Provision of foot health services in rheumatology in the UK.

Objectives: To determine the provision of foot health services in rheumatology for the UK and Northern Ireland.

Methods: Two hundred and sixteen rheumatology departments were surveyed by postal questionnaire. Questions covered the contribution of various disciplines to rheumatology out-patient clinics, and opinions on existing and potential services, with emphasis on foot health provision.

Effectiveness of low-Dye taping for the short-term management of plantar fasciitis.

Low-Dye taping is often used as a short-term treatment for plantar fasciitis. We evaluated the short-term effectiveness of low-Dye taping in relieving pain associated with plantar fasciitis. In this comparative study conducted at a university-based clinic, 65 participants with plantar fasciitis who received low-Dye taping for 3 to 5 days were compared with 40 participants who did not receive taping.

Development and validation of a novel rating system for scoring standing foot posture: the Foot Posture Index.

Introduction: The limitations of clinical methods for appraising foot posture are well documented. A new measure, the Foot Posture Index is proposed, and its development and validation described.

Methods: A four-phase development process was used: (i) to derive a series of candidate measures, (ii) to define an appropriate scoring system, (iii) to evaluate the validity of components and modify the instrument as appropriate, and (iv) to investigate the predictive validity of the finalised instrument relative to static and dynamic kinematic models.

Quantification of muscle strength and imbalance in neurogenic pes cavus, compared to health controls, using hand-held dynamometry.

Background: Pes cavus foot deformity in neuromuscular disease is thought to be related to an imbalance of musculature around the foot and ankle. The most common cause of neurogenic pes cavus is Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. The aim of this investigation was to objectively quantify muscle strength and imbalance using hand-held dynamometry in patients diagnosed with CMT and pes cavus, compared to healthy controls.

Use of famotidine in adult patients with end-stage renal disease: assessment of dosing and mental status changes.

Background: Famotidine dosage adjustment is required in patients with chronic kidney disease. Since recommendations on the degree of famotidine dose reduction vary between references, a chart review was conducted to evaluate the tolerability of varying famotidine doses in adults with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Methods: An assessment was made of famotidine doses prescribed to patients with ESRD over a 7-year period in a university hospital.

Peritoneal dialysis.

Peritoneal dialysis has much to offer patients with chronic renal failure who wish to manage their care and live relatively independent lives. The authors discuss different peritoneal dialysis treatments, patient selection, benefits and the management of potential complications.

An enhanced protocol to reduce error in electromagnetic tracking of first metatarsophalangeal joint motions.

Background: Error associated with markers or sensors surface-mounted onto skin reduces the validity of kinematic models. Extensor tendon excursion at the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) has been noted previously to be especially problematic. An enhanced skin mounting protocol is described and validated.

Development of a foot impact scale for rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To develop a new foot impact scale to assess foot status in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using established qualitative methodology and the latest item response techniques (Rasch analysis).

Methods: Foot problems in RA were explored by conducting qualitative interviews that were then used to generate items for a new foot impact scale. Further validation was undertaken following postal surveys and Rasch analysis.

Foot type and overuse injury in triathletes.

Abnormal foot morphology has been suggested to contribute to overuse injuries in athletes. This study investigated the relationship between foot type and injury incidence in a large sample of competitive triathletes not wearing foot orthoses during a 6-month retrospective analysis and a 10-week prospective cohort study. Foot alignment was measured using the Foot Posture Index and the Valgus Index, and participants were assigned to supinated, pronated, and normal foot-type groups.

The relationship between hallux dorsiflexion and ankle joint complex frontal plane kinematics: a preliminary study.

Background: It has been suggested that the function of the first metatarsophalangeal joint may be related to the motion of the ankle joint complex.

Objective: This study explored the relationship between ankle joint complex and first metatarsophalangeal joint motion during gait in a group of 14 who demonstrated clinically limited passive hallux dorsiflexion in quiet standing (cases), and 15 matched controls.

