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Biomedical subjects

E M Hay

Publications and source records attributed to E M Hay.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Prevalence of radiographic osteoarthritis--it all depends on your point of view.

OBJECTIVES: Knee pain and disability in older people may occur in the apparent absence of radiographic osteoarthritis. However, the view chosen to define radiographic osteoarthritis may be critical. We have investigated the prevalence and compartmental distribution of radiographic osteoarthritis in people with knee pain using different combinations of three separate radiographic views. METHODS: We performed a population-based study of 819 adults aged 50 yr and over with knee pain (part of the Clinical Assessment Study - Knee [CAS(K)]). Three radiographic views were obtained: weight-bearing posteroanterior (PA) semiflexed/metatarsophalangeal view; supine skyline; and supine lateral. RESULTS: Complete data for all three views were available on 777 subjects. The distribution of compartmental radiographic osteoarthritis was 314 (40%) combined tibiofemoral/patellofemoral, 186 (24%) isolated patellofemoral, 31 (4%) isolated tibiofemoral and 246 (32%) normal. Hence, the overall prevalence of radiographic osteoarthritis was 531/777 (68.3%) in this symptomatic population. Using a PA view alone (reflecting tibiofemoral osteoarthritis only) would identify 56.7% of the 531, whilst the addition of a skyline or lateral view increased this to 87.0%. When using both skyline and lateral views in addition to the PA view, 98.7% cases of radiographic osteoarthritis were identified. In addition to prevalence, compartmental distribution altered markedly when different combinations of views were used. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple views detect more radiographic osteoarthritis than single views alone. When different combinations of views are used, the prevalence and compartmental distribution of osteoarthritis changes and this may alter the accepted relationship, or lack of it, between symptoms and radiographic change.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

A cost consequences analysis of local corticosteroid injection and physiotherapy for the treatment of new episodes of unilateral shoulder pain in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: Local steroid injections and community-based physiotherapy have been shown to be of similar benefit for treating shoulder pain presenting to primary care. This paper presents a cost consequences analysis of a prospective economic evaluation, conducted alongside a randomized clinical trial (RCT) of corticosteroid injections versus physiotherapy for new episodes of unilateral shoulder pain, to determine the economic implications of injection versus physiotherapy. METHODS: A pragmatic RCT with 207 patients randomized to either physiotherapy (n = 103) or local steroid injection (n = 104) was conducted. The resource inputs required were identified for each treatment arm in terms of capital, staff and consumables. These were measured for the period up to 6 months post-randomization. Outcome measures included shoulder disability, shoulder pain, global assessment of health change and the EQ5D, all at 6 months. A sensitivity analysis was performed around the general practitioner minor surgical fee. RESULTS: Analysis is presented on the 199 patients for which the general practice record review (101 physiotherapy, 98 injection) was available. The total mean costs, per patient, were 71.28 pound sterling for the injection group and 114.60 pound sterling for the physiotherapy group. The difference in average total cost per patient was 43.32 pound sterling (95% bootstrap confidence interval: 16.21 pound sterling, 68.03 pound sterling ). This is a statistically significant difference in cost. Outcome was similar in both groups across all measures following intervention. Smaller mean differences in cost were observed between the treatment groups in the sensitivity analysis, but the difference remained in favour of injection over physiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: This study has shown, given similar clinical outcomes across the treatment groups, that corticosteroid injections were the cost-effective option for patients presenting with new episodes of unilateral shoulder pain in primary care.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A comparison of two primary care trials on tennis elbow: issues of external validity.

