.62 ± 5.70; p = .000085), whose scores indicated no depression symptoms. CONCLUSION: Subacute LBP may represent a potential risk for increased depression among older adults. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Early detection of depression will assist rehabilitation nurses in prescribing the beneficial physical rehabilitation and exercise programs or provide the information and treatment recommendations to older adults with subacute LBP and their families. Also, it should be part of a nursing staff prevention strategy for patients who suffer this common musculoskeletal disorder.

Foot Arch Height and Quality of Life in Adults: A Strobe Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Variations in the foot structure related with the high or low arch are identified common lower limb conditions, and it is supposed to be the effect on the quality of life (QoL) associated to foot health in adults. Here we aimed to determine the relationships between relatively high and low feet arches and QoL. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out. Among 138 adults enrolled in the study, 66 had a high arch, 21 had a low arch, and 51 were within the normal range. Changes related to the foot structure were analyzed using Area Calc version 2.6 software, and data obtained using the Foot-Health-Status-Questionnaire (FHSQ), whose domains were compared between foot arch groups by means of the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: The results of the FHSQ comparison between the three groups within the sample population did not show any statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) for any domains of specific foot (pain, function, general health and footwear) and general (general health, physical activity, social function and vigor) health-related QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Specific foot and general health-related QoL did not seem to be influenced by the foot arch height between high, normal and low feet arches heights. Nevertheless, further studies with higher sample sizes and matched-paired groups should be carried out.

Transcultural Adaptation and Validation of the Spanish Bristol Foot Score (BFS-S).

The Bristol Foot Score is considered an instrument for measuring the impact of foot problems and pain. It was developed and validated in United Kingdom. Therefore, this aim was to perform the transcultural adaptation and validation of the Spanish version. The recommended forward/backward translation protocol was applied for the procedure of translation, transcultural adaptation and validation to Spain. Considering each domain and question, internal consistency and reliability were analyzed through the Crombach alpha (α) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). A very good internal consistency was shown for the 3 domains: concern and pain showed a Cronbach of 0.896, footwear and general foot health of 0.790, mobility 0.887. Each question had a very good test-retest reliability, ranged from 0.721 to 0.963 with no systematic differences (P>0.05) in each question of the Spanish Bristol Foot Score (BFS-S) questionnaire. The test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC 95%): concern and foot pain 0.950 (0.913-0971); footwear and general foot health 0.914 (0.851-0.950), mobility 0.973 (0.953-0.984) and there were no sistematic differences in any domain (P > 0.05). The BFS-S was shown to be a valid and reliable tool with an acceptable use in the Spanish population.

Relationship of depression in participants with nonspecific acute or subacute low back pain and no-pain by age distribution.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Nonspecific low back pain (LBP) is the most prevalent musculoskeletal condition in various age ranges and is associated with depression. The aim of this study was to determine the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores in participants with nonspecific LBP and no-pain by age distribution. METHODS: A case-control study was carried out following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology criteria. A sample of 332 participants, divided into the following age categories: 19-24 (n=11), 25-39 (n=66), 40-64 (n=90), 65-79 (n=124), and ≥80 (n=41) years was recruited from domiciliary visits and an outpatient clinic. The BDI scores were self-reported in participants with nonspecific acute or subacute (≤3 months) LBP (n=166) and no-pain (n=166). RESULTS: The BDI scores, mean ± standard deviation, showed statistically significant differences (p<0.001) between participants with nonspecific acute or subacute LBP (9.590±6.370) and no-pain (5.825±5.113). Significantly higher BDI scores were obtained from participants with nonspecific acute and subacute LBP in those aged 40-64 years (p<0.001; 9.140±6.074 vs 4.700±3.777) and 65-79 years (p<0.001; 10.672±6.126 vs 6.210±5.052). Differences were not significant in younger patients aged 19-24 (p=0.494; 5.000±2.646 vs 8.250±7.498), 25-39 (p=0.138; 5.440±5.245 vs 3.634±4.397), and in those aged ≥80 years (p=0.094; 13.625±6.1331 vs 10.440±5.591). CONCLUSION: Participants with nonspecific acute and subacute LBP present higher BDI depression scores, influenced by age distribution. Specifically, patients in the age range from 40 to 80 years with LBP could require more psychological care in addition to any medical or physical therapy. Nevertheless, physical factors, different outcomes, and larger sample size should be considered in future studies.