Active clinical trials for "Rheumatic Diseases"

Self-management of chronic illness can be highly demanding and people need to mobilize their personal strengths in order to live well with their condition. A mobile application was designed in collaboration with people with chronic illness and health care providers with the aims to support awareness of patients' strengths and patient-provider dialogues that include strengths. The aim of the present study is to evaluate with mixed methods the perceived usefulness and usability of the application and potential effects of the application on patients.

This is a randomised trial on the efficacy of an Outpatient Pharmacy Clinical Services Program (OPCSP) on adherence and clinical outcomes among patients with rheumatic diseases.The purpose of this study is to evaluate: rates of medication adherence in the OPCSP program compared with usual care in an integrated health care system. total direct costs and clinical outcomes in the OPCSP program compared with usual care in an integrated health care system.

Needle-related procedures are the most important source of pain and anxiety in pediatric patients. Consequently, needle-phobia and anxiety are common in children with auto-immune disease and immune deficiency and may be barriers to adherence in treatment. The use of a non-pharmacological and easy-to-use approach, like the Buzzy® device, could be an alternative or adjuvant for the management of procedural pain and anxiety of these children during needle-related procedures. This study aims to determine the feasibility, acceptability and satisfaction of the Buzzy® device for procedural pain and anxiety relief of immunology-rheumatology patients undergoing needle-related procedures. The investigators will compare the Buzzy® device with an anaesthetic cream (Maxilene®) during needle-related procedures. The investigators also plan to assess feasibility outcomes and satisfaction of the nurses and the children with the use of the Buzzy® device. This pilot study should refine or modify the research methodology and improve the intervention being piloted before it's efficacy will be verified within a larger scale-study. The investigators strongly believe that the use of the Buzzy® device in immunology rheumatology department could optimise procedural pain and anxiety management. Since most of the treatments administered for auto-immune diseases and immune deficiency diseases are through subcutaneous or intramuscular injections, pain and anxiety management using non-pharmacological and/or pharmacological interventions should be prioritized. Given this knowledge, the investigators feel that this pilot study has the potential to contribute to pain and anxiety management of children undergoing needle-related procedures.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of Panax Notoginseng Powders on Rheumatic Pain.

This study will assess the mental health and clinical benefits of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in patients with rheumatic disease who have anxiety or depression. MBSR, an interactive form of meditation that includes gentle yoga, will be taught by a certified instructor over an eight-week period. Mental health surveys will be conducted within one month of the study start and end as well as mid-course. Clinical assessments will be conducted within one-month of the study start and end.

To compare the effects of low intensity pulsed ultrasound with high intensity continuous ultrasound in knee osteoarthritis

Recently a non-toxic system for whole body hyperthermia (WBH) used at the University of Wisconsin has been shown to induce soluble tumor necrosis factor-receptor (sTNF-R) I and II when patients are heated systemically to 41.8C for 60 minutes. This observation might provide a biological basis for the therapeutic application of WBH to rheumatoid diseases, for which there is a positive anecdotal clinical experience. Inherent in the hypothesis which is the basis for this protocol is the concept that the induction of TNF receptors by WBH may induce a remission in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. Beyond clinical response the biological endpoint for this investigation includes cytokine levels, TNF levels, sTNF-R levels and changes in cellular TNF receptors.

The research is being done to study the immune responses to COVID-19 vaccination in patients with rheumatic diseases.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) affects at least 32.9 million people, mostly children living in low-resource settings. Long-term intramuscular benzathine penicillin G (BPG) prophylaxis is proven to prevent progression of chronic valve changes in patients with established rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and to allow regression of valve changes in patients with a history of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) with mild RHD. However, in low-resource settings ARF is an elusive diagnosis, and most patients (85%) are diagnosed only when RHD is severe and irreversible, medications ineffective, and surgical intervention is expensive and/or unavailable. Identification of latent RHD might be an opportunity to substantially reduce RHD morbidity and mortality. However, detection of latent RHD is only important if outcomes are improved. The appropriate management of children with latent RHD is unknown and no formal recommendations exist. While some clinicians prescribe penicillin prophylaxis for children with latent RHD, clinical equipoise exists regarding the best practice. To fill this gap, the investigators propose a randomized controlled trial in children with latent RHD to evaluate the efficacy of BPG prophylaxis compared to no prophylaxis. Our primary outcome measure is progression of valvular changes on echocardiogram at 2 years. A sample size of 916 children is needed to detect a 50% reduction of progression (expected range 7.5-12.5% progression in BPG-arm vs. 15%-25% progression in control-arm) with 90% power. AIM 1: To compare the proportion of children (aged 5-17 years) with latent RHD receiving BPG prophylaxis who progress to worse valvular disease at 2-years compared to children not receiving BPG prophylaxis. Hypothesis 1: Prophylaxis with BPG will result in fewer children with latent RHD showing progression of echocardiographic valve changes at 2 years compared to children with latent RHD not receiving BPG prophylaxis. (The investigators expect at least a 50% relative reduction in progression in the BPG arm: range 15%-25% control arm vs. 7.5-12.5% BPG-arm.) AIM 2: To compare the proportion of children (aged 5-17 years) with latent RHD receiving BPG prophylaxis who regress to improved valvular disease at 2-years compared to children not receiving BPG prophylaxis. Hypothesis 2: Prophylaxis with BPG will result in more children with latent RHD showing regression of echocardiographic valve changes by 2 years compared to children with latent RHD not receiving BPG prophylaxis. (The investigators expect at least a 50% relative increase in regression in the BPG arm: range 10-20% control arm vs. 20-40% BPG arm.) This study is highly significant because it will establish if BPG prophylaxis improves outcomes for children with latent RHD. Feasibility will be ensured through the experience, resources, community support, and accessible patient population of our investigational team. The results of our study will have high impact, immediately informing international policy on the standard of care for children diagnosed with latent RHD and shaping, over 2-3 years, practical and scalable programs that could substantially decrease the global burden of RHD.

Intraarticular application of opioids versus glucocorticosteroids versus placebo in knee arthritis study goals: assessment of effectiveness and tolerability of locally applied morphine, dexamethasone or placebo in knee arthritis