Remote monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis (REMORA): study protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial and process evaluation of an integrated symptom tracking intervention.

Background: Management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) relies on symptoms reported by patients during infrequent outpatient clinic visits. These reports are often incomplete and inaccurate due to poor recall, leading to suboptimal treatment decisions and outcomes. Asking people to track symptoms in-between visits and integrating the data into clinical pathways may improve this.

Self-reported skin severity and quality of life in systemic sclerosis: multicentre validation of PASTUL.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate the Patient self-Assessment of Skin Thickness in Upper Limb questionnaire (PASTUL) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and assess impact of skin involvement on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: Participants were included in four UK centres. PASTUL specifies a grading of skin at 8 sites corresponding to the modified Rodnan Skin Score (mRSS).

Addressing disparities in the long-term mortality risk in individuals with non-ST segment myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) by diabetes mellitus status: a nationwide cohort study.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to investigate how diabetes mellitus affects longer term outcomes in individuals presenting to hospital with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

Methods: We analysed data from 456,376 adults hospitalised between January 2005 and March 2019 with NSTEMI from the UK Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) registry, linked with Office for National Statistics death reporting. We compared outcomes and quality of care by diabetes status.

Post-COVID changes and disparities in cardiovascular mortality rates in the United States.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare delivery and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study assesses whether cardiovascular mortality rates in the US have recovered post-pandemic and examines the equity of this recovery across different populations.

Methods: We analyzed data from the CDC WONDER database, covering US residents' mortality from 2018-2023.

Complete Skin Clearance is Associated with the Greatest Benefits to Health-Related Quality of Life and Perceived Symptoms for Patients with Psoriasis.

Introduction: With newer biologics, the achievement of complete skin clearance has become an attainable treatment goal for patients with plaque psoriasis. We evaluate how improvements in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) responses, particularly at incremental improvements approaching complete skin clearance (PASI 100), translate into improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient-perceived symptoms.

Methods: Data from the BE RADIANT phase 3b trial (NCT03536884) and its open-label extension (OLE), pooled across all study visits and treatments over 16 weeks (randomised patients) and 2 years (patients entering the OLE), were analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression models.

Association between body weight and tocilizumab effectiveness in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the BSRBR-RA.

Objectives: Tocilizumab is an IL-6 receptor humanised monoclonal antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (SC) preparations available. Only IV tocilizumab is dosed adjusting for weight. Therefore, we aimed to study the association between body weight and the effectiveness of tocilizumab by the route of administration.

A survey of experts to identify methods to detect problematic studies: stage 1 of the INveStigating ProblEmatic Clinical Trials in Systematic Reviews project.

Background And Objective: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) inform health-care decisions. Unfortunately, some published RCTs contain false data, and some appear to have been entirely fabricated. Systematic reviews are performed to identify and synthesize all RCTs which have been conducted on a given topic.

Using the behaviour change wheel to develop a tailored intervention to overcome general practitioners' perceived barriers to referring insomnia patients to digital therapeutic sleepio.

Background: Digital therapeutic Sleepio has proven effective in improving sleep quality and decreasing symptoms of anxiety. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance recommends Sleepio as an alternative treatment to usual sleep hygiene education and hypnotic medications. General practitioners (GPs) play a critical role in the adoption of digital therapeutics in patient care.

The importance of functional genomics studies in precision rheumatology.

Rheumatic diseases, those that affect the musculoskeletal system, cause significant morbidity. Among risk factors of these diseases is a significant genetic component. Recent advances in high-throughput omics techniques now allow a comprehensive profiling of patients at a genetic level through genome-wide association studies.

Metabolic syndrome and psoriatic arthritis: the role of weight loss as a disease-modifying therapy.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory joint and entheseal disease associated with significant personal and public health burden. PsA has a prevalence of up to 1%, affecting ~20% of people suffering with psoriasis. PsA is frequently accompanied by metabolic syndrome (MetS), and both conditions are characterised by a chronic pro-inflammatory state, with several key cytokines in PsA (interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23) also elevated in those with MetS.

Factors associated with long-term opioid use among patients with axial spondyloarthritis or psoriatic arthritis who initiated opioids.

Objective: Up to one in five patients with axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) newly initiated on opioids transition to long-term use within the first year. This study aimed to investigate individual factors associated with long-term opioid use among opioid new users with AxSpA/PsA.

Methods: Adult patients with AxSpA/PsA and without prior cancer who initiated opioids between 2006-2021 were included from Clinical Practice Research Datalink Gold, a national UK primary care database.