View clinical trials related to Rheumatic Diseases.
Filter by:At least 12% of children have a chronic disease that requires regular medical follow-up after patients reach legal maturity. This international study aims to provide prospective evidence for improving health and wellbeing outcomes in this population. The primary hypothesis is that transition readiness will be more strongly associated with adherence to follow-up, fewer emergency visits and continued education than disease severity or chronological age. The secondary hypothesis is that positive experiences of care will be associated with lower levels of anxiety. Positive care experiences and low anxiety will predict better health-related quality of life during the transition period. A cohort of 504 young patients will be followed for three years. Patients have been recruited from pediatric hospitals 0-12 months prior to the transfer of care and follow-up will be completed after the patients have been followed for two years in adult healthcare.
The goal of this study is to address specific implementation questions necessary and sufficient to ensure the feasibility of the larger randomized trial examining the efficacy of statin medications in slowing rheumatic heart disease (RHD) valvular pathology progression. This feasibility study is intended to confirm the number of readily recruitable subjects, assess recruitment rate, and assess the rate of valve pathology via echocardiograms. These results are necessary and sufficient to facilitate the successful design of a large full scale randomized trial to determine whether statins improve outcomes in RHD. Successful treatment of RHD would fundamentally shift the RHD management paradigm world-wide, improve the lives of millions afflicted with RHD, and subsequently, decrease health care spending on RHD management.
The purpose of this study is to investigate how RA affect the brain structures in RA-patients and if anti-inflammatory treatment that target TNF-α or JAK OR physical training of hands has positive impact on neuropsychiatric symptoms and morphological changes in the brain caused by the disease. The goal of this research project is to improve the knowledge of morphological changes in brain developed in connection to RA and to identify clinical and serological markers to predict development of those changes and finally, to investigate if anti-rheumatic interventions counteract destructive processes in the central nervous system (CNS) and improve the patient's health with respect to functionality, pain experience and psychological well-being.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a disease-modifying, anti-rheumatic drug that regulates immune system activity and is typically prescribed to treat rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as other immune conditions. Although generally well tolerated, study data have demonstrated that long-term use of HCQ may lead to irreversible and potentially vision-threatening retinal toxicity. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) issued guidelines in 2011, and again in 2016 that recommended dosing of HCQ be based on an individual's body weight, and also outlined how and when to screen for retinal toxicity. While clinicians have been aware of the potential side effects of HCQ for decades, studies have shown that many patients continue to receive higher than recommended doses. The goal of this study is to conduct a pragmatic trial to assess the utility of a new e-prescribing (eRX) interface for prescriptions of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). The investigators will measure the effectiveness of the system in reducing the number of individuals prescribed HCQ over current guidelines by randomizing clinicians to the new interface. Ideally, the eRX interface will result in a lower number of potential adverse events (i.e. retinal toxicity) associated with high-dose, long-term use of HCQ.
The aim of this study is to measure the impact of musculoskeletal (MSK) complaints on the quality of life and general health of MSK Patients attending MSK triage clinics. The investigators will also record the proposed management options for patients' complaints. This will be achieved by asking patients to complete questionnaires (MSK HQ) at musculoskeletal triage clinic appointment, by undertaking a clinical assessment, by recording the proposed management plan and assessing if patients have follow up appointments for the same complaint in the following year. The investigators will also measure patient satisfaction using VSQ 9 Questionnaire. After a year the investigators will repeat the MSK HQ to assess the longterm impact of MSK Triage appointment on the MSK complaint.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are a leading cause of years lived with disability worldwide and for the last decade they have also been the most common cause of sickness absence and disability pension in Norway. Although most sickness absence is short-termed, a small proportion of people with MSK conditions are on long-term sick leave, contributing to large cost due to disbursement of benefits, productivity loss and extensive use of health care. There is growing evidence that long-term sickness absence is harmful to mental and physical health, with a reduced probability of return to work (RtW) with prolonged sickness absence. Thus, focusing on early RtW in people on sick leave due to MSK conditions is important to reduce the burden on both the individual and the society. However, to provide interventions to reduce the duration of sickness absence to all people on sick leave would require enormous resources. By targeting those at risk of long-term sickness absence, resources may be used differently, e.g. more resource-saving. By using information on modifiable risk factors from simple risk assessment tools, health care providers and other stakeholders may facilitate RtW in a better way. The overall purposes of this project are 1) to identify the most accurate screening tool to identify people at a high risk of prolonged sickness absence due to a MSK condition, and 2) to investigate severity of MSK health, health-related quality-of-life, health care consumption, and costs across different risk profiles in people on sick leave due to MSK conditions. We will use registered data on sickness absence from 1 year before to 1 year after inclusion in the study.
The main objective of this trial is to test the hypothesis that abatacept can reduce the progression of rheumatoid arthritis in ACPA+ or RF+ patients with palindromic rheumatism compared with patients treated with hydroxychloroquine.
