scholarly journals A systematic review of ultrasonography in osteoarthritis

2009 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 611-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
H I Keen ◽  
R J Wakefield ◽  
P G Conaghan

Background:Ultrasonography has been increasingly utilised to aid the understanding and management of rheumatic conditions. In recent years there has been a focus on the validity and utility of ultrasonography in demonstrating joint pathology, although this has largely focused on inflammatory arthritis.Aims:To undertake a systematic review of the published literature evaluating ultrasonography as an assessment tool in osteoarthritis.Methods:Medline and Pubmed were searched to identify original manuscripts, published before June 2008, utilising ultrasonography to assess the joints of cohorts of subjects with osteoarthritis. Data were extracted from manuscripts meeting the inclusion criteria, with a particular focus on the pathology imaged, the definitions used, scoring systems and their metric properties.Results:Forty-seven studies were identified that utilised ultrasonography to assess structural pathology in osteoarthritis. Doppler function was only assessed in 10 studies and contrast agents in one. There was heterogeneity with regard to the pathology examined, the definition of pathology, quantification and the reporting of these factors. There was also a lack of construct and criterion validity and data demonstrating reliability and sensitivity to change.Conclusions:Whereas there is increasing evidence of the validity of ultrasonography in detecting structural pathology in inflammatory arthritis, more work is required to develop standardised definitions of pathology and to demonstrate the validity of ultrasonography in osteoarthritis.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Andrea Rossi ◽  
Antonino Lo Giudice ◽  
Camilla Di Pardo ◽  
Alberto Teodoro Valentini ◽  
Francesca Marradi ◽  
...  

Background. Recent clinical guidelines have extended indications for oral appliances to subjects affected by moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The aim of this systematic review covering this important issue for public health is twofold: updating and summarizing the best available scientific evidence by selecting RCTs of quality only, and identifying the therapeutic pathways that can be transferred to the current clinical practice. Methods. All the abstracts which were published before February 18, 2019, have been identified in three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane). The Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias was used as an assessment tool in order to evaluate the quality of the selected studies. Results. The search strategy yielded 2,260 studies. After removing duplicates and studies that did not comply with the inclusion criteria, 32 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 17 RCTs were finally included in the qualitative synthesis. The 17 selected studies were very heterogeneous in the type of included RCTs in terms of patient inclusion criteria, sample size, distribution of the two genders in the various groups, duration of treatment, and definition of primary and secondary outcomes, without any restriction on the definition of the control group. A common finding was the positive responsiveness of oral appliance treatment in subjects affected by mild-to-moderate OSA with some evidence for cases of severe OSA. Conclusion. Higher-quality studies are needed in order to provide additional useful guidelines for dental clinicians for OSA management.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 669
Author(s):  
Sheryl Mascarenhas ◽  
Nina Couette

Ultrasound has advanced the diagnosis and management of patients with inflammatory rheumatic conditions. It can be used to identify and monitor enthesitis, a cardinal feature of spondyloarthropthies. Several enthesitis scoring systems utilizing ultrasound to determine entheseal involvement have been developed. These scoring systems generally rely on determining the presence or absence of erosions, tendon enlargement, power Doppler signal, or enthesophytes. This systematic review identified ultrasound scoring systems that have been utilized for evaluating enthesitis and what key components derive the score. Review of these scoring systems, however, demonstrated confounding as some of the score components including enthesophytes may be seen in non-inflammatory conditions and some components including erosions can be seen from chronic damage, but not necessarily indicate active inflammatory disease. What is furthermore limiting is that currently there is not an agreed upon term to describe non-inflammatory enthesopathies, further complicating these scoring systems. This review highlights the need for a more comprehensive ultrasound enthesopathy scoring index.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangelos Danopoulos ◽  
Lauren Jenner ◽  
Maureen Twiddy ◽  
Jeanette M. Rotchell

Abstract Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging contaminant ubiquitous in the environment. There is growing concern regarding potential human health effects, a major human exposure route being dietary uptake. We have undertaken a systematic review (SR) and meta-analysis to identify all relevant research on MP contamination of salt intended for human consumption. Three thousand nine hundred and nineteen papers were identified, with ten fitting the inclusion criteria. A search of the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science, from launch date to September 2020, was conducted. MP contamination of salt varied significantly between four origins, sea salt 0–1674 MPs/kg, lake salt 8–462 MPs/kg, rock and well salt 0–204 MPs/kg. The majority of samples were found to be contaminated by MPs. Corresponding potential human exposures are estimated to be 0–6110 MPs per year (for all origins), confirming salt as a carrier of MPs. A bespoke risk of bias (RoB) assessment tool was used to appraise the quality of the studies, with studies demonstrating moderate to low RoB. These results suggest that a series of recurring issues need to be addressed in future research regarding sampling, analysis and reporting to improve confidence in research findings.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 436-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary A. Sforzo ◽  
Miranda P. Kaye ◽  
Irina Todorova ◽  
Sebastian Harenberg ◽  
Kyle Costello ◽  
...  

