Arch Intern Med
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Effects of hyaluronate sodium on pain and physical functioning in osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Intra-articular hyaluronate sodium is a relatively new therapy for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. This randomized, double-blind clinical trial was conducted at a large primary care medical center to determine the impact of hyaluronate sodium vs conventional therapy on measures of pain, stiffness, and disability at rest and following functionally relevant walking and stepping activities. ⋯ For resting pain relief, hyaluronate sodium seems to be as effective as NSAIDs. Further, for pain with physical activity and functional performance, hyaluronate sodium may be superior to placebo alone or NSAIDs alone.
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An anesthesiologist was diagnosed as having acute hepatitis C 3 days after providing anesthesia during the thoracotomy of a 64-year-old man (patient A). Eight weeks later, patient A was diagnosed as having acute hepatitis C. ⋯ Our investigation suggests that the anesthesiologist acquired HCV infection from patient B and transmitted HCV to patient A. No further transmission was identified. Although we did not establish how transmission occurred in this instance, the one previous report of bloodborne pathogen transmission to patients from an anesthesiologist involved reuse of needles for self-injection.
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Comparative Study
Levothyroxine treatment and occurrence of fracture of the hip.
Levothyroxine sodium is widely prescribed and has been implicated as a cause of reduction in bone mineral density and, therefore, suggested to be a major contributor to the risk of osteoporotic fractures. ⋯ The lack of association between fracture and levothyroxine prescription in the whole cohort is reassuring, although an independent association between levothyroxine prescription and fracture occurrence in male patients suggests that levothyroxine may contribute to fracture risk in this specific group.