Israel Medical Association Journal

 Background: The prevalence of vertebral fractures in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) ranges between 20% and 21.4%, and patients with these fractures have impaired walking and activities of daily living. Moreover, clinical and radiological vertebral fractures have been associated with increased mortality.
 Objectives: To compare the quality of life of patients with SLE[1] with and without vertebral fractures.

Methods: The study group comprised 140 women with SLE undergoing screening for vertebral fractures using a standardized method. SLE disease activity and organ damage were measured by the Mexican Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (MEX-SLEDAI) and Systemic International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology damage index (SLICC), respectively. The QUALEFFO and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were used to measure health-related quality of life and depression, respectively.

Results: The median age of the 140 patients was 43 years (range 18–76); disease duration was 72 months (range 6–432); 49.7% were menopausal. Thirty-four patients (24.8%) had vertebral fractures (≥ 1), mostly in the thoracic spine. Patients with vertebral fractures had a higher mean age (49.5 ± 13.4 vs. 41 ± 13.2 years, P = 0.001) and disease damage (57.1% vs. 34.4%, P = 0.001). The global QUALEFFO score was not different between the vertebral fractures group and the non-vertebral group. The only significant difference in the QUALEFFO items was in physical function (P = 0.04). A significant correlation was found between the severity of vertebral fractures and the QUALEFFO pain (r = 0.27, P = 0.001) and physical function (r = 0.37, P = 0.02) scores. The number of vertebral fractures correlated only with physical function (r = 0.01).

Conclusions: The HRQOL of women with SLE is low, regardless of whether they have vertebral fractures or not, but patients with vertebral fractures have worse physical function compared to those without. Strategies to improve the HRQOL of patients with SLE with or without vertebral fractures are necessary.

Background: On-site cardiac surgery is not widely available in developing countries despite a high prevalence of coronary artery disease.

Objectives: To analyze the safety, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of transradial percutaneous coronary intervention without on-site cardiac surgery in a community hospital in a developing country.

Methods: Of the 174 patients who underwent PCI[1] for the first time in our center, we analyzed two groups: stable coronary disease and acute myocardial infarction. The primary endpoint was the rate of complications during the first 24 hours after PCI. We also analyzed the length of hospital stay and the rate of hospital readmission in the first week after PCI, and compared costs between the radial and femoral approaches.

Results: The study group comprised 131 patients with stable coronary disease and 43 with acute MI[2]. Among the patients with stable coronary disease 8 (6.1%) had pulse loss, 12 (9.16%) had on-site hematoma, and 3 (2.29%) had bleeding at the site of the puncture. Among the patients with acute MI, 3 (6.98) had pulse loss and 5 (11.63%) had bleeding at the site of the puncture. There were no cases of atriovenous fistula or nerve damage. In the stable coronary disease group, 130 patients (99%) were discharged on the same day (2.4 ± 2 hours). In the acute MI group, the length of stay was 6.6 ± 2.5 days with at least 24 hours in the intensive care unit. There were no hospital readmissions in the first week after the procedure. The total cost, which includes equipment related to the specific approach and recovery room stay, was significantly lower with the radial approach compared to the femoral approach (US$ 500 saving per intervention).

Conclusions: The transradial approach was safe and feasible in a community hospital in a developing country without on-site cardiac surgery backup. The radial artery approach is clearly more cost effective than the femoral approach.

In recent years the survival of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus has increased markedly. Consequently, long-term complications, such as osteoporosis, are currently of paramount importance. SLE[1] is known to increase the risk of bone fractures, and numerous studies have found that SLE patients have osteoporosis. Of the various risk factors associated with osteoporosis in SLE, disease duration, the use of corticosteroids and chronic disease-related damage are consistently reported, with differences between studies probably due to the different populations studied. The role of chronic inflammation in osteoporosis is also important. On the other hand, little attention has been paid to osteoporotic fractures, especially of the vertebra, which are associated with reduced quality of life, increased mortality rates and increased risk of new vertebral and non-vertebral fractures in the general population.