Health and wellness coaching (HWC) for lifestyle behavior change is emerging as a practice, role, and profession, in diverse health care, employee wellness, and community settings. Health care professionals apply HWC as a behavior change methodology for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, heart disease, cancer, and other chronic disorders. The purpose of this systematic review was to provide a comprehensive and organized compendium of HWC literature. To date, extant HWC literature remains scattered with no meaningful summary accessible. Lack of comprehensive summary stems from lack of consensus on HWC definition and standards. We applied a recently proposed, standardized definition of HWC to determine compendium inclusion criteria for peer-reviewed, data-based literature from relevant search engines (ie, PubMed, PsychInfo, and CINAHL). A systematic review process was executed and ultimately yielded 219 articles meeting HWC inclusion criteria. Of these, 150 were data-based and the remainder were expert opinion or review-style articles. A summary of results generally reveals HWC as a promising intervention for chronic diseases though further research is needed in most categories. The resulting HWC compendium organizes and describes the quantity and quality of available literature for the use and benefit of HWC practitioners and researchers.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary J. Herbert ◽  
Anita J. Gagnon ◽  
Janet E. Rennick ◽  
Jennifer L. O’Loughlin

The objective of this systematic review was to identify questionnaires that measure health-related empowerment in adults or families and demonstrated the best evidence of reliability and validity. A search of nine data bases identified 8,269 abstracts that referred to empowerment. Full article review was completed for abstracts that met the inclusion criteria or that could not be excluded with certainty (n = 124). Fifty distinct, modified, or translated questionnaires measuring empowerment were identified in 74 articles. Each was rated in terms of reliability and validity. One questionnaire had good evidence of reliability and validity, four had moderate evidence, and 45 had limited or no evidence. Limited or no evidence for reliability and validity for many questionnaires could relate in part to lack of consensus on the theoretical definition of, and indicators for measuring empowerment. We recommend that researchers use the questionnaire rated as having good evidence and that data on reliability and validity continue to be reported for other questionnaires.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Louise Lynch ◽  
Mary McCarron ◽  
Philip McCallion ◽  
Eilish Burke

Background: Sedentary behaviour contributes to non-communicable diseases, which account for almost 71% of world deaths. Of these, cardiovascular disease is one of the largest causes of preventable death. It is not yet fully understood what level of sedentary behaviour is safe. People with an intellectual disability have poorer health than the general population with higher rates of multi-morbidity, obesity and inactivity. There is a paucity of evidence on whether this poorer health is due to sedentary behaviour or physical inactivity. This systematic review will investigate the sedentary behaviour levels of adults with an intellectual disability. Method: The PRISMA-P framework will be applied to achieve high-quality articles. An extensive search will be conducted in Medline, Embase, psycINFO and Cinahl and grey literature sources. All articles will be independently reviewed by two reviewers and a third to resolve disputes. Initially, the articles will be reviewed by title and abstract and then the full article will be reviewed using stringent inclusion criteria. All article data will be summarised in a standardised tabular format. The National Institute of Health’s quality assessment tool will be used to assess article quality. GRADE will be used to assess the quality of the evidence. The primary outcome of interest is the prevalence of sedentary behaviour levels for people with an intellectual disability. The definition of sedentary behaviour to be used for the purposes of this study is: ‘low physical activity as identified by metabolic equivalent (MET) or step levels or as measured by the Rapid Assessment of Physical activity questionnaire (RAPA) or the International Physical Activity questionnaire (IPAQ) or sitting for more than 3 hours per day’. Conclusion: This systematic review will provide a critical insight into the prevalence of sedentary behaviour in adults with an intellectual disability.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Jethwa ◽  
Suzanne Lam ◽  
Colette Smith ◽  
Ian Giles

Objective.We performed a systematic review and metaanalysis to assess rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity during pregnancy using objective disease activity scoring systems.Methods.A systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE/Medline, Cochrane, and LactMed databases was performed. Our inclusion criteria for analysis were prospective studies, more than 5 patients per study, and data on RA using an objective scoring system conducted by a clinician/health professional.Results.Ten studies were eligible for final analysis, which included 237 patients, of which prepartum data were available for 204 patients. Postpartum disease activity was recorded in 135 pregnancies.Conclusion.Disease activity improved in 60% of patients with RA in pregnancy and flared in 46.7% postpartum.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802110536
Author(s):  
Chye Toole-Anstey ◽  
Lynne Keevers ◽  
Michelle L Townsend

