Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Rheumatology for September 2011. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Doctors, Patients Identify Tacit Clues in Their Interactions
FRIDAY, Sept. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Both doctors and patients identify tacit clues as well as judgments based on these clues during video elicitation interviews of health maintenance examinations, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice.
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Stratified Care May Be Best Option for Back Pain Patients
THURSDAY, Sept. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Stratifying back pain patients by prognosis may be more effective and less costly than a one-size-fits-all approach, according to research published online Sept. 29 in The Lancet.
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Three Weekly Hyaluronate Shots Improve Ankle Arthritis
THURSDAY, Sept. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Three weekly intra-articular injections of hyaluronate are safe and effective for patients with unilateral ankle arthritis, according to a study published in the Sept. 21 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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DMARDs Found to Be Effective Treatment for Juvenile Arthritis
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) may be more effective than ibuprofen or steroids in controlling juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), but there is little strong evidence to support their long-term use, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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U.S. Docs Feel They Give More Patient Care Than Required
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Many primary care physicians in the United States believe that their patients are receiving too much medical care, and that the pressure to do more than is necessary could be reduced by malpractice reform, adjusting financial incentives, and spending more time with patients, according to a study published in the Sept. 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Bigger Osteophyte Size Ups Severe Cartilage Damage Risk
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-diagnosed tibiofemoral osteoarthritis, the likelihood of severe cartilage damage increases with increasing osteophyte size, and only a small proportion of knees exhibit atrophic and hypertrophic phenotypes, according to a study published online Sept. 14 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Reasons for Referral to Specific Docs Differ Among Physicians
TUESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Primary care physicians (PCPs) and medical and surgical specialists differ in their reasons for selecting specific colleagues for referrals, with PCPs more concerned about physician communication and medical record sharing than specialists, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
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Multilevel Hemilaminectomy Economical for Lumbar Stenosis
FRIDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Multilevel hemilaminectomy is a cost-effective treatment for lumbar stenosis-associated radiculopathy, and it improves pain, disability, and quality of life among patients, according to a study published in the August issue of The Spine Journal.
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BMI, Tibiofemoral Alignment Affect Knee Implant Survival
THURSDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Proper tibial, femoral, and overall anatomic alignment is important for implant survival after total knee replacement, and a higher body mass index (BMI) increases implant failure rates, according to a study published in the Sept. 7 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Mortality Up in Hospitals With More Minority Trauma Patients
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- The odds of in-hospital mortality for trauma patients are associated with the proportion of minority patients in the hospital, according to a study published online Sept. 19 in the Archives of Surgery.
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Ongoing Disease Evident in Population-Based Study of JIA
TUESDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The majority of children from defined Nordic geographic areas with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) experience ongoing disease, although disease activity is mostly mild, according to a study published in the September issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Mycophenolate Mofetil Safe, Effective for Refractory Lupus
TUESDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Use of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in conjunction with standard therapy is well tolerated and effective for the treatment of antimalarial-resistant cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
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Work Intensity Similar Across Physician Specialties
MONDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The level of physician work intensity appears to be similar among specialties, with variations in the specific dimensions of stress, physical demands, performance, and temporal demand, according to a study published online Sept. 3 in Medical Care.
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Increased Basal Ganglia Gray Matter in Rheumatoid Arthritis
MONDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have increased gray matter in the basal ganglia, especially in the nucleus accumbens and caudate nucleus, but not changes in the cortical gray matter, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Lower Frontal/Saggital Proprioceptive Acuity in OA
FRIDAY, Sept. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) have reduced proprioceptive acuity in both the sagittal and frontal planes compared with healthy control subjects, according to a study published in the September issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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Surgery Effective for Subaxial Cervical Synovial Cysts
THURSDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Surgical resection can be an effective treatment for patients presenting with cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy who have a subaxial cervical synovial cyst with minimal postoperative complications, according to a study published in the Sept. 15 issue of Spine.
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Many Mistakenly Believe FDA OKs Only Safe, Effective Drugs
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A considerable proportion of the U.S. public mistakenly believes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves only effective and safe drugs, but providing consumer explanations can lead to better drug choices, according to a study published in the Sept. 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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TNF Inhibitors for RA Do Not Increase Malignancy Risk
MONDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) does not increase risk of malignancy, including lymphoma, but it may increase the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer and melanoma, according to a meta-analysis published online Sept. 1 in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases.
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Cam-Type Deformities Linked to MRI-Detected Hip Damage
MONDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- In young asymptomatic males, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detects cam-type deformities associated with labral lesions, impingement pits, and labral deformities, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.
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FDA Announces Label Change to Warnings for TNFα Blockers
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Labels for all tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) blockers have been revised to include the risk of infection from Legionella and Listeria, according to a safety alert issued Sept. 7 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Many Hospital Staff Uniforms Contaminated With Bacteria
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- More than 60 percent of hospital staff uniforms are contaminated with potentially pathogenic bacteria, including drug-resistant species, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Infection Control.
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Medical Students Show Racial, Cultural Patient Preference
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Medical students may have a preferential bias toward whites and wealthier patients, but this does not appear to influence their clinical decision making or physician-patient interactions, according to a study published in the Sept. 7 medical education-themed issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Odds of Board Certification Vary in New Doctors
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Certification of recent U.S. medical school graduates by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) varies across specialties by educational and demographic factors, according to a study published in the Sept. 7 medical education-themed issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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FDA: New Contraindication, Updated Warning for Reclast
FRIDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) -- The drug label for Reclast (zoledronic acid) has been updated to reflect the risk of kidney failure, according to a safety alert issued Sept. 1 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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