Azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine for maintenance of remission in Crohn's disease.

Background: The therapeutic role of 6-mercaptopurine and azathioprine remains controversial due to their perceived relatively slow-acting effect and adverse effects. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the efficacy of these agents for the maintenance of remission of quiescent Crohn's disease.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine for maintenance of remission in quiescent Crohn's disease.

Priority-setting tools for rheumatology disease referrals: a review of the literature.

As part of a larger body of work to develop a rheumatology priority referral score, a literature review was conducted. The objective of the literature review was to identify preexisting priority-setting, triage, and referral tools/scales developed to guide referrals from primary care to specialist care/consultation usually provided by a rheumatologist. Using a combination of database, citation, Internet, and hand-searching, 20 papers were identified that related to referral prioritization in three areas: rheumatoid arthritis (RA; 5), musculoskeletal (MSK) diseases other than RA (3), and MSK diseases in general (12).

Recognition of depression in older medical inpatients discharged to ambulatory care settings: a longitudinal study.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the recognition of depression in older medical inpatients by nonpsychiatric physicians over a 2-year period.

Methods: A cohort of medical inpatients aged 65 and above was recruited at two university-affiliated hospitals, with oversampling of depressed patients. Participants were assessed with research diagnoses of major or minor depression (DSM-IV) at admission and at 3, 6 and 12 months.

Recognition of depression by non-psychiatric physicians--a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Background: Depression, with up to 11.9% prevalence in the general population, is a common disorder strongly associated with increased morbidity. The accuracy of non-psychiatric physicians in recognizing depression may influence the outcome of the illness, as unrecognized patients are not offered treatment for depression.

Recognition of depression in older medical inpatients.

Background: Studies of recognition of depression in older (aged 65 or more) medical inpatients show low rates of recognition of depression by attending physicians. However, few studies have compared different measures of recognition of depression.

Objectives: (1) To compare the validity of four indicators of recognition of depression and a global measure of recognition against a diagnosis of depression and (2) to explore the effect of patient characteristics on recognition of depression.