Method: An electromagnetic tracking system was used to measure the ankle joint complex frontal plane motion and first metatarsophalangeal joint sagittal plane motion during gait, in both cases and controls.

Premenstrual asthma: emphasis on drug therapy options.

Premenstrual asthma is quite common, affecting up to 40% of women. Some studies suggest exacerbations of asthma requiring emergency department visits or hospitalizations are more common in the perimenstrual phase. Several drug treatment modalities for premenstrual asthma have been evaluated.

Energy balance in cystic fibrosis when stable and during a respiratory exacerbation.

Background And Aims: Undernutrition is common in young adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and implies an imbalance between energy intake and total energy expenditure (TEE). The aim of this study was to measure energy intake and TEE expenditure in a group of patients when they were clinically stable at home and during an exacerbation of respiratory symptoms when they were in hospital receiving intravenous antibiotics.

Methods: Eleven patients aged between 15 and 40 years with moderate respiratory disease, mean FEV(1) 51.

Detection of mycobacterial DNA from sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are at high risk from atypical mycobacterial infections. There have been few attempts to delineate the intensity of mycobacterial infection in CF patients in Ireland.

Aims: To examine the incidence of mycobacterial DNA in an archived collection of genomic DNA extracted from the sputa of CF patients within the Northern Ireland population.

Applying a new conceptual framework to evaluate tuberculosis surveillance and action performance and measure the costs, Hillsborough County, Florida, 2002.

Purpose: Tuberculosis (TB) elimination is an important US public health goal and improving the performance of TB surveillance and action and reducing the costs will help achieve it. But, there exists the need to better evaluate the performance and measure the costs.

Methods: We pilot tested an evaluation strategy in Hillsborough County, Florida using a conceptual framework of TB surveillance and action with eight core and four support activities.

Performance on the IOWA card task by adolescents and adults.

Performance on the Iowa Card Task (ICT) is impaired in several populations that demonstrate poor decision-making and risk-taking including patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. For some individuals, adolescence is a period of poor decision-making and risk-taking. Adolescence is also a period of neuroanatomic and neurochemical remodeling.

Acute renal failure: recognition and treatment in ward patients.

Nurses play a key role in the prevention and early detection of acute renal failure (ARF). This article provides an overview of patients in general ward settings who are at greatest risk of developing ARF and outlines the appropriate nursing interventions to assist diagnosis, prevention and management of this condition.

Criterion validation of four criteria of the foot posture index.

The Foot Posture Index is a new multidimensional and multiplanar tool aimed at quantifying the degree of pronation to supination of the foot, comprising eight criteria that sum to produce a final "score" of foot posture. In an initial study involving 31 subjects, angulations measured from dorsoplantar and lateral radiographs were compared with the corresponding Foot Posture Index criteria using Spearman's rho and the generalized linear model of analysis of variance. Eleven of the participants from Study 1 completed a second study in which wedges were used to alter foot position to determine whether changes to foot position were sensitively reflected in Foot Posture Index criterion scores and associated radiographic images.

Biomagnetic detection of gastric electrical activity in normal and vagotomized rabbits.

We recorded the vector magnetogastrogram (MGG) due to gastric electrical activity (GEA) in normal rabbits using a Superconducting QUantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometer and measured the degree of correlation of the MGG with 24 channels of serosal electrodes. The vector magnetometer allows us to non-invasively record three orthogonal magnetic field components and project the recorded magnetic field vector into arbitrary directions. We optimized the magnetic field vector direction to obtain the highest possible correlation with each serosal electrode recording.

Factors associated with triathlon-related overuse injuries.

Study Design: Descriptive correlational investigation.

Objectives: To assess the incidence of, and potential risk factors associated with, overuse injury in triathlon.

Background: The sport of triathlon is rapidly increasing in popularity with a concomitant rise in the prevalence of injuries sustained by triathletes.