High-dose oral methylprednisolone for the treatment of multiple sclerosis relapses: cost-minimisation analysis and patient's satisfaction.

Objective: To study the use of high-dose oral methylprednisolone compounded formulation and intravenous methylprednisolone for the treatment of multiple sclerosis relapses. To compare both routes of methylprednisolone administration related to cost and patient's satisfaction with the treatment.

Methods: A retrospective cohort observational study was performed from January 2012 to December 2016.

Prevalence of hepatocarcinoma-related hepatitis B virus mutants in patients in grey zone of treatment.

Background: Antiviral treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the grey zone of treatment comands risk management in order to optimize the health outcome. In this sense, the identification of HBV mutants related with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) could be useful to identify subpopulations with potential indication of antiviral treatment.

Aim: To analyze the prevalence/persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS and basal core promoter (BCP)/precore/core variants associated to HCC development in CHB patients in the grey zone.

Spanish Results of the Second European Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Survey (CRT-Survey II).

Introduction And Objectives: We describe the results for Spain of the Second European Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Survey (CRT-Survey II) and compare them with those of the other participating countries.

Methods: We included patients undergoing CRT device implantation between October 2015 and December 2016 in 36 participating Spanish centers. We registered the patients' baseline characteristics, implant procedure data, and short-term follow-up information until hospital discharge.

Practical Aspects of Biological Throught Levels and Antidrug Antibodies in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis.

Objectives: Issue recommendations on practical aspects of the monitoring of levels of biological drugs that may be useful for rheumatologists.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies in which drug and anti-drug antibody levels were determined in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or spondyloarthritis (SpA) to study whether they could predict different outcomes. In light of the results of the review, a group of experts discussed under what circumstances testing biological drug levels and their antibodies could be useful.

[Diagnostic protocol and empirical treatment in emergency department of respiratory infections].

Acute respiratory infections (ARI), like pneumonia, are the second leading cause of years of live lost and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries (WHO). Statistical data show that ARI causes the 30% and 60% of pediatric consultations and represents the 20-40% of pediatric hospital admissions. They account for 63.

Serum drug levels of biologic agents in the management of rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis: a systematic review.

The utility of monitoring drug levels in rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis patients on biological therapy is called into question. The objective was to study relevant clinical questions on the topic, i.e.

Elevated parathyroid hormone levels after successful parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism: a clinical review.

Introduction: Surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is traditionally deemed to be successful if serum calcium levels return to normal 6 months after parathyroidectomy. Regular monitoring of serum calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the follow-up of patients after parathyroidectomy for PHPT has drawn attention to the presence of a normocalcemic group of patients with elevated PTH (NCePTH) during the post-operative period. The etiological factors and mechanisms underlying this condition, its consequences, and the possibility of treatment are the object of this study.

Response Assessment of 223Ra Treatment: Should a Fluorocholine PET/CT Be Performed?

We present 3 cases of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases treated with Ra, belonging to our prospective and multicenter ChoPET-Rad study. All patients underwent clinical, hematological, and biochemical monitoring between each Ra administration. Initial and follow-up F-fluorocholine PET/CT and Tc-biphosphonate bone scintigraphy were performed previously and after the third Ra administration.

Cardiovascular disease in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: A cross-sectional analysis of 6 cohorts.

To analyze in several immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) the influence of demographic and clinical-related variables on the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and compare their standardized prevalences.Cross-sectional study, including consecutive patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn disease, or ulcerative colitis, from rheumatology, gastroenterology, and dermatology tertiary care outpatient clinics located throughout Spain, between 2007 and 2010. Our main outcome was defined as previous diagnosis of angina, myocardial infarction, peripheral vascular disease, and/or stroke.

Use of bevacizumab as a first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer.

Objective: During clinical practice, it can be challenging, given the lack of response biomarkers, to identify the patients with metastatic breast cancer (mbca) who would benefit most from the addition of bevacizumab to first-line standard chemotherapy. The aim of the present review was to summarize the relevant scientific evidence and to discuss the experience of a group of experts in using bevacizumab to treat mbca.

Methods: A panel of 17 Spanish oncology experts met to discuss the literature and their experience in the use of bevacizumab as first-line treatment for mbca.

Efficiency of naproxen/esomeprazole in association for osteoarthrosis treatment in Spain.

Objective: To assess, from the perspective of the National Healthcare System, the efficiency of a fixed-dose combination of naproxen and esomeprazole (naproxen/esomeprazole) in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) compared to other NSAID, alone or in combination with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI).

Methods: A Markov model was used; it included different health states defined by gastrointestinal (GI) events: dyspepsia, symptomatic or complicated ulcer; or cardiovascular (CV) events: myocardial infarction, stroke or heart failure. The model is similar to the one used by NICE in its NSAID evaluation of OA published in 2008.

