Arthritis and rheumatism
-
Arthritis and rheumatism · Jul 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyRandomized, prospective, placebo-controlled trial of bosentan in interstitial lung disease secondary to systemic sclerosis.
Endothelin is implicated as a participatory pathway in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We tested this hypothesis in a 12-month trial of bosentan, a nonselective endothelin receptor antagonist, as a therapy for SSc-related interstitial lung disease (ILD). ⋯ No improvement in exercise capacity was observed in the bosentan-treated group compared with the placebo group, and no significant treatment effect was observed for the other end points. Although many outcome variables were stable, bosentan did not reduce the frequency of clinically important worsening. These data do not support the use of endothelin receptor antagonists as therapy for ILD secondary to SSc.
-
Arthritis and rheumatism · Jul 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized, double-blind, controlled study of ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection into the joint of patients with inflammatory arthritis.
Most corticosteroid injections into the joint are guided by the clinical examination (CE), but up to 70% are inaccurately placed, which may contribute to an inadequate response. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ultrasound (US) guidance improves the accuracy and clinical outcome of joint injections as compared with CE guidance in patients with inflammatory arthritis. ⋯ US guidance significantly improves the accuracy of joint injection, allowing a trainee to rapidly achieve higher accuracy than more experienced rheumatologists. US guidance did not improve the short-term outcome of joint injection.