Arthritis and rheumatism
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Dec 2007
Randomized Controlled TrialCase management of arthritis patients in primary care: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.
To assess whether providing information on arthritis self-management through general practitioners (GPs) increases the quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis and whether additional case management provided by practice nurses shows better results. ⋯ Improving the quality of life in patients with arthritis using arthritis self-management seems challenging. Simply providing this information through GPs is not sufficient but combining it with case management seems to be a promising approach.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Dec 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyDisease remission and sustained halting of radiographic progression with combination etanercept and methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
The Trial of Etanercept and Methotrexate with Radiographic Patient Outcomes (TEMPO) is a 3-year, double-blind, multicenter study evaluating the efficacy and safety of etanercept, methotrexate, and the combination of etanercept plus methotrexate in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The results after 1 and 2 years of the study have been previously reported. Here we provide the 3-year clinical and radiographic outcomes and safety of etanercept, methotrexate, and the combination in patients with RA. ⋯ Etanercept plus methotrexate showed sustained efficacy through 3 years and remained more effective than either monotherapy, even after adjustment for patient withdrawal. Combination therapy for 3 years led to disease remission and inhibition of radiographic progression, 2 key goals for treatment of patients with RA.
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Arthritis and rheumatism · Dec 2007
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe efficacy and safety of diacerein in the treatment of painful osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with primary end points at two months after the end of a three-month treatment period.
To determine whether the efficacy of diacerein persists at 2 months after the end of a 3-month treatment period, compared with placebo, in patients with painful knee osteoarthritis (OA). ⋯ This is the first published study of a symptomatic slow-acting OA drug in which the time of assessment of the primary outcome end points was 2 months after the end of a 3-month treatment period. The results show that diacerein is safe and effective for the treatment of knee OA and has a long carryover effect.