Assessment of light touch sensation in the hands of systemic sclerosis patients.

Introduction: Systemic sclerosis is a relatively rare connective tissue disorder characterized by severe and progressive fibrosis of the skin. Due to the current lack of available information on this subject, the aim of the present study was to assess light touch sensations in the hands of patients with systemic sclerosis.

Methods: We completed a cross-sectional comparative study.

Functional thumb orthosis for type I and II boutonniere deformity on the dominant hand in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled study.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a functional thumb orthosis on the dominant hand of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and boutonniere thumb.

Methods: Forty patients with rheumatoid arthritis and boutonniere deformity of the thumb were randomly distributed into two groups. The intervention group used the orthosis daily and the control group used the orthosis only during the evaluation.