Development and validation of a new tool for assessment of trainees' interventional musculoskeletal ultrasound skills.

Objectives: Interventional musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) procedures are routinely performed in rheumatology practice. However, the efficacy and safety of the procedures rely on the competence of the physician, and assessment of skills is crucial. Thus, this study aimed to develop and establish validity evidence for a tool assessing trainees' interventional MSUS skills.

Solid validity evidence for two tools assessing competences in musculoskeletal ultrasound: a validity study.

Objectives: Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) is increasingly used by rheumatologists in daily clinical practice. However, MSUS is only valuable in trained hands, and assessment of trainee competences is therefore essential before independent practice. Thus, this study aimed to establish validity evidence for the EULAR and the Objective Structured Assessment of Ultrasound Skills (OSAUS) tools used for assessing MSUS competences.

E-learning and practical performance in musculoskeletal ultrasound: a multicentre randomized study.

Objectives: To examine the effect of pre-course e-learning on residents' practical performance in musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS).

Methods: This was a multicentre, randomized controlled study following the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement. Residents with no or little MSUS experience were randomized to either an e-learning group or a traditional group.

Nationwide, large-scale implementation of an online system for remote entry of patient-reported outcomes in rheumatology: characteristics of users and non-users and time to first entry.

Aims: In May 2020, a nationwide, web-based system for remote entry of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in inflammatory rheumatic diseases was launched and implemented in routine care (DANBIO-from-home). After 1.5 years of use, we explored clinical characteristics of patients who did versus did not use the system, and the time to first entry of PROs.

Vagus nerve stimulation as a novel treatment for systemic lupus erythematous: study protocol for a randomised, parallel-group, sham-controlled investigator-initiated clinical trial, the SLE-VNS study.

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease. SLE is treated with immunosuppressants with suboptimal efficacy and high risk of serious side effects. Patients with SLE have increased risk of mortality, organ damage and debilitating treatment-resistant fatigue.

Long-term Behavioral Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Impact of Vaccination in Patients With Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases.

Objective: To explore anxiety and self-isolation in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease (IRD)15 months into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including attitudes toward and effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

Methods: A nationwide online survey was conducted at 3 timepoints: May 2020, November 2020, and May 2021. Patients with IRD followed in the Danish Rheumatology Quality Registry (DANBIO) were asked about the effects of the pandemic, including SARS-CoV-2 infection and their behavior, anxiety, and concerns.

Training and assessment of musculoskeletal ultrasound and injection skills-a systematic review.

Objectives: To examine how residents are trained and assessed in musculoskeletal US (MSUS), MSUS-guided and landmark-guided joint aspiration and injection. Additionally, to present the available assessment tools and examine their supporting validity evidence.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Cochrane Library and Embase was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and studies published from 1 January 2000 to 31 May 2021 were included.

The Effect of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Patients with Polymyalgia Rheumatica.

(1) Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is an inflammatory disease characterised by pain, morning stiffness, and reduced quality of life. Recently, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) was shown to have anti-inflammatory effects. We aimed to examine the effect of transcutaneous VNS (t-VNS) on PMR.

[Sjögren's syndrome].

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a common autoimmune disease with a prevalence of 1%. SS affects primarily women between the age of 30 and 50 years. The classic manifestations are sicca symptoms, musculoskeletal pain and fatigue but the disease can affect all organs.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on treat-to-target strategies and physical consultations in >7000 patients with inflammatory arthritis.

Objectives: To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on treat-to-target strategies (disease activity, remission rates) and access to physical consultations in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease, as well as to explore characteristics of patients with/without physical consultations in the clinic and the impact of early vs established disease.

Methods: Patients with RA, PsA or axial SpA (axSpA) prospectively followed in the nationwide DANBIO registry answered online questionnaires and reported patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in June and November 2020. Patient characteristics, disease activity and physical consultations in the clinic before and during the pandemic were identified in DANBIO [all patients and subgroups with early disease (disease duration ≤2 years)].

Self-protection strategies and health behaviour in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: results and predictors in more than 12 000 patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases followed in the Danish DANBIO registry.

Aims: In Danish patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases to explore self-protection strategies and health behaviour including adherence to disease-modifying antirheumatic treatment (DMARD) during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and again after the reopening of the society started. Furthermore, to identify characteristics of patients with high levels of anxiety and self-isolation.

Methods: Patients in routine care followed prospectively in the nationwide DANBIO registry were invited to answer an online questionnaire regarding disease activity and COVID-19 infection, behaviour in March and June 2020.

Future use of musculoskeletal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging in rheumatoid arthritis.

Purpose Of Review: Musculoskeletal ultrasonography (MSUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) play important roles in diagnosis, monitoring, and prognostication of rheumatoid arthritis. This review highlights recent literature in this field and aims to provide insight into the future use in clinical practice.

