Association of pain and clinical factors on disability and quality of life in systemic sclerosis: A cross-sectional study from Turkish League Against Rheumatism Network.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the factors associated with disability and quality of life (QoL) in Turkish patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Patients and methods: Between January 2018 and January 2019, a total of 256 SSc patients (20 males, 236 females; mean age: 50.9±12.4 years; range, 19 to 87 years) who were diagnosed with SSc were included in the study. Disability and health-related QoL (HRQoL) were evaluated by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), scleroderma HAQ (SHAQ), Duruöz Hand Index (DHI), and Short Form-36 (SF-36). Linear regression analysis methods were used to describe factors associated with disability and QoL of the patients. Results: All disability scores were higher and HRQoL scores were lower in diffuse cutaneous SSc patients compared limited cutaneous SSc, and differentiations were significant (p=0.001 and p=0.007). In multiple regression, pain (VAS) was the strongest predictor for high disability and low QoL scores (p<0.001) as HAQ (ß=0.397, 0.386, 0.452), SHAQ (ß=0.397, 0.448, 0.372), DHI (ß=0.446, 0.536, 0.389), PCS (ß=-0.417,-0.499, -0.408) and MCS (ß=-0.478, -0.441, -0.370) in combined, lcSSc and dcSSc patients respectively. The factors associated with high disability and low QoL scores were forced vital capacity for HAQ (ß=-0.172, p=0.002) and SF-36 PCS (ß=0.187, p=0.001); disease duration for HAQ (ß=0.208, p<0.001), DHI (ß=0.147, p=0.006), and SF-36 PCS (ß=-0.134, p=0.014); 6-minute walk test for HAQ (ß=-0.161, p=0.005) and SF-36 PCS (ß=0.153, p=0.009); and modified Rodnan skin score for SHAQ (ß=0.250, p<0.001) and DHI (ß=0.233, p<0.001) in SSc patients. Diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide for HAQ (ß=-0.189, p=0.010) and SHAQ (ß=-0.247, p=0.002); erythrocyte sedimentation rate for DHI (ß=0.322, p<0.001); age for SF-36 PCS (ß=-0.221, p=0.003) and body mass index for SF-36 PCS (ß=-0.200, p=0.008) and MCS (ß=-0.175, p=0.034) were the other variables associated with high disability or low QoL scores in SSc subsets. Conclusion: Clinicians should consider the management of the pain and its sources as a key to improve better functional state and quality of daily life in SSc.

Psoriatic arthritis impact of disease questionnaire: validity, reliability and its clinical potential.

The psoriatic arthritis impact of disease (PSAID) questionnaire has been developed to measure disease impact on patients with psoriatic arthritis. It was aimed to evaluate its validity and reliability in association with sociodemographic and clinical factors and compare it with disease activity and patient-reported outcome measures in a Turkish psoriatic arthritis population. A prospective observational study was conducted to validate the Turkish version of the PSAID. All consecutive patients with psoriatic arthritis were evaluated between January 2019 and October 2019. Demographic and clinical features were recorded. The PSAID and patient-reported outcome measures were applied to all patients. Interclass and intra-class correlation analyses were performed. Convergent validity and correlation coefficients were used for validity analyses. There were 80 patients with a mean age of 50.2 ± 9.9 years. Cronbach's α value of the PSAID and intra-class correlation were 0.799 and 0.984, respectively. The total median PSAID score was 4.7. Pain, fatigue, ability to work, functional capacity and feeling of discomfort were the five highest-scoring subscales. There was satisfactory internal consistency for each subscale of the PSAID. As disease severity increased from low to high, the PSAID scores significantly increased. There were acceptable correlations between the PSAID and other patient-reported outcome measures. The PSAID is shown to be a reliable and valid questionnaire in Turkish patients with psoriatic arthritis. Good correlation with disease activity and patient-reported outcome measures represent an opportunity to use the PSAID in clinical practice to tailor individualized treatment choices.

High-Voltage Electrical Stimulation Versus Ultrasound in the Treatment of Pressure Ulcers.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess and compare the efficacy of high-voltage electrical stimulation (HVES) with ultrasound (US) in treating Stage II through Stage IV pressure ulcers (PrUs)* of hospitalized patients. DESIGN: This study was designed as a prospective, controlled trial in which patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: A total of 27 patients (22 male, 5 female) hospitalized for neurologic rehabilitation in the Clinic of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with Stage II through Stage IV PrUs were included in this study. The patients were randomly assigned to either HVES or US treatment group, and all patients underwent standard wound care. Over 4 to 12 weeks, HVES was applied for 60 minutes 3 times per week, and US was applied 3 times per week. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Properties of the PrUs were noted during pre- and posttreatment. RESULTS: The PrUs of patients in the HVES and US groups healed at a mean rate of 43% and 63%, respectively. There was no statistically significant intergroup difference in healing found after treatment. Regression analysis was performed for the factors that could influence the wound surface areas, and significant effects were detected among the level of ambulation, pretreatment stage, and smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Both HVES and US are promising methods for wound healing, and both electrotherapy modalities have been demonstrated to support the healing of PrUs.