[Short-tau inversion-recovery (STIR) sequence magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of orbital structures in Graves' orbitopathy].

Objective: To evaluate the orbital structures and to establish correlations with disease activity and severity in patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism and orbitopathy (GO) using short-tau inversion-recovery (STIR) sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: Observational, cross-sectional, case-control study. Twenty-eight patients with euthyroid status after treatment and GO (GO group) and 15 control subjects (control group) were included.

[Economic evaluation of tramadol/paracetamol in the management of pain in patients with osteoarthritis in Spain].

Objective: To compare the costs of treating osteoarthritis (OA) pain using combination tramadol/paracetamol tablets, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agents (NSAID) alone or NSAID plus proton pump inhibitors (PPI) from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System.

Methods: A decision-analytical model was constructed to analyze the cost associated with three treatment strategies over 6 months. A cost-minimization approach was used, which considered data related to resource use, medication costs and costs for the treatment of adverse events.

[Pigmented or hemosiderotic atypical fibroxanthoma].

Pigmented atypical fibroxanthoma is a rare variant of atypical fibroxanthoma and is characterized by extensive areas of hemorrhage, erythrophagocytosis, and hemosiderin accumulation in the cytoplasm of the neoplastic cells. It affects elderly individuals and presents as irregularly pigmented, dome-shaped nodules or plaques on areas of skin exposed to the sun. We present a case of pigmented atypical fibroxanthoma on the cheek of an 81-year-old man.

[Methotrexate-associated lymphoproliferative disorder presenting as oral ulcers in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis].

Methotrexate-associated lymphoproliferative disorders are a heterogeneous group of lymphoid proliferations or lymphomas that develop in patients with autoimmune diseases treated using methotrexate. These lymphoproliferative disorders are often associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection and occasionally regress after the withdrawal of methotrexate therapy. The lymphoproliferative disorder in this case was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, unusually presenting as oral ulcers in a 79-year-old woman on treatment with methotrexate for longstanding rheumatoid arthritis.

Study of the burden on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Health-related quality of life measures are widely used in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, they are extremely limited when used to evaluate patients outside the clinical trials. The aim of this study was to analyse the burden of the disease using a simple, validated, self-administered questionnaire specifically developed for patients in daily clinical practice.

[The nutritional status of patients with colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy].

Objective: Determine the nutritional status of patients with colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy and assess how many patients could benefit from nutrition facts.

Method: Patients of both sexes aged over the age of 18 with colorectal cancer who were receiving chemotherapy between March and April 2005 were included. The nutritional status of these patients was evaluated using the method "Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment" (PG-SGA).

Finasteride induces apoptosis via Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bax and caspase-3 proteins in LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line.

We investigated the effects of finasteride, a 5alpha-reductase inhibitor, on cell death machinery through the induction of apoptosis in an in vitro model for prostate cancer. Finasteride treatment of the LNCaP hormone-dependent human prostate cancer cell line caused the loss of cell viability and accelerated apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. The contents of immunoreactive procaspase-3 were examined by immunoblot analysis and the results suggest that the apoptosis induced by finasteride involves the increase of caspase-3 activity.

P50 sensory gating deficit is a common marker of vulnerability to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Objective: P50 gating in schizophrenia has contributed much to our understanding of the pathophysiology of the illness. We examined euthymic bipolar patients to determine if they also have a P50 gating deficit.

Method: P50 gating was measured in 81 euthymic bipolar patients (50 with a lifetime history of psychotic symptoms), 92 stable schizophrenic patients, and 67 control subjects.

[Has the treatment of COPD changed in Spain? Results of a community multicenter study (VICE)].

Introduction: Many Clinical Practical Guides (CPG) that have specifically focused on the diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been elaborated over the last 5 years. However, their grade of application and effectiveness have not been verified.

Method: In order to evaluate if the diagnosis and treatment of COPD have been modified in our setting since their publication, a comparative analysis was proposed between the results of the IDENTEPOC study (n = 898) conducted in the year 2000 and the VICE study (n = 10,782), whose data were collected in 2005.

[Frey's sydrome in childhood].

Frey's syndrome, also known as auriculotemporal syndrome is characterized by recurrent episodes of facial flushing and/or sweating along the distribution of the auriculotemporal nerve, that occurs in response to gustatory stimuli. The disorder is rare in children. We report a 4-year-old girl with flushing without hyperhidrosis in the left cheek on eating.

Economic impact of pulmonary drugs on direct costs of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Question Of The Study: To assess the impact of prescribing pulmonary drugs according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines on direct costs in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Patients And Methods: A total of 560 ambulatory COPD patients completed a specific questionnaire that included data regarding drug therapy. Severity was graded according to the British Thoracic Society (BTS) criteria and appropriateness of pharmacological treatment according to GOLD guidelines.