OBJECTIVE: To assess clinical heterogeneity across two studies with respect to study population, interventions, and outcome measures, and to evaluate the influence of these sources of heterogeneity on the results of the studies. METHODS: The individual patient data were used from two randomised controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of conservative treatments in patients with tennis elbow in primary care. Patients were allocated at random to treatment with steroid injection, wait and see policy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, placebo tablets, or physiotherapy. Outcome measures included severity of the main complaint, inconvenience of the elbow complaints, pain during the day, elbow disability, pain-free grip strength, and global improvement. All outcomes were assessed at 1, 6, and 12 months after randomisation. RESULTS: The two study populations were similar with respect to age, sex, comorbid neck/shoulder complaints, and baseline scores for the severity of pain. However, significant differences were observed for employment status, duration of elbow complaints, dominant side affected, previous history of elbow complaints, and use of analgesics. Local injections differed between the two studies with respect to volume, number, and steroid preparation. However, after 1, 6, and 12 months, the treatment effects of steroid injections were very similar between the study populations. CONCLUSIONS: Despite large differences in study population at baseline, the responses to steroid injections were remarkably similar. Also the responses to other conservative interventions and the placebo treatment were very consistent, suggesting a uniform course of a tennis elbow and a lack of influence of clinical heterogeneity.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Two pragmatic trials of treatment for shoulder disorders in primary care: generalisability, course, and prognostic indicators.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate predictors of long term prognosis in patients treated for shoulder pain in primary care. METHODS: Data were taken from two pragmatic randomised clinical trials investigating the effectiveness of conservative treatments for shoulder pain presenting to primary care. Shoulder pain severity, disability, and perceived recovery measured in the long term (UK, 18 months; Netherlands, 12 months) were considered as outcome measures. Prognostic indicators measured before randomisation were determined by linear regression (pain severity and disability) and logistic regression (perceived recovery). RESULTS: 316 adults with a new episode of shoulder pain were recruited (UK, n = 207; Netherlands, n = 109). In multivariate analysis, greater shoulder disability at follow up was associated with higher baseline disability score, concomitant neck pain, and a gradual onset and longer duration of shoulder symptoms. Pain scores at follow up were higher in women and in those with longer baseline duration of symptoms and higher baseline pain or disability scores. Being female, reporting gradual onset of symptoms, and a higher baseline disability score each independently reduced the likelihood of perceived recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that there is no long term difference in outcome between patients with shoulder pain treated with different clinical interventions in different clinical settings, or having different clinical diagnoses. Baseline clinical characteristics of this consulting population, rather than the randomised treatments which they received, were the most powerful predictors of outcome. Whether this highlights the need for earlier intervention or reflects different natural histories of shoulder pain is a topic for further research.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗
PubMed2005

A systematic search and critical review of measures of disability for use in a population survey of hand osteoarthritis (OA).

OBJECTIVE: In order to develop a hand assessment questionnaire for a population survey, a systematic review was undertaken of measures of hand disability. The purpose of this review was to identify valid measures to evaluate hand osteoarthritis (HOA) in the general population and primary care and to perform a quality appraisal of them. METHOD: Measurement tools were identified from an online search of databases (Medline, CINAHL and Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), 1990-2002) restricted to English language and adult population. Search terms combined "osteoarthritis" and "arthritis" with "hand" and ["function" or "disability" or "outcome"]. Instruments used in the evaluation of HOA were identified following application of strict eligibility criteria. The use of these tools in HOA was rated by pairs of independent reviewers according to criteria developed by the Medical Outcomes Trust. RESULTS: The initial search yielded a list of articles which were not mutually exclusive (ISI, 127; Medline, 64; CINAHL, 61). Full journal articles were ordered from relevant abstracts (ISI, 28; Medline, 3; CINAHL, 5). Further hand searching of articles produced an additional 34 references. A total of 61 references were identified, 18 measurement tools, 5 of which met the inclusion criteria [Algofunctional Index (FIHOA), Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale 2 (AIMS2), Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Australian/Canadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN), Cochin]. Overall, the AIMS2 and AUSCAN were more highly rated than the FIHOA, Cochin and HAQ. CONCLUSIONS: The aim of this review was not to recommend any one instrument over another but to provide an overall summary of the robustness of commonly used measures. The choice of instrument will depend on many factors, and will differ from project to project depending on the question asked.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

