Joint aspiration may be used for diagnosis or for relieving pressure, and joint injection may be used for treatment. Physicians can easily become proficient in aspiration and injection techniques. Indications for aspiration include both acute and chronic arthritis; there are few absolute... More »
Misdiagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) occurs frequently in the clinic. In our case report, a 27-year-old woman with recurring neck pain and stiffness had received a diagnosis of cervical spondylosis, but later a definitive diagnosis of FMS was made. Misdiagnosis of FMS has occurred with... More »
A 23-year-old woman who reported experiencing direct trauma to her right knee on a hard surface 3 months earlier was admitted to the arthroscopy unit with complaints of decreased range of motion (flexion, 90°; extension, 75°) and intractable pain. More »
The health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for US adults who have arthritis is much worse than for those who do not, according to a recent study. Both physical and mental health are affected, posing a significant health and economic burden as the number of diagnoses continues to increase. More »
Inflammation early in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease course is associated with 2 measures of arterial stiffness, increased pulse-wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx), after 15 years. Early, active disease management to control inflammation in patients with RA may help reduce the... More »
Fracture risk in patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA) undergoing a total hip replacement (THR) procedure increases by 25% at 2.5 to 5 years postsurgery. Bisphosphonate use reduces fracture risk in patients in whom there was no fracture before surgery and in those who had a previous osteoporotic... More »
Background: Diagnosis and identification of the etiological agent of septic arthritis (SA) in children is an important issue, as early treatment based on accurate diagnosis of joint infections can prevent potentially disabling complicat
Background: Pasteurella spp. are important bacterial pathogens in both animals and humans. Most reported Pasteurella infections in humans involve skin and soft tissues, often after an animal bite, scratch, or lick to an open wound. Infectio
In humans, different B-cell subpopulations can be distinguished in peripheral blood and other tissues on the basis of differential expression of various surface markers. These different subsets correspond to different stages of maturation, activation and differentiation. B-cell depletion therapy based on rituximab, an anti-CD20 mAb, is widely used in the treatment of various malignant and autoimmune diseases. Rituximab induces a very significant depletion of B-cell subpopulations in the peripheral blood u
Over the past few decades small animal models mainly involving rodents and rabbits have been developed whereby needle puncture, stab incision or enzymatic approaches have been validated to create the degenerative disc. Although important these models continue to be plagued by biological attributes that limit applicability to the human condition. However the fascinating story of the naturally occurring subspecies of canine, the non-chondrodystrophic (NCD) and chondrodystrophic (CD) canine provides us wit
Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been implicated in the pathology of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), particularly as vulnerable personality types are exposed to chronic stress. Emotions are powerful modulators of stress responses. However, little is known about whether patients with RA process emotions differently to matched controls. In this study we: 1) assessed whether the trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) scores of patients with RA differ from healthy controls at the
Five Steps to Improving Patient Access Judy Capko, May 21, 2013 Patient access is getting increased attention through reform initiatives. Here are five steps you can take to make sure patients get appropriate access to care in your office.
Growing HIPAA Threat – Ignore Windows XP at Your Own Peril Marion K. Jenkins, May 21, 2013 Chances are good that you have some major ticking software time bombs lurking in your medical practice's computer environment, namely Windows XP and Server 2003.
Three Areas to Reduce Costs at Your Medical Practice Greg Mertz, May 19, 2013 By taking a hard look at reducing costs for staffing, overhead, and technology at your medical practice, you may see increased physician compensation.
Dos and Don’ts for Starting a Physician Blog Michael Woo-Ming, MD, May 18, 2013 Starting a physician blog can provide your medical practice with marketing benefits, but it's important to do it right.
