Publications by authors named "F Birrell"
Objectives: To explore physiotherapists' experiences and perceived acceptability of delivering a bracing intervention for knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the 'PROvision of braces for Patients with knee OA' (PROP OA) randomised controlled trial.
Method: Semi-structured telephone interviews with consenting physiotherapists who received the PROP OA training programme and delivered the knee bracing intervention (advice, information and exercise instruction plus knee brace matched to patients' clinical and radiographic presentation and with adherence support). Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to evaluate and summarize knee bracing interventions from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focused on knee osteoarthritis (OA).
- A scoping review identified 31 RCTs with 47 different bracing types, highlighting variations in the type and use of braces, but poor reporting on brace adherence and contextual details.
- The review concluded that the diversity of interventions, along with gaps in adherence focus and reporting, may be leading to inconsistent findings and recommendations regarding the effectiveness of knee bracing for OA.
Article Synopsis
- A study investigated the potential benefits of methotrexate, an antirheumatic drug, in treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA) pain through a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 207 participants.
- Participants were randomly assigned to receive either methotrexate or a placebo for 12 months while continuing their usual pain relief medications, with a primary focus on assessing average knee pain at 6 months.
- Results indicated that the methotrexate group experienced a significant decrease in knee pain compared to the placebo group, suggesting methotrexate may provide symptomatic relief for KOA.
Objective: We undertook this study to evaluate potential predictors of placebo response with intra-articular (IA) injections for knee/hip osteoarthritis (OA) using individual participant data (IPD) from existing trials.
Methods: Randomized placebo-controlled trials evaluating IA glucocorticoid or hyaluronic acid published to September 2018 were selected. IPD for disease characteristics and outcome measures were acquired.
Natural infection with the influenza virus is believed to generate cross-protective immunity across both types and subtypes. However, less is known about the persistence of this immunity and thus the susceptibility of individuals to repeat infection. We used 13 years (2005-2017) of surveillance data from Queensland, Australia, to describe the incidence and distribution of repeat influenza infections.
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