Use of mortality within 30 days of a COPD hospitalisation as a measure of COPD care in UK hospitals.

Mortality rate has been proposed as a metric of hospital chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care in light of variation seen in national COPD audits. Using Hospital Episode Statistics (hospital 'coding') we examined 30-day mortality after COPD hospitalisation in 150 UK hospitals during 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. Mean and median 30-day mortalities were similar each year but the coefficient of variation was >20% and hospitals could change from a low or high quartile to the median by chance.

A prospective randomized controlled trial of plantar versus dorsal incisions for operative treatment of primary Morton's neuroma.

Background: There are a great number of studies on the outcome of surgery for Morton's neuroma. However, there is a lack of controlled trials to determine the outcome in general and for the 2 most used surgical approaches. This prospective and randomized trial studied the outcome and adverse events of resected primary Morton's neuromas, comparing plantar and dorsal incisions.

Plantar versus dorsal incision in the treatment of primary intermetatarsal Morton's neuroma.

Background: Only few studies have compared plantar and dorsal incisions in the treatment of primary intermetatarsal Morton's neuroma (PIMN). The results and guidelines are, however, still controversial, mainly due to confounding factors and study design. The present study is an attempt to systematically compare the two approaches.

Local NSAID gel (eltenac) in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. A double blind study comparing eltenac with oral diclofenac and placebo gel.

In a randomized, double blind, multicentre study with 4 weeks follow-up of 290 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee joint, a topical NSAID (eltenac) was compared with oral diclofenac and placebo. The main outcome, Lequesne's Index and pain by VAS showed no statistically significant differences between neither of the active treatments and placebo for the total study population. However, in patients with more severe symptoms, both active groups showed statistically significant differences to placebo.

Glycosaminoglycan polysulfate injections in lateral humeral epicondylalgia: a placebo-controlled double-blind trial.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic benefit of local Glycosaminoglycan polysulfate (GAGPS) injections in the treatment of chronic epicondylalgia. The study was conducted as a prospective, placebo-controlled double-blind trial. Sixty patients with a typical history of pain for at least 3 months who attended two private orthopaedic clinics in Stockholm received 50 mg GAGPS or placebo injections, one injection a week, for five weeks.