Clin Exp Rheumatol
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Multicenter Study
Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory: Spanish adaptation and psychometric properties for fibromyalgia patients. The Al-Andalus study.
The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties and transcultural adaptation into Spanish of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory in fibromyalgia patients. ⋯ The MFI-S developed in this study presents a good reliability and reasonable construct validity for Spanish fibromyalgia patients unaffected by cognitive dysfunction and severe depression. This questionnaire is quick, easy to administer and interpret.
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Multicenter Study
Rituximab in central nervous system manifestations of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome: results from the AIR registry.
To evaluate the efficacy of rituximab in central nervous system (CNS) manifestations of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). ⋯ Rituximab does not seem to be effective in progressive multiple sclerosis-like manifestations of patients with pSS-related CNS involvement.
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Multicenter Study
Intra- and inter-rater reliability of endonasal activity estimation in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener´s).
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) frequently starts with an affection of the nasal and paranasal mucosa. Localised GPA of the nasal mucosa or persistent disease activity ('grumbling disease') is often encountered even under immunosuppressive therapy. Necessity for reconstructive surgery is common and careful scheduling to prevent failure and minimise revision rates is crucial. Therefore, reliable estimation of GPA activity in the upper airways using a score is mandatory for diagnosis, follow-up and scheduling reconstructive surgery. ⋯ Intra-rater reliability is high in decision in dichotomy and even in grading activity. There is no difference for experienced or inexperienced physicians. Inter-rater reliability is high in dichotomy, but low for activity grading. Thus, the ENTAS provides a reliable instrument for assessing, documenting and following GPA-related disease activity in the upper respiratory tract. The relationship of activity and following damage needs to be investigated in further studies.
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Fibromyalgia (FM) is the second most common cause of visits to rheumatologists after osteoarthritis, and may be difficult to diagnose in many patients. It is associated with various rheumatic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathies (SpA) and connective tissue disease (CTD), and a late diagnosis or misdiagnosis is a common and underestimated problem. ⋯ The findings of this study suggest that, although FM is a wellknown clinical entity, differential diagnosis with SpA, CTD and inflammatory arthritis can still be a challenge for rheumatologists and general practitioners.
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Multicenter Study
Patient reported outcomes in ankylosing spondylitis: development and validation of a new questionnaire for functional impairment and quality of life assessment.
To assess validity, reliability and sensitivity to change of a new questionnaire for assessment of functional disability and quality of life in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. ⋯ The CASQ is a reliable and valid tool for assessment of functional impairment and quality of life in AS. The CASQ is well accepted by patients, sensitive to change, easy to administer and score. The CASQ-FI and CASQ-QoL questionnaires can either be used and scored separately to assess for functional disability as well as quality of life or in combination as tools to assess for both parameters.