Endogenous Glucocorticoid Deficiency in Psoriasis Promotes Inflammation and Abnormal Differentiation.

The factors involved in maintaining a localized inflammatory state in psoriatic skin remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate through metabolomic and transcriptomic profiling marked suppression of glucocorticoid biosynthesis in the epidermis of psoriatic skin leading to localized deficiency of cortisol. Utilizing a 3D human epidermis model, we demonstrate that glucocorticoid biosynthesis is suppressed by proinflammatory cytokines and that glucocorticoid deficiency promotes inflammatory responses in keratinocytes. Finally, we show in vitro and in vivo that treatment with topical glucocorticoids leads to rapid restoration of glucocorticoid biosynthesis gene expression coincident with normalization of epidermal differentiation and suppression of inflammatory responses. Taken together, our data suggest that localized glucocorticoid deficiency in psoriatic skin interferes with epidermal differentiation and promotes a sustained and localized inflammatory response. This may shed new light on the mechanism of action of topical steroids, and demonstrates the critical role of endogenous steroid in maintaining both inflammatory and differentiation homeostasis in the epidermis.

A qualitative study of recovery from type III-B and III-C tibial fractures.

The literature has shown that long-term outcomes for both below-knee amputation and reconstruction after type III-B and III-C tibial fracture are poor. Yet, patients often report satisfaction with their treatment and outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between patient outcomes and satisfaction after open tibial fractures via qualitative methodology. Twenty patients who were treated for open tibial fractures at one institution were selected using purposeful sampling and interviewed in-person in a semi-structured manner. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Despite reporting marked physical and psychosocial deficits, participants relayed high satisfaction. We hypothesize that the use of adaptive coping techniques successfully reduces stress, which leads to an increase in coping self-efficacy that results in the further use of adaptive coping strategies, culminating in personal growth. This stress reduction and personal growth leads to satisfaction despite poor functional and emotional outcomes.

A qualitative analysis of the decision-making process for patients with severe lower leg trauma.

BACKGROUND: Choosing the appropriate treatment for grade IIIB and IIIC open tibial fractures is a difficult decision for both the patient and the physician. Current research shows that the functional outcomes for reconstruction are similar to those for below-knee amputation, but little investigation of the qualitative outcomes of either treatment option has been performed from the patient perspective. This study was designed to perform a qualitative analysis of patient preferences for amputation or reconstruction. METHODS: Twenty patients with type IIIB or IIIC open tibial fractures participated in the study. These patients had undergone either amputation or reconstruction between 1997 and 2007. Semistructured interviews were conducted and qualitative outcomes were assessed. RESULTS: Interviews highlighted several issues involved with medical decision-making. Participants described not having a role in deciding which medical treatment to choose. Family and spouses played a greater role, often because of patients being medicated when needing to make a treatment choice. Both amputation and reconstruction patients described being satisfied with the outcomes of their surgical treatments, but also expressed second thoughts about their treatment choices. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study emphasize how difficult it is to assign preference to one medical treatment over another. The study reveals how the role of the patient is limited in making a decision about pursuing amputation or reconstruction. Instead, there is a continued need for physicians to discuss treatment options and risks with family members who act on the patient's behalf, and to incorporate the patient's preference in this complex decision.

Evidence-based medicine and hospital reform: tracing origins back to Florence Nightingale.

The use of reliable evidence to evaluate health care interventions has gained strong support within the medical community and in the field of plastic surgery in particular. Evidence-based medicine aims to improve health care and reduce costs through the use of sound clinical evidence in evaluating treatments, procedures, and outcomes. The field is hardly new, however, and most trace its origins back to the work of Cochrane in the 1970s and Sackett in the 1990s. Though she wouldn't know it, Florence Nightingale was applying the concepts of evidence-based reform to the medical profession more than a century before. She used medical statistics to reveal the nature of infection in hospitals and on the battlefield. Moreover, Nightingale marshaled data and evidence to establish guidelines for health care reform. Tracing the origins of evidence-based medicine back to Nightingale underscores how critical this movement is to improving the quality and effectiveness of patient care today.