Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI) use in modelling disease progression in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: an analysis from the EUSTAR database.

Background: Patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) have a poor prognosis. The importance of monitoring subjective measures of functioning and disability, such as the Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (HAQ-DI), is important as dcSSc is rated by patients as worse than diabetes or hemodialysis for quality of life impairment. This European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) database analysis was undertaken to examine the importance of impaired functionality in dcSSc prognosis.

Vaccine Timeliness: A Cost Analysis of the Potential Implications of Delayed Pertussis Vaccination in the US.

Background: Pertussis infection remains an important public health problem, particularly in infants. Despite high coverage, pertussis vaccination delays can leave infants at a vulnerable age with less protection than anticipated.

Methods: Current diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP) vaccination timeliness for the first 3 doses in the US was estimated using National Immunization Survey data.

Dissecting the indirect effects caused by vaccines into the basic elements.

Vaccination directly protects vaccinated individuals, but it also has the potential for indirectly protecting the unvaccinated in a population (herd protection). Unintended negative consequences such as the re-manifestation of infection, mainly expressed as age shifts, result from vaccination programs as well. We discuss the necessary conditions for achieving optimal herd protection (i.