A comparison of four shoulder-specific questionnaires in primary care.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the validity, responsiveness to change, and user friendliness of four self completed, shoulder-specific questionnaires in primary care. METHODS: A cross sectional assessment of validity and a longitudinal assessment of responsiveness to change of four shoulder questionnaires was carried out: the Dutch Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ-NL); the United Kingdom Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ-UK); and two American instruments, the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) and the Shoulder Rating Questionnaire (SRQ). 180 primary care consulters with new shoulder region pain each completed two of the questionnaires, as well as EuroQoL and 10 cm visual analogue scales (VAS) for overall pain and difficulty due to the shoulder problem. Each participant was assessed by a standardised clinical schedule. Postal follow up at 6 weeks included baseline measures and self rated assessment of global change of the shoulder problem (seven point Likert scale). RESULTS: Strongest correlations were found for SDQ-UK with EuroQoL 5 score, and for SPADI and SRQ with shoulder pain and difficulty VAS. All shoulder questionnaires correlated poorly with active movement at the painful shoulder. SPADI and SRQ performed better on ROC analysis than SDQ-NL and SDQ-UK (areas under the curve of 0.87, 0.85, 0.77, and 0.77, respectively). However, SRQ scores changed significantly over time in stable subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Cross sectional comparison of the four shoulder questionnaires showed they had similar overall validity and patient acceptability. SPADI and SRQ were most responsive to change. Additionally, SPADI was the quickest to complete and scores did not change significantly in stable subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of local corticosteroid injection and physiotherapy for the treatment of new episodes of unilateral shoulder pain in primary care.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the long term effectiveness of local steroid injections administered by general practitioners with practice based physiotherapy for treating patients presenting in primary care with new episodes of unilateral shoulder pain. METHODS: Adults consulting with shoulder pain were recruited by their general practitioner. Patients were randomly allocated to receive either corticosteroid injections or community based physiotherapy. Primary outcome was self reported disability from shoulder problems at six months. Secondary outcomes included participant's global assessment of change; pain; function; "main complaint"; range of shoulder movement; co-interventions. A study nurse unaware of the treatment allocation performed baseline and follow up assessments. Analysis was by intention to treat. RESULTS: Over 22 months 207 participants were randomised, 103 to physiotherapy and 104 to injection. Prognostic variables were similar between the two groups at baseline. Mean (SD) improvements in disability scores at six weeks were 2.56 (5.4) for physiotherapy and 3.03 (6.3) for injection (mean difference=-0.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): -2.1 to 1.2) and at six months were 5.97 (5.4) for physiotherapy and 4.55 (5.9) for injection (mean difference=1.4, 95% CI -0.2 to 3.0). A "successful outcome" (a minimum 50% drop in the disability score from baseline) at six months was achieved by 59/99 (60%) in the physiotherapy group and 51/97 (53%) in the injection group (percentage difference=7%, 95% CI -6.8% to 20.4%). Co-interventions were more common in the injection group during follow up. CONCLUSION: Community physiotherapy and local steroid injections were of similar effectiveness for treating new episodes of unilateral shoulder pain in primary care, but those receiving physiotherapy had fewer co-interventions.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed2002

Chronic shoulder pain in the community: a syndrome of disability or distress?

