Comparison of direct medical costs between automated and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Objective: We set out to estimate the direct medical costs (DMCs) of peritoneal dialysis (PD) and to compare the DMCs for continuous ambulatory PD (CAPD) and automated PD (APD). In addition, DMCs according to age, sex, and the presence of peritonitis were evaluated.

Methods: Our retrospective cohort analysis considered patients initiating PD, calculating 2008 costs and, for comparison, updating the results for 2010.

Doctor-patient interactions in Mexican patients with rheumatic disease.

Objective: To evaluate the characteristics of physician-patient communications in Mexican patients with rheumatic diseases.

Methods: We prospectively recruited 200 consecutive patients with chronic rheumatic diseases from a rheumatology clinic affiliated with a secondary care hospital in Mexico. All participants completed face-to-face interviews and surveys to determine their perceptions of the medical interaction with the physician at the clinic.

Factors associated with permanent work disability in Mexican patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A case-control study.

Objective: To assess factors associated with permanent work disability (PWD) in Mexican subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: From a database of 300 salaried workers with RA, we evaluated 35 cases that developed PWD. These cases were compared with 70 controls randomly selected from the same database who were active workers.