The ESCAPS study: a feasibility randomized controlled trial of early electrical stimulation to the wrist extensors and flexors to prevent post-stroke complications of pain and contractures in the paretic arm.

Objective: To establish feasibility of initiating electrical stimulation treatment of wrist extensors and flexors in patients early after stroke to prevent muscle contractures and pain.

Design: Feasibility randomized controlled trial with economic evaluation.

Setting: A specialist stroke unit in Nottinghamshire.

Long-term topical corticosteroid use and risk of skin cancer: a systematic review.

Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize available research evidence to determine the risk of skin cancer in patients with long-term use of topical corticosteroids (TCS).

Introduction: Topical corticosteroids are one of the most commonly prescribed medicines in dermatology and the mainstay of the treatment of atopic dermatitis and other skin conditions such as psoriasis. They are often required for months or years to control the disease and ultimately restore patients' quality of life.

'When it goes back to my normal I suppose': a qualitative study using online focus groups to explore perceptions of 'control' among people with eczema and parents of children with eczema in the UK.

Objective: To inform the development of a core outcome set for eczema by engaging with people with eczema and parents of children with eczema to understand their experiences and understanding of the concept 'eczema control'.

Design: 37 participants took part in a total of six semi-structured online focus groups held in a typed chatroom with 5-7 participants per group. Three groups involved adults with eczema and three groups involved parents of children with eczema.

Liver cirrhosis in England-an observational study: are we measuring its burden occurrence correctly?

Objectives: Mortality due to liver disease (of which cirrhosis is the end stage) is increasing more than any other chronic condition in the UK. This study aims to demonstrate that (1) exclusive reliance on mortality rates may not reveal the true burden of liver cirrhosis, and (2) diverse use of diagnostic coding may produce misleading estimates.

Design: Observational study.

Long-term topical corticosteroid use and risk of skin cancer: a systematic review protocol.

The objective of this systematic review is to synthesize the best available research evidence to determine the risk of skin cancer in patients on long-term use of topical corticosteroids. Specifically the review question is: In people using long-term (regular use over one month) topical corticosteroids, what is the risk of developing skin cancer (clinically or histologically confirmed basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma)?

Risk of venous thromboembolism in hospitalised cancer patients in England-a cohort study.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a well-recognised and life-threatening complication in patients with cancer. However, the precise risk of VTE in hospitalised cancer patients in England has not been previously reported.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study using linked Hospital Episodes Statistics and Office for National Statistics mortality data.

How Often Do Comparative Randomised Controlled Trials in the Field of Eczema Fail to Directly Compare the Treatments Being Tested?

The objective of the study was to identify all parallel design randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing treatments for eczema in recent dermatology literature that have failed to report a between-group analysis. The GREAT database (www.greatdatabase.

Causes of death in people with liver cirrhosis in England compared with the general population: a population-based cohort study.

Objectives: There is a need for unbiased estimates of cause-specific mortality by etiology in patients with liver cirrhosis. The aim of this study is to use nationwide linked electronic routine healthcare data from primary and secondary care alongside the national death registry data to report such estimates.

Methods: We identified from the linked Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and English Hospital Episode Statistics adults with an incident diagnosis of liver cirrhosis linked to the Office for National Statistics between 1998 and 2009.

Diagnosis of liver cirrhosis in England, a cohort study, 1998-2009: a comparison with cancer.

Objectives: There is no routine registration of the occurrence of newly diagnosed cases of cirrhosis in the United Kingdom. This study seeks to determine precise estimates and trends of the incidence of cirrhosis in England, and directly compare these figures with those for the 20 most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United Kingdom.

Methods: We used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and linked English Hospital Episode Statistics to perform a population-based cohort study.

1 and 5 year survival estimates for people with cirrhosis of the liver in England, 1998-2009: a large population study.

Background & Aims: Large, population-based studies that have included the full spectrum of cirrhosis estimating survival, taking into account time-at-risk are lacking. We aimed to report 1- and 5-year average survival rates for people with cirrhosis to be used in a clinical and healthcare policy setting.

Methods: We used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and linked English Hospital Episode Statistics to identify adult cases of cirrhosis from January 1998 to December 2009.

Nature of auditory processing disorder in children.

Objective: We tested the specific hypothesis that the presentation of auditory processing disorder (APD) is related to a sensory processing deficit.

Methods: Randomly chosen, 6- to 11-year-old children with normal hearing (N = 1469) were tested in schools in 4 regional centers across the United Kingdom. Caregivers completed questionnaires regarding their participating children's listening and communication skills.

The natural history of hepatitis C with severe hepatic fibrosis.

Background/aims: To examine the morbidity and mortality of patients with severe fibrosis secondary to HCV infection, within a population unbiased by tertiary referral.

Methods: One hundred and fifty HCV infected patients were identified from the Trent HCV study with a liver biopsy taken before 2002 demonstrating severe fibrosis (Ishak stage > or =4). Follow-up data were extracted from the database and hospital records.

Children born weighing less than 1701 g: visual and cognitive outcomes at 11-14 years.

Background And Objective: Few studies of low birthweight children have explored the relationship between later visual morbidity and neuropsychological function. This study evaluated these outcomes using a geographically defined cohort.

Methods: Prospective study of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in infants born weighing <1701 g, undertaken in 1985-7.

The reliability of balance, mobility and self-care measures in a population of adults with a learning disability known to a physiotherapy service.

Objective: To estimate the reliability of three measures of balance, mobility and activity for use in clinical and research physiotherapy, with adults with a learning disability.

Design: Prospective study to investigate test-retest and inter-rater reliability.

Setting: Participants' homes and day centres.

Strabismus in children of birth weight less than 1701 g.

Objective: To prospectively study infants of birth weight less than 1701 g in the East Midlands of England in the mid 1980s at 10 to 12 years of age to determine the incidence and risk factors for strabismus in children born preterm.

Methods: Low-birth-weight children (n = 572) who had been examined during the neonatal period were invited for a follow-up visit at age 10 to 12 years; 169 eleven-year-old schoolchildren born at full term were also recruited (the school cohort).

Results: Of the original 572 children, 293 consented to further examination.

Long-term ophthalmic outcome of low birth weight children with and without retinopathy of prematurity.

Objective: A prospective study of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) of 505 infants who weighed <1701 g at birth was undertaken in the mid-1980s. This cohort was traced at 10 to 12 years of age to determine how low birth weight alone and ROP might influence their ophthalmic outcome.

Methods: Outcome measures were 1) visual functions (visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, stereoacuity, perimetry, and color vision), 2) presence of strabismus, and 3), measurements of eye size and the dimensions of its components including refractive state.