Clinical significance of possible HLA biomarkers in axial spondyloarthritis beyond HLA-B27 positivity.

The aim of this study is to compare four forms of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA): non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), non-radiographic axial psoriatic arthritis (nr-axPsA) and radiographic axial psoriatic arthritis (r-axPsA). In a cross-sectional retrospective study, gender difference, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing, laboratory C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation (SE) values, and radiographic and magnetic resonance scans were analyzed. One hundred and thirty-seven patients were included in the study: 45 AS, 51 nr-axSpA, 32 r-axPsA and 9 nr-axPsA; 74 women and 63 men.

Development of simple descriptions of the ICF Generic-30 Set in different languages: laying the foundation for an ICF-based clinical tool for Europe.

Background: Functioning is considered a third indicator of health and a key outcome in rehabilitation. A universal practical tool for collecting functioning information is essential. This tool would be ideally based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

NUTRITIONAL RISK SCREENING IN GASTROENTEROLOGICAL PATIENTS AT THE RIJEKA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL CENTRE.

Malnutrition is usually related to some diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic pancreatitis, chronic liver disease and malignant tumors. It is characterized by weight loss, protein deficiency, and deficit of specific nutrients. The aim was to estimate the prevalence of nutritional risk among 160 gastrointestinal patients by use of the Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002) score at hospital admission and discharge.

Determination of physiotherapy ultrasound beam quality parameters from images derived using thermochromic material.

The evaluation of the performance of nine physiotherapy ultrasound transducers used clinically was performed in the hospital environment using an acoustically absorbing thermocromic tile developed at the National Physical Laboratory (UK). The method consists of exposing an acoustic absorber tile, part of which contains a thermochromic pigment, to the ultrasonic beam, thereby forming an image of the intensity profile of the transducer. Images acquired using thermochromic materials were postprocessed in order to estimate effective radiating area (ERA) and beam nonuniformity ratio (BNR) for ultrasound transducers operating within the frequency range from 1.

Rasch validation and comparison of Slovenian, Croatian, and Italian versions of the Mini-BESTest in patients with subacute stroke.

We aimed to verify by Rasch analysis whether the Mini-BESTest, a balance measure, confirms its main psychometric properties in patients with subacute stroke undergoing rehabilitation in three different countries (Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy), and to examine the stability of item hierarchy and difficulty across the three national versions through a differential item functioning analysis. We investigated 159 patients with subacute stroke consecutively admitted to three rehabilitation facilities after screening for an intensive, tailored rehabilitation program. Balance function was tested within 36 h from admission and after ∼25 days.

[EVALUATION OF PAIN AND LOCAL PHARMACOLOGICAL PAIN TREATMENT IN RHEUMATOLOGY].

The objective of this review is to present outcome measurement tools for chronic musculoskeletal pain in rheumatology patients and to provide an overview of local pharmacological pain treatment. Reliable and valid assessment of pain is fundamental for both clinical trials and effective pain management. The complex nature of pain makes objective measurement impossible.

Functional outcome assessment of lower limb amputees and prosthetic users with a 2-minute walk test.

The aim of this study was to assess the functional outcome of a population of lower limb amputees supplied with prosthesis. The research was conducted from June to September of 2010 at the Center for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, of the Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Croatia. The study included 50 adult subjects of both genders with a unilateral transtibial or transfemoral lower limb amputations.

[Low back pain--from definition to diagnosis].

Low back pain is defined as pain and discomfort, localised below the costal margin and above the inferior gluteal folds, with or without leg pain. It is one of the most commonest cause of seeking physician office visits, secound cause of sick leave, and because of high direct and indirect costs it has great medical, social and economic impact for individual, family and society. Non-specific low back pain is defined as low back pain not attributed to recognisable, known specific pathology and specific low back pain which has known pathomorfological cause.

Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the treatment of shoulder calcific tendinitis.

Shoulder calcific lesions of the rotator cuff are a common problem in physiatric and orthopedic practice. The lesions are mostly located in the supraspinatus tendon, close to the insertion area in the critical zone. Patients are usually treated conservatively by nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs, analgesic drugs, local injections, physiotherapy and rarely by applying surgical procedures.

Analgesic effect of high intensity laser therapy in knee osteoarthritis.

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA), the most common type of osteoarthritis (OA), is associated with pain and inflammation of the joint capsule, impaired muscular stabilization, reduced range of motion and functional disability. High-intensity laser therapy (HILT) involves higher-intensity laser radiation and causes minor and slow light absorption by chromophores. Light stimulation of the deep structures, due to high intensity laser therapy, activates cell metabolism through photochemical effect.

Spontaneous serial fractures of metatarsal bones in female patient with rheumatoid arthritis on long-term steroid therapy.

Low-dose oral steroid therapies are very effective in active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), reducing disease activity in acute crisis either while waiting for disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to take effect or if it was slow in response to DMARDs. However, long-term steroid therapies are associated with serious side effects, such as osteoporotic reduction of bone mass and frequent fractures. This paper reports a female patient who has suffered RA treated with low-dose oral steroid therapy in a long-term period.

The rational strategies for detecting developmental dysplasia of the hip at the age of 4-6 months old infants: a prospective study.

Using ultrasound in evaluation of infant's hip development can reduce surgical procedures, hospitalization and late presentation of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). The increasing incidence of DDH after ultrasound examination is observed and published by many authors. In a prospective study, radiograph of every single ultrasonographic positive hip in infants older than three months, was taken and analyzed in order to see whether it affects infants splintage rate in treating DDH.

Balance index score as a predictive factor for lower sports results or anterior cruciate ligament knee injuries in Croatian female athletes--preliminary study.

Female athletes participating in high-risk sports suffer anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury at a 4- to 6-fold greater rate than do male athletes. ACL injuries result either from contact mechanisms or from certain unexplained non-contact mechanisms occurring during daily professional sports activities. The occurrence of non-contact injuries points to the existence of certain factors intrinsic to the knee that can lead to ACL rupture.