OBJECTIVES: To investigate two questions in a community based population of people with chronic shoulder pain. Firstly, does chronic pain lead to impaired psychological health over time? Secondly, how does restriction of daily activity influence pain perception and psychological health? METHODS: Two postal surveys, two years apart, were carried out to identify a group of subjects with chronic shoulder pain. The first survey was sent to a random sample of adults (n=40026) registered with a primary care practice, and included a pain manikin, demographic information, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD). The second survey was sent to those subjects who reported unilateral shoulder region pain in the first survey and it included a shoulder-specific disability scale, pain severity score, and the HAD. RESULTS: 2606 (65.1%) people responded to the initial survey. Of these, 304 (11.7%) reported unilateral shoulder region pain at baseline. In the subsequent survey, there were 234 responders (83.3% adjusted response): 142 of these reported shoulder pain and formed our study group of "subjects with chronic shoulder pain". Within this group there was no significant change in psychological distress scores between baseline and follow up. Both the disability score and psychological distress scores correlated significantly with pain severity (disability v pain r=0.536, p<0.001; psychological distress v pain r=0.269, p=0.002). When the correlation between disability and pain severity was corrected for possible confounders, it remained significant (r=0.490, p<0.001). This was not the case for the correlation between psychological distress and pain (p>0.05). Disability was significantly correlated with psychological distress on univariate (r=0.445, p<0.001) and multivariate analysis (r=0.341, p=0.002). CONCLUSION: In those with chronic shoulder pain the relation between pain and psychological health seems to be linked to disability. Psychological distress was not explained by persistent pain itself.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Adverse reactions to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in clinical practice.

We analysed computerized records of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) monotherapy to determine how long rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients continued on five commonly prescribed DMARDs, and the incidence and time-course of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) they experienced. We studied the records for 3923 courses of DMARDs given to a cohort of 2170 patients monitored for a total of 9378 treatment-years. Methotrexate (MTX) was the DMARD most likely to be continued long-term; <45% of patients had discontinued the drug after 96 months. For the other DMARDs, the time until 50% discontinued due to ADRs or inefficacy was 43.3 months for sulphasalazine (SAS), 33.9 months for D-penicillamine (DPN) and 26 months for myocrisin. Most monitored ADRs requiring drug discontinuation were seen early in therapy, with a median time to onset of <6 months; the important exceptions to this were haematological ADRs to MTX, where the median delay to neutropenia was 16.9 months, and that to thrombocytopenia was 9.4 months. Monitored ADRs (identified by blood or urine tests) were seen least frequently with SAS (one ADR in every 35 patient-years of monitoring) but this apparent advantage was offset by a high incidence of gastrointestinal ADRs and inefficacy. Overall, one toxicity reaction requiring drug discontinuation was identified for every 15.9 patient-years of monitoring.

Antirheumatic Agents↗
PubMed2000

Do patients with rheumatoid arthritis established on methotrexate and folic acid 5 mg daily need to continue folic acid supplements long term?

