The sodium does not affect joint pain and functional activity of knee osteoarthritis patients.

Background: The sodium may aggravate synovial inflammation and cartilage thinning. This incidence can cause joint pain and reduce functional activity. Not many people know the effect of sodium on the incidence of osteoarthritis. Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship between sodium in the body and knee joint pain which results in functional activity. Methods: The quantitative descriptive study used accidental sampling. The study was conducted at three outpatient polyclinic orthopedics of hospitals and was approved by the Health Ethics Committee. All data were collected during the interview. The Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire and the Nutrisurvey Indonesia 2007 application were used as a tool to collect daily sodium intake (mg). Knee joint pain score was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), while functional body activity was measured using the Western Ontario McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). The Pearson and Spearman test (P<0.05) were used as a correlation test. Results: 80 subjects were recruited according to the inclusion criteria. Characteristics of the subjects were pre-elderly (32, 40%), women (74, 92.5%), body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 (54, 67.5%) and occupation (43, 53.75%). Average sodium intake = 2090.78±1084.33 mg, VAS score = 6.28±1.95 and WOMAC score = 32.65±14.88. The correlation sodium, VAS, and WOMAC were not significant (P=0.196, P=0.372). Conclusions: Increased sodium intake is not associated with knee joint pain and functional body activity.

The maximum dose and duration in the therapy single use methotrexate to achieve remission by rheumatoid arthritis patients through disease activity score 28 (DAS28).

OBJECTIVES: One of the treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was methotrexate which a disease modifying antirheumatic drug therapy. The use of methotrexate required the right dose and length of therapy to achieve remission. The effectivity of methotrexate could be accounted by disease activity score 28 (DAS28) as a tool has been used clinically with a combination number of tender joints, swollen joints, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and global clinical assessment by the patient. The aim of this study was to determine the effective dose and length of therapy methotrexate was measured by DAS28 score. METHODS: This research was a cross-sectional study and data was collected from patient medical records in Saiful Anwar Hospital, Malang, from February to July 2018. The research has been given ethical clearance. The inclusion criteria for the 88 subjects were men and women, over 20 years of age, usage of only methotrexate for at least three months, an erythrocyte sedimentation rate score, uncomplicated inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, and systemic lupus erythematosus. All data obtained was entered in formula DAS28. The Statistic analysis used both Pearson and Spearman's rank correlation. RESULTS: Only 16 patients achieved remission. There were not significant correlation in statistical analysis between DAS score and cumulative dose (r=-0.091; p=0.400), average dose (r=0.043; p = 0.692), maximum dose (r=0.074; p=0.492), and length of therapy (r=-0.075; p = 0.489). The initial dose of therapy methotrexate was different and the length of therapy was adjusted to the patient's health condition. CONCLUSIONS: The maximum dose and length of therapy methotrexate was required to achieve remission in RA.

The relationship between the level of education and accuracy of insulin injection techniques in DM patients with measurement of HbA1c values.

Background Insulin therapy is a major part of diabetes treatment. The insulin injection technique must be done accurately and needs a professional process for diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. The aim of this research is to evaluate the relationship of education level pertaining to the accuracy of insulin injection techniques through HbA1c values. Methods We used a cross-sectional study with sampling using a purposive technique according to the inclusion criteria: diagnosed with DM and using insulin therapy with/without a combination of oral antidiabetic drugs, having HbA1c levels of data ± 3 months from the time of study, willing to become research respondents by signing informed consent. The study was conducted by filling out the questionnaire Forum for Injection Technique and Therapy Expert Recommendation (FITTER) and interviews. Results Fifty subjects with primary education were able to perform insulin injection techniques with 20% accuracy while subjects with secondary education level showed 14% accuracy, and higher education 2%. All of these results had HbA1c values > 6.5%. 100 % of the subjects were provided with educational resources and 78% had a care-giver at home. Statistical analysis of correlation between levels of education with the accuracy of the insulin injection technique was carried out through the Somers' correlation test (p = 0.81, r = -0.03). This study shows there is no relationship between the level of education and the accuracy of insulin injection techniques through HbA1c values. This might occur due to several factors such as information sources and caregiver's practice.