Objective: To identify, appraise and synthesize research on the interventions used in child to parent violence. Method: A systematic literature review was conducted using the electronic databases of PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science and CINAHL Full Text. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, three authors conducted the screening process which was implemented in two stages including screening the title and abstract, followed by screening the full text. Papers were assessed for quality using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool. The search identified 727 studies which met the inclusion criteria, deduplication resulted in 525 number for review, with 8 articles included in the review. Results: This review identifies six themes from the six unique interventions included to address the research questions: How do practitioners effectively support families experiencing child-to-parent violence? The six themes are: Conceptualising the violence; Assessment of needs and risks; Intervention types and settings; Program techniques and components of interventions; Intervention outcomes and effectiveness; and Research design and methods. Three narratives were iteratively developed from these themes which highlight the main findings of the review: importance of the practitioner and their skills; conceptual clarity of CPV; and CPV interventions. Conclusions: The findings from this systematic review identifies the need for further research into child to parent violence including what makes interventions effective, what needs and outcomes the interventions are addressing, and the implications of classifications of this violence.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick G Robinson ◽  
Iain R Murray ◽  
Andrew D Duckworth ◽  
Roger Hawkes ◽  
Danny Glover ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe distribution of injuries affecting professional golfers is yet to be fully understood. We performed a systematic review of the clinical literature to establish the epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries affecting professional golfers.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesSearched databases in July 2018 were PubMed, SPORTDiscus and Embase.Eligibility criteriaPublished observational research articles relating to the incidence or prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries in professional golfers, which were written in the English language and not restricted by age or gender.ResultsOf the 1863 studies identified on the initial search, 5 studies were found to satisfy the inclusion criteria for analysis. The mean age of the golfers in these studies was 34.8 (±3.6) years. The gender of patients in included studies compromised 72% males and 28% females. Four studies reported that lumbar spine injuries were the most common (range 22%–34%). Excluding injuries to the spine (lumbar, thoracic and cervical), the hand/wrist was the next most common region of injury (range 6%–37%). The quality of the studies was relatively poor with no study satisfying >50% of the quality assessment tool questions and only one study giving a clear definition of how they defined injury.ConclusionThere is a paucity of well-designed epidemiological studies evaluating musculoskeletal injuries affecting professional golfers. Injuries to the spine are the most frequently affected region, followed by the hand/wrist. This study has identified targeted areas of future research that aims to improve the management of injuries among professional golfers.


2020 ◽  
pp. 194589242095687
Author(s):  
Mohamad Z. Saltagi ◽  
Brett T. Comer ◽  
Samuel Hughes ◽  
Jonathan Y. Ting ◽  
Thomas S. Higgins

Background RARS is a challenging clinical phenomenon that affects many patients, and diagnostic criteria for this condition are not fully characterized in the literature. Objective To examine diagnostic criteria for recurrent acute rhinosinusitis (RARS). Study Design Systematic review. Methods Cochrane, PubMed (MEDLINE), clinicaltrials.gov, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases were queried for articles related to RARS dating from 1990 to present, according to PRISMA statement guidelines. Full text articles pertinent to the diagnostic criteria of RARS were included in this review. Inclusion criteria included articles specifically addressing RARS; studies with 3 or more patients; and articles in English. Results A total of 1022 titles/abstracts potentially related to RARS were identified. Of these, sixty-nine full texts were selected for review, and 22 of these ultimately met inclusion criteria. The level of evidence was generally low. Studies and guidelines have used many different definitions for RARS diagnosis over the years based on symptomatology, physical examination, nasal endoscopy, imaging, and laboratory domains. Clinically important RARS has been defined most commonly as 4 or more discrete episodes of ARS per year, but this frequency is typically based on expert opinion. Additionally, radiologic anatomic associations such as concha bullosa, accessory maxillary os, and narrowed infundibular distance may be associated with RARS. Endoscopic visualization and imaging are sometimes used to confirm the presence of sinus disease during exacerbations of RARS, but there is variability in this practice. Conclusion The diagnostic definition for RARS has developed over time and is currently based on low level 4 and 5 evidence. Because of the migratory definition of RARS, comparing inter-study results of RARS management remains difficult, and future studies should aim to follow current expert guidelines on diagnostic criteria of RARS.


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