BACKGROUND: It is postulated that some aspects of methotrexate toxicity may be related to its action as an anti-folate. Folic acid (FA) is often given as an adjunct to methotrexate therapy, but there is no conclusive proof that it decreases the toxicity of methotrexate and there is a theoretical risk that it may decrease the efficacy of methotrexate. OBJECTIVES: To look at the effect of stopping FA supplementation in UK rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients established on methotrexate <20 mg weekly and FA 5 mg daily, to report all toxicity (including absolute changes in haematological and liver enzyme indices) and to report changes in the efficacy of methotrexate. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 75 patients who were established on methotrexate <20 mg weekly and FA 5 mg daily were asked to stop their FA and were randomized to one of two groups: placebo or FA 5 mg daily. Patients were evaluated for treatment toxicity and efficacy before entry and then at intervals of 3 months for 1 yr. RESULTS: Overall, 25 (33%) patients concluded the study early, eight (21%) in the group remaining on FA and 17 (46%) in the placebo group (P = 0.02). Two patients in the placebo group discontinued because of neutropenia. At 9 months there was an increased incidence of nausea in the placebo group (45 vs. 7%, P = 0.001). The placebo group had significantly lower disease activity on a few of the variables measured, but these were probably not of clinical significance. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to continue FA supplementation over the long term in patients on methotrexate and FA in order to prevent them discontinuing treatment because of mouth ulcers or nausea and vomiting. Our data suggest that FA supplementation is also helpful in preventing neutropenia, with very little loss of efficacy of methotrexate.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Pragmatic randomised controlled trial of local corticosteroid injection and naproxen for treatment of lateral epicondylitis of elbow in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effectiveness of local corticosteroid injection, standard non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and simple analgesics for the early treatment of lateral epicondylitis in primary care. DESIGN: Multicentre pragmatic randomised controlled trial. SETTING: 23 general practices in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire. PARTICIPANTS: 164 patients aged 18-70 years presenting with a new episode of lateral epicondylitis. INTERVENTIONS: Local injection of 20 mg methylprednisolone plus lignocaine, naproxen 500 mg twice daily for two weeks, or placebo tablets. All participants received a standard advice sheet and co-codamol as required. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants' global assessment of improvement (five point scale) at four weeks. Pain, function, and "main complaint" measured on 10 point Likert scales at 4 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months. RESULTS: Over 2 years, 53 subjects were randomised to injection, 53 to naproxen, and 58 to placebo. Prognostic variables were similar between groups at baseline. At 4 weeks, 48 patients (92%) in the injection group were completely better or improved compared with 30 (57%) in the naproxen group (P<0.001) and 28 (50%) in the placebo group (P<0.001). At 12 months, 43 patients (84%) in the injection group had pain scores </=3 compared with 45 (85%) in the naproxen group and 44 (82%) in the placebo group (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Early local corticosteroid injection is effective for lateral epicondylitis. Outcome at one year was good in all groups, and effective early treatment does not seem to influence this.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Treatment options for regional musculoskeletal pain: what is the evidence?

Decisions about the best treatment options for patients with regional musculoskeletal pain must be made despite a lack of clear diagnostic criteria, an absence of robust outcome measures by which to assess response, and a paucity of evidence from high-quality randomized controlled trials. Although the randomized controlled trial is considered to be the 'gold standard' research design, it does not lend itself easily to the evaluation of all management strategies. This chapter explores these issues from a research perspective and reviews the various types of evidence available to help practitioners make informed decisions. The current evidence from systematic reviews in this area is summarized in the final part of the chapter.

Electric Stimulation Therapy↗
PubMed1998

Sjögren's syndrome: a community-based study of prevalence and impact.

OBJECTIVE: Using the European Community (EC) criteria for classification Vitali et al. Arthritis Rheum 1993;36:340 7, we report the prevalence estimates of Sjogren's syndrome (SS) from a general population and present the first population data to assess the impact of the syndrome. METHODS: A cross-sectional population-based survey performed on 1000 adults, aged 18-75 yr, randomly selected from a population register. Responders to the initial postal phase were invited for an interview. The five criteria measured at interview were: (1) the reporting of subjective oral symptoms lasting for > 3 months; (2) the reporting of subjective ocular symptoms lasting for >3 months; (3) Schirmer-I test; (4) unstimulated salivary flow; (5) autoantibodies [Ro (SS-A), La (SS-B), rheumatoid factor (RF), antinuclear antibodies (ANA)]. SS was diagnosed if at least four of these five criteria were positive. The MOS Short-form 36 (SF-36), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Health and Fatigue Questionnaire (HFQ) were completed by subjects after the interview, and scores were compared between those with and without a diagnosis of SS. RESULTS: A total of 341 subjects completed both the postal questionnaire and home visit. A diagnosis of SS could be given to 13 subjects. After adjusting for the presence of possible bias due to non-response, our best estimate of the prevalence of SS in the study population was 33 per 1000 subjects (95% CI 22 44). The prevalence of the disorder was higher in females (38; 95% CI 27-52) and for those subjects aged > or = 55 yr (46; 95% CI 34-61). Those subjects diagnosed positively were more impaired for each of the eight dimensions of the SF-36 than those without a diagnosis, and also suffered from higher levels of depression and fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: SS affects approximately 3-4% of adults and in the general population appears to be associated with a clinically significant impairment of a subject's health and well-being.

Adolescent↗