1. Primary outcome measure: measuring the effect of spa treatment in patients suffering from lower limb osteoarthritis or any other lower limb rheumatological condition. Percentage of patients with minimum 19,9 mm decrease in pain Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) or WOMAC score (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index) improvement of at least 9 points (minimal clinically important difference), 6 months after enrollment. Secondary outcome measures: 2. Measuring the effect of spa treatment in patients with concomitant chronic lower back pain. Percentage of patients presenting clinical benefits according to the EIFEL score, with a decrease of at least 5 points, 6 months after enrollment. 3. Quantitative evaluation of pain. Mean pain VAS comparison between enrollment and 6 months after spa treatment. 4. Quantitative evaluation of WOMAC score. Mean WOMAC score comparison between enrollment and 6 months after spa treatment. 5. Quantitative evaluation of EIFEL score. Mean EIFEL score comparison between enrollment and 6 months after spa treatment. 6. Impact of spa treatment on the patient's metabolism. Height and weight (BMI calculation), blood pressure and heart rate measured at enrollment and throughout the follow-up. 7. 8. Quality of life. 36-Item Short Form (SF 36) and EuroQol 5 Dimensions (EQ5D) questionnaires at enrollment, 3 months and 6 months. 9. Doctor and patient opinion. Semi-quantitative scale collected at enrollment, 3 months and 6 months. 10. Medicine consumption Daily medicine consumption evaluated upon the 72 hours preceding the medical visit at enrollment, 3 months and 6 months. 11. Auto-evaluation of pain VAS pain evaluation by the patient every 6 weeks for a more precise time frame of the treatment's effect.
The modifications of the medicinal treatments secondary to the hospitalizations have multiple reasons: reassessment of the previous treatment (conciliation), new therapeutic necessities, potential risk of iatrogeny or of drug interaction, restrictions of the therapeutic booklet, classification in reserve or hospital prescription ... These modifications are potentially generating extra costs for the Health Insurance and are monitored under the terms of the Contract of Good Use. The aims of this analysis are to define the medical-pharmaceutical rationale of the treatment changes imposed by hospitalization in a university-hospital center, their influence on the security of the medical treatment of patients and their financial implications for healthcare organizations
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) affects at least 32.9 million people, mostly children living in low-resource settings. Long-term intramuscular benzathine penicillin G (BPG) prophylaxis is proven to prevent progression of chronic valve changes in patients with established rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and to allow regression of valve changes in patients with a history of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) with mild RHD. However, in low-resource settings ARF is an elusive diagnosis, and most patients (85%) are diagnosed only when RHD is severe and irreversible, medications ineffective, and surgical intervention is expensive and/or unavailable. Identification of latent RHD might be an opportunity to substantially reduce RHD morbidity and mortality. However, detection of latent RHD is only important if outcomes are improved. The appropriate management of children with latent RHD is unknown and no formal recommendations exist. While some clinicians prescribe penicillin prophylaxis for children with latent RHD, clinical equipoise exists regarding the best practice. To fill this gap, the investigators propose a randomized controlled trial in children with latent RHD to evaluate the efficacy of BPG prophylaxis compared to no prophylaxis. Our primary outcome measure is progression of valvular changes on echocardiogram at 2 years. A sample size of 916 children is needed to detect a 50% reduction of progression (expected range 7.5-12.5% progression in BPG-arm vs. 15%-25% progression in control-arm) with 90% power. AIM 1: To compare the proportion of children (aged 5-17 years) with latent RHD receiving BPG prophylaxis who progress to worse valvular disease at 2-years compared to children not receiving BPG prophylaxis. Hypothesis 1: Prophylaxis with BPG will result in fewer children with latent RHD showing progression of echocardiographic valve changes at 2 years compared to children with latent RHD not receiving BPG prophylaxis. (The investigators expect at least a 50% relative reduction in progression in the BPG arm: range 15%-25% control arm vs. 7.5-12.5% BPG-arm.) AIM 2: To compare the proportion of children (aged 5-17 years) with latent RHD receiving BPG prophylaxis who regress to improved valvular disease at 2-years compared to children not receiving BPG prophylaxis. Hypothesis 2: Prophylaxis with BPG will result in more children with latent RHD showing regression of echocardiographic valve changes by 2 years compared to children with latent RHD not receiving BPG prophylaxis. (The investigators expect at least a 50% relative increase in regression in the BPG arm: range 10-20% control arm vs. 20-40% BPG arm.) This study is highly significant because it will establish if BPG prophylaxis improves outcomes for children with latent RHD. Feasibility will be ensured through the experience, resources, community support, and accessible patient population of our investigational team. The results of our study will have high impact, immediately informing international policy on the standard of care for children diagnosed with latent RHD and shaping, over 2-3 years, practical and scalable programs that could substantially decrease the global burden of RHD.