Publications by authors named "Ann Brownfield"
Article Synopsis
- * Out of 679 patients surveyed, 39% responded; findings showed a mix of reassurance and anxiety concerning the information, with only 40% aware of significant drug side effects.
- * Key areas for improvement were identified, including better communication about when to pause medications during infections, understanding vaccination safety, and increasing prostate cancer screening participation.
Background: Anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies are an important recent development in the treatment of autoimmune disease. Despite important side effects relating to immune suppression, there is lack of research into patient experiences, attitudes and expectations about the information they receive prior to starting anti-TNF therapy.
Methods: In May 2011 participants were purposively sampled to form two focus groups varying in age, anti-TNF agent and pre-therapy disease activity.
Objective: To investigate the relationship of psychological distress and associated factors with continuation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Methods: Patients about to start therapy with TNF antagonists (n = 166) were assessed for psychological distress using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). A core set of demographic and clinical variables, including comorbidities from medical records and cigarette smoking history by questionnaire, were recorded at baseline and regular intervals thereafter.
Objectives: Depression is common in RA and may be influenced by both disease activity and severity. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of depression in RA patients starting anti-TNF therapy, to investigate how mood alters after exposure to anti-TNF and to determine whether depression is recognized and appropriately managed in the clinic.
Methods: Patients starting anti-TNF therapy were assessed for depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D), and classified as depressed with an HADS-D of > or =8.
Objective: To determine whether there is a quantitative relationship between smoking history and response to therapy with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists.
Methods: A history of cigarette smoking was obtained from a questionnaire completed by each patient starting therapy with TNF antagonists since 2002 (n=154). A core set of demographic and clinical variables was recorded at baseline and at 3 and 12 months.
Objective: To investigate the association of nodular disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with smoking, seropositivity, and polymorphisms at HLA-DRB1 and TNF loci.
Methods: Consecutive patients with RA (n = 420) attending a hospital clinic were examined for the presence of subcutaneous nodules. Rheumatoid factor (RF) status and HLA-DRB1 genotype were determined on every patient, and their smoking history was recorded.
Objective: Rheumatoid factor (RF) production in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is generally associated with more severe disease. In some studies, RF production has been associated with carriage of HLA-DRB1 alleles encoding the RA-associated shared epitope (SE). Patients who smoke are also more likely to be RF positive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine whether the relationship between smoking and disease severity in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with polymorphism at the glutathione S-transferase (GST) M1 locus.
Methods: Genotyping for GSTM1 was carried out using polymerase chain reaction methodology on 164 women with established RA. Smoking history was obtained on each patient.