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BackgroundReaching the therapeutic target of remission or low-disease activity has improved outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) significantly. The treat-to-target recommendations, formulated in 2010, have provided a basis for implementation of a strategic approach towards this therapeutic goal in routine clinical practice, but these recommendations need to be re-evaluated for appropriateness and practicability in the light of new insights.ObjectiveTo update the 2010 treat-to-target recommendations based on systematic literature reviews (SLR) and expert opinion.MethodsA task force of rheumatologists, patients and a nurse specialist assessed the SLR results and evaluated the individual items of the 2010 recommendations accordingly, reformulating many of the items. These were subsequently discussed, amended and voted upon by >40 experts, including 5 patients, from various regions of the world. Levels of evidence, strengths of recommendations and levels of agreement were derived.ResultsThe update resulted in 4 overarching principles and 10 recommendations. The previous recommendations were partly adapted and their order changed as deemed appropriate in terms of importance in the view of the experts. The SLR had now provided also data for the effectiveness of targeting low-disease activity or remission in established rather than only early disease. The role of comorbidities, including their potential to preclude treatment intensification, was highlighted more strongly than before. The treatment aim was again defined as remission with low-disease activity being an alternative goal especially in patients with long-standing disease. Regular follow-up (every 1–3 months during active disease) with according therapeutic adaptations to reach the desired state was recommended. Follow-up examinations ought to employ composite measures of disease activity that include joint counts. Additional items provide further details for particular aspects of the disease, especially comorbidity and shared decision-making with the patient. Levels of evidence had increased for many items compared with the 2010 recommendations, and levels of agreement were very high for most of the individual recommendations (≥9/10).ConclusionsThe 4 overarching principles and 10 recommendations are based on stronger evidence than before and are supposed to inform patients, rheumatologists and other stakeholders about strategies to reach optimal outcomes of RA.

Introduction: This poster will describe the launch, management, and evaluation of an iPad Lending Program, the first of its kind for Toronto hospitals. At St. Michael's Hospital Health Sciences Library one of our strategic priorities is to \"Create multiple, adaptable and inspiring points of access to knowledge.\" The main goal of our program is to provide access to iPads as learning, teaching and research tools. Other goals and outcomes include raising the library's profile, marketing and the piloting of new service models. Methods: We began by reviewing policies and practices at other institutions. We then updated existing lending agreements to include iPad specific responsibilities and penalties. A checklist was developed to ensure that the entire iPad \"kit\" including case, wires, adaptors, etc., are both checked-out and returned in good condition. We also produced an iPad Libguide and pre-loaded a standard set of medical applications. Clients can also add applications and set-up personalized e-mail and social media accounts. Upon return, units are restored to their original settings from back-up. Such a \"wipe\" addresses privacy concerns and ensures a uniform offering. Results: For the last three months we've had a steady queue of reservations. According to survey results the most popular apps are related to web browsing, journal reading and anatomy. Discussion: What started as an idea and developed into a pilot is now becoming an everyday part of our library. We will continue to collect statistics, evaluate the program and apps offered.

The naivety of Dr [Marenbon]'s article was breathtaking. How can he suggest that tests are really not that important when the Government intends to publish the results in league tables?

To the Editor: After reading the articles on Spain (Travel, May 28), I would like to add several comments. Yes, Seville has a lot of hotels, but there is a tremendous difference between Alfonso XIII and the next level (first class). The Dona Maria Hotel, while desirably situated, has dingy, dark, rather seedy rooms.

The Racine Workforce Development Center pools resources and personnel to create a successful one-stop shop for job seekers and employers alike. Self-directed services for job seekers include a resource room, an academic improvement center, information about job openings, and free resume and cover letter preparation. (Author/JOW)

\"Whatever we had, it took a path from Arbor Station easterly, parallel to I-20 back toward Chapel Hill Road,\" [Greg] Whitaker said. \"Damage was in the form of trees down and multiple power lines down. We had one tree in a house, but so far, we've had no injuries.\" Douglasville Police Chief Joe Whisenant said the Arbor Crossing subdivision was hardest hit. A two-story house on Whitetail Road had two trees all the way into the house, one into a bedroom. \"Thank God these people were on vacation,\" Whisenant said. \"They probably would have been killed the way the tree went into that house.\"

Late-stage isolated medial knee osteoarthritis can be treated with total knee replacement (TKR) or partial knee replacement (PKR). There is high variation in treatment choice and little robust evidence to guide selection. The Total or Partial Knee Arthroplasty Trial (TOPKAT) therefore aims to assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of TKR versus PKR in patients with medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee, and this represents an analysis of the main endpoints at 5 years. Our multicentre, pragmatic randomised controlled trial was done at 27 UK sites. We used a combined expertise-based and equipoise-based approach, in which patients with isolated osteoarthritis of the medial compartment of the knee and who satisfied general requirements for a medial PKR were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive PKR or TKR by surgