OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and/or steroids on 5-year disability outcome in patients with inflammatory polyarthritis. METHODS Three hundred eighty-four patients registered by the Norfolk Arthritis Register (a primary care-based observational cohort) were followed up for 5 years. Treatment details and Health Assessment Ques...

Background and purpose We evaluated muscle echointensity as a marker for secondary axonal damage in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) using ultrasonography. Findings were correlated clinical disability muscular strength. Methods Eighty CIDP (40 typical 40 atypical CIDP) examined clinically, including assessment of Medical Research Council (MRC) sum score Inf...

BACKGROUND Although low-back pain is a highly prevalent condition, its clinical course remains uncertain. Our main objective was to systematically review the literature on the clinical course of pain and disability in patients with acute and persistent low-back pain. Our secondary objective was to investigate whether pain and disability have similar courses. METHODS We performed a meta-analys...

Employment status has a dynamic relationship with health and disability. There has been a striking increase in the working age population receiving out-of-work disability benefits in many countries, including the UK. In response, recent UK welfare reforms have tightened eligibility criteria and introduced new conditions for benefit receipt linked to participation in return-to-work activities. P...

CONTEXT Many patients with multiple sclerosis use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to supplement their traditional treatment. OBJECTIVE To identify both the prevalence and frequency of use of therapies other than disease-modifying agents (DMAs), including CAM, among patients with multiple sclerosis. DESIGN The authors administered a 13-question survey regarding patients' current...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) covers 8 dimensions and a composite disability score. This study evaluates the SIS in the UK context, and develops a single index and an 8-item short form. METHODS Patients with a diagnosis of stroke were recruited through general practices in London and the North-West of England. Patients completed the SIS and the EQ-5D. RESULTS Internal...

background: disability is the most important determinants of disease course, treatment and rehabilitation outcomes and consequently the quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis. the aim of the present study was to determine the relationship of disability and quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients.   methods: this cross-sectional study was performed on 325 patients referred to...

Background- Cardiac surgery risk scores perform poorly in elderly patients, in part because they do not take into account frailty and disability which are critical determinants of health status with advanced age. There is an unmet need to combine established cardiac surgery risk scores with measures of frailty and disability to provide a more complete model for risk prediction in elderly patien...

CONCLUSION: MIDAS is suboptimal to describe disability in our patients due to a mean preoperative score of 102, as severe disability is defined as 21+. PSEQ successfully demonstrates extent of disability in this patient population and puts migraine surgery in perspective to other known pain treatments. It further evaluates functional outcome, rather than just improvement in symptoms. This signi...

Few studies on long-term functional outcome have been conducted in post-stroke patients in China. The objective of this study was to conduct a nationwide survey in China to investigate the 5-year prevalence of post-stroke disability and its correlation factors. A total of 893 patients with ischemic stroke were included. Demographic, clinical and neuro-imaging information were collected with sta...