Objective: To propose a new definition for SLEDAI arthritis informed by imaging.
Methods: We performed a planned secondary analysis of observational data from a multicentre study evaluating SLE patients with inflammatory joint pain (swelling not required) using various clinical instruments, laboratory tests and ultrasound. For SLEDAI arthritis, assessors (blinded to ultrasound) were asked which of the glossary terms for arthritis in any version of the SLEDAI drove their decision to score for arthritis.
Aims: We sought to characterize the clinical course of patients following worsening heart failure (WHF) treated in an outpatient setting and to identify factors associated with a poor response to standard of care with loop diuretics.
Methods And Results: Between September 2022 and March 2023, 44 eligible patients (mean age 66.3 years, 84% male) with ejection fraction <50% and with WHF symptoms in the preceding week treated in an outpatient setting were enrolled.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has had a profound global impact. The emergence of several variants during the pandemic has presented numerous challenges in preventing and managing this disease. The development of vaccines has played a pivotal role in controlling the pandemic, with a significant portion of the global population being vaccinated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Hydrazine (HZ) and Hydrazine Derivative (HZ-D) exposures pose health risks to people in industrial and aerospace settings. Several recent systematic reviews and case series have highlighted common clinical presentations and management strategies. Given the low frequency at which HZ and HZ-D exposures occur, a strong evidence base on which to develop an evidence-based guideline does not exist at this time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The impact of cleft and craniomaxillofacial (CCMF) surgeons on oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) resident training is not well known.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the association between resident exposure to OMS faculty with CCMF surgery training, clinical experience, and scholarly activity.
Study Design, Setting, Sample: An anonymous survey of OMS residency directors in the United States, distributed electronically by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, was used to conduct a cross-sectional study.
Expert Opin Biol Ther
October 2024
Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that primarily affects middle-aged individuals but is increasingly prevalent among the elderly due to longer life expectancies. Treating elderly onset RA (EORA) is challenging for clinicians because of unique disease characteristics, comorbidities, polypharmacy, age-related physiological changes, and limited studies on the safety and efficacy of biological therapies in this population. This review aims to evaluate the use of various biological therapies in elderly RA patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOphthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina
August 2024
This report describes a case of retinal vasculitis in a patient with autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS). A 13-year-old girl undergoing work-up for immune dysregulation was referred for retinal vasculitis. The patient was asymptomatic on presentation, but her retinal examination was remarkable for areas of outer retinal and choriocapillary loss and focal vascular inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Ex vivo perfusion of transplant-declined human organs has emerged as a promising platform to study the response of an organ to novel therapeutic strategies. However, to fully realize the capability of this platform for performing translational research in human organ pathophysiology, there is a need for robust assays to assess organ function and disease. State-of-the-art research methods rely on analyses of biopsies taken during perfusion, which both damages the organ and only provides localized information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: The utility of shear wave elastography (SWE) as an adjunct to ultrasound biometry and Doppler velocimetry for the examination of placental dysfunction and suboptimal fetal growth is unclear. To date, limited data exist correlating the mechanical properties of placentae with fetal growth. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between placental shear wave velocity (SWV) and ultrasound estimated fetal weight (EFW), and to ascertain if placental SWV is a suitable proxy measure of placental function in the surveillance of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) pregnancies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Inflammation has emerged as a potential key pathophysiological mechanism in heart failure (HF) in general and acute HF (AHF) specifically, with inflammatory biomarkers shown to be highly predictive of adverse outcomes in these patients. The CORTAHF study builds on both these data and the fact that steroid burst therapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of respiratory diseases and COVID-19. Our hypothesis is that in patients with AHF and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels without symptoms or signs of infection, a 7-day course of steroid therapy will lead to reduced inflammation and short-term improvement in quality of life and a reduced risk of worsening HF (WHF) events.
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