Publications by authors named "Morf Harriet"

Article Synopsis
  • Spondyloarthritides (SpAs) are rheumatic diseases causing lower back pain and limited mobility, and access to physiotherapy is often a barrier to effective treatment.
  • A study compared the digital health application ViViRA with standard physiotherapy among SpAs patients, assessing pain, quality of life, and mobility over 12 weeks.
  • Results showed that the ViViRA group had better mobility improvements and lower pain intensity compared to the control group, indicating that digital health applications may be more effective than traditional physiotherapy for treating lower back pain in these patients.
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Background: The exponential growth of telehealth is revolutionizing health care delivery, but its evaluation has not matched the pace of its uptake. Various forms of assessment, from single-item to more extensive questionnaires, have been used to assess telehealth and digital therapeutics and their usability. The most frequently used questionnaire is the "Telehealth Usability Questionnaire" (TUQ).

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Background: The development and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is remarkable. Its application in all medical disciplines, including rheumatology, is attracting attention. To what extent AI is already used in clinical routine in rheumatology is unknown.

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Non-specific low back pain (NLBP) is prevalent among patients with rheumatic conditions. Digital health applications (DiGAs) provide reimbursed, personalized home treatment for patients, promising to overcome limitations of traditional healthcare systems. However, the adoption and effectiveness of back pain-specific DiGAs in rheumatology are not well understood.

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Objective: Although previous studies have illuminated associations between body mass and physical activity (PA), there have been scant insights regarding the physical, cognitive, and motivational determinants of PA in relationship to body mass. This study aimed to model courses of competencies for health-enhancing PA across the spectrum of BMI.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data of 3670 individuals (mean [SD]: BMI, 25.

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Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease characterized by potentially disabling inflammation of the spine and adjacent joints. Regular exercise is a cornerstone of treatment. However, patients with AS currently have little support.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the diagnostic accuracy of two digital tools, an AI-based symptom checker (Ada) and a web-based self-referral tool (Rheport), for identifying inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs) among patients at three rheumatology centers.
  • A total of 600 patients participated, with results showing that Rheport and Ada had varying levels of success in correctly identifying IRDs, achieving diagnostic accuracies of 52% and 58% respectively.
  • The tools notably had better performance in diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis compared to other IRDs, with Ada showing a higher sensitivity for this specific condition.
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Background: Mobile eHealth apps have been used as a complementary treatment to increase the quality of life of patients and provide new opportunities for the management of rheumatic diseases. Telemedicine, particularly in the areas of prevention, diagnostics, and therapy, has become an essential cornerstone in the care of patients with rheumatic diseases.

Objective: This study aims to improve the design and technology of YogiTherapy and evaluate its usability and quality.

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Patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) suffer from one of the longest diagnostic delays among all rheumatic diseases. Telemedicine (TM) may reduce this diagnostic delay by providing easy access to care. Diagnostic rheumatology telehealth studies are scarce and largely limited to traditional synchronous approaches such as resource-intensive video and telephone consultations.

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Treat-to-target (T2T) is a main therapeutic strategy in rheumatology; however, patients and rheumatologists currently have little support in making the best treatment decision. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) could offer this support. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy, effectiveness, usability, and acceptance of such a CDSS-Rheuma Care Manager (RCM)-including an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered flare risk prediction tool to support the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

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Article Synopsis
  • Effective triage of patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) is crucial for timely treatment and preventing long-term damage, as shown by a study of 600 patients in rheumatology clinics.
  • The study found that the median time from symptom onset to seeing a rheumatologist was 30 weeks, with shorter delays for IRD patients (26 weeks) compared to non-IRD patients (35 weeks).
  • Only a small percentage of patients had a delay of less than 12 weeks, and improvements in triage methods and pre-diagnosis treatment are recommended to reduce these delays and enhance patient care.
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Background: Patient education is crucial for successful chronic disease management. Current education material for rheumatic patients however rarely includes images of disease pathologies, limiting patients' disease understanding. Cinematic rendering (CR) is a new tool that allows segmentation of standard medical images (DICOMs) into pictures that illustrate disease pathologies in a photorealistic way.

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Background: Besides anti-inflammatory medication, physical exercise represents a cornerstone of modern treatment for patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AS). Digital health apps (DHAs) such as the yoga app YogiTherapy could remotely empower patients to autonomously and correctly perform exercises.

Objective: This study aimed to design and develop a smartphone-based app, YogiTherapy, for patients with AS.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to assess patient experiences with two digital diagnostic decision support systems (DDSS): an AI-based symptom checker (Ada) and an online self-referral tool (Rheport).
  • The trial involved 600 patients from rheumatology clinics in Germany, who were randomly assigned to use either tool and provide feedback on usability and helpfulness, with Rheport scoring higher than Ada in usability.
  • Results indicated that while a significant number of patients found both tools helpful for assessing symptoms, older patients rated both systems lower in usability compared to younger users, highlighting potential demographic differences in tool effectiveness.
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Biologics have been an integral part of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis for approximately 20 years. As patents for pharmaceuticals generally expire after 10 years, in recent years biosimilars have come onto the market. Many studies have shown that they are an equivalent alternative to the reference drug with comparable safety and efficacy.

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Introduction: In order to successfully integrate telemedicine into the daily routine of rheumatology, both the patient's and the physician's perspective are important. For this purpose, a detailed study by means of a web-based survey was conducted by the Working Group Young Rheumatology (AGJR) of the German Society for Rheumatology (DGRh) and the German Rheumatism League National Association. By means of subgroup analysis of the data regarding video consultation, the aim was now to find out which requirements and wishes patients and physicians have for video consultations.

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Background: Timely diagnosis and treatment are essential in the effective management of inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRDs). Symptom checkers (SCs) promise to accelerate diagnosis, reduce misdiagnoses, and guide patients more effectively through the health care system. Although SCs are increasingly used, there exists little supporting evidence.

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Objective: To analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rheumatic patients' and rheumatologists' usage, preferences and perception of digital health applications (DHAs).

Methods: A web-based national survey was developed by the Working Group Young Rheumatology of the German Society for Rheumatology and the German League against Rheumatism. The prospective survey was distributed via social media (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook), QR code and email.

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Objective: To investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and its association with clinical and psychological factors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Germany and in Brazil.

Method: A convenience sample of 267 RA patients, 176 from Germany (age 62.4 ± 12.

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Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) of the joints, gut and skin are treated with inhibitors of inflammatory cytokines. These cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Investigating anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in IMIDs we observe a reduced incidence of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion in IMID patients treated with cytokine inhibitors compared to patients receiving no such inhibitors and two healthy control populations, despite similar social exposure.

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