Recent Findings: Recent studies concerning the use of MSUS and MRI in clinical practice show how MSUS and MRI can improve diagnosis and monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis and how they can predict both radiographic progression and clinical outcome (e.

Correction: Predictors of opioid efficacy in patients with chronic pain: A prospective multicenter observational cohort study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

High-Intensity Resistance Training Does Not Produce Immediate Ultrasonographic Changes in Muscle Tendons.

Background: Chronic overload injuries to tendons can be visualized using ultrasonography, with characteristics such as tendon thickening and darkening.

Purpose: To investigate whether these characteristics are evident in the patellar and Achilles tendons immediately after 1 session of high-intensity resistance training.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

[Acromegaly].

Acromegaly is a rare and disabling disease with a plethora of symptoms and signs attributed to sustained elevations and actions of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1. Acromegaly is characterised by excessive somatic growth and multiple comorbidities in addition to occasional compression of the optic nerve and hypopituitarism due to the underlying adenoma. The course of the disease is insidious, and a diagnostic delay of 5-10 years is typical, and this pre-diagnostic period is also associated with increased morbidity.

[Acromegaly and symptoms of the motor apparatus].

In this case report, a 72-year-old woman presented with symptoms attributed to arthritis, and MRI indicated sacroiliitis. However, the patient also experienced enlargement of hands and feet in addition to sweating and snoring, which in combination with coarse facial features suggested acromegaly. This diagnosis was biochemically confirmed, and MRI revealed a pituitary adenoma, which was successfully removed by transsphenoidal surgery.

Tele-Health Followup Strategy for Tight Control of Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To test the effect of patient-reported outcome (PRO)-based tele-health followup for tight control of disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the differences between tele-health followup performed by rheumatologists or rheumatology nurses.

Methods: A total of 294 patients were randomized (1:1:1) to either PRO-based tele-health followup carried out by a nurse (PRO-TN) or a rheumatologist (PRO-TR), or conventional outpatient followup by physicians. The primary outcome was a change in the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) after week 52.

Predictors of opioid efficacy in patients with chronic pain: A prospective multicenter observational cohort study.

Opioids are increasingly used for treatment of chronic pain. However, they are only effective in a subset of patients and have multiple side effects. Thus, studies using biomarkers for response are highly warranted.

Situational but Not Dispositional Pain Catastrophizing Correlates With Early Postoperative Pain in Pain-Free Patients Before Surgery.

Unlabelled: Pain catastrophizing may be assessed as a dispositional measure using a previous painful experience as a reference or as a situational measure using an actual ongoing pain as a reference. The latter has shown more robust correlations with pain-related outcomes; the relative influence of dispositional and situational pain catastrophizing remains unknown in relation to populations with no pain before surgery. Forty-two consecutive patients who underwent corrective surgery for funnel chest were asked to complete the Pain Catastrophizing Scale with reference to 1) a previous painful experience (dispositional pain catastrophizing), 2) experimental pain during a 2-minute cold pressor test (situational experimental pain catastrophizing), and 3) clinical pain 3 days after surgery (situational clinical pain catastrophizing) to investigate whether these measures predicted immediate pain intensity and unpleasantness in the early postoperative period.

Pain frequency moderates the relationship between pain catastrophizing and pain.

Background: Pain frequency has been shown to influence sensitization, psychological distress, and pain modulation. The present study examined if pain frequency moderates the relationship between pain catastrophizing and pain.

Method: A non-clinical (247 students) and a clinical (223 pain patients) sample completed the Danish versions of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Beck Depression Inventory, and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and rated pain intensity, unpleasantness and frequency.

[Rhabdomyolysis in a well-trained woman after unusually intense exercise].

A 35-year-old woman was acutely hospitalized with oedema of the upper limbs, reduced force, severe movement reduction and muscle pain in both upper extremities. Her symptoms started after three days of intense exercise doing kayaking and a lot of pull-ups in crossfit. Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome, characterized by muscle necrosis.

Conditioned pain modulation and situational pain catastrophizing as preoperative predictors of pain following chest wall surgery: a prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Variability in patients' postoperative pain experience and response to treatment challenges effective pain management. Variability in pain reflects individual differences in inhibitory pain modulation and psychological sensitivity, which in turn may be clinically relevant for the disposition to acquire pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of conditioned pain modulation and situational pain catastrophizing on postoperative pain and pain persistency.

Perioperative gabapentin for the prevention of persistent pain after thoracotomy: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of perioperative gabapentin treatment for the prevention of persistent post-thoracotomy pain and to establish whether gabapentin has a significant therapeutic impact on acute postoperative pain.

Methods: Consecutive patients with pulmonary malignancies scheduled for anterior thoracotomy were enrolled in this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Patients were given 1200 mg gabapentin or placebo 2 h before surgery followed by increasing doses during 5 postoperative days: 600 mg for day 1; 900 mg for day 2; and 1200 mg for days 3-5.