Browsing by Author "Vasconcelos, Carlos"
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- Balneotherapy and rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized control trialPublication . Santos, Isabel; Cantista, Pedro; Vasconcelos, Carlos; Amado, JoãoBackground: The effects of balneotherapy on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are still controversial partly due to poor metho- dology used in randomized controlled trials, as reported in the international medical literature. Objectives: To determine whether spa therapy plus pharmacological treatment offers any benefit in the management of RA as compared to pharmacological treatment alone. methods: We conducted a prospective, controlled, unblinded randomly assigned study of patients with RA according to American College of Rheumatology criteria. Following the 2007recommendations of FRETH, the method designed for this study was “immediate treatment versus delayed treatment.” All patients were followed at the Oporto Hospital Centre and each physician observed the same patients throughout the study. Patients continued with their usual medications and maintained their daily life activities at home, at leisure and/or in the workplace. The spa therapy group received spa treatments for 21 days at S. Jorge Spa-Santa Maria da Feira. The main outcome measure was the HAQ-DI; the moderated regression analysis, together with the Johnson-Neyman technique, was used for statistical analysis. results: HAQ-DI at the end of treatment (21 days) and at the 3 month follow-up was improved in the spa group (odds ratio 0.37, confidence interval 0.09–0.64, P = 0.01 at 21 days, and 0.44, 0.15–0.72, P = 0.004 at 3 months). conclusions: In individuals in whom pain (physical and psychological) predominates, any complementary gain in function is beneficial. The main goal is to enhance quality of life.
- Development and use of touch - screen computer - assisted self interviewing in Portuguese patients with chronic immune diseases: evaluation of an electronic version of SF - 36V2Publication . Ribeiro, Claudia; Moreira, Luis; Silveira, Augusta; Silva, Isabel; Gestal, Juan; Vasconcelos, CarlosAim:The major purpose of this study was to evaluate alternative automated methods of collecting data on health related quality of life (HR-QoL). In order to achieve this, we developed a study with the following objectives: (1) to evaluated the feasibility of electronic version in patients with different chronic pathologies of the immune system using Short Form 36version2 (SF-36v2), (2) to evaluate the construct validity of SF-36v2 using the electronic data capture, and (3) to compare electronic version questionnaires with paper questionnaires in terms of patients' acceptance, data quality, and reliability. Methods:Out-patients with chronic immune diseases (HIV infection, lupus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, Behçet and Sjögren), were randomly selected to completed electronic and paper SF-36v2 (n=50) before consultation in Clinical Immunology Unit, in Hospital Santo António-Centro Hospitalar do Porto (CI-HGSA). Results: There were very high correlations in SF-36v2 responses (p< .001) between the paper and electronic forms. Internal reliability coefficients (Cronbach's α) showed good internal consistency for all reported responses in either, computer and paper. There were no missing data in electronic version or paper. About 84% of the patients prefer to use the computer version in future. Conclusion: The electronic HR-QoL assessment is technically possible and it can provide reliable and valid clinically significant information which can either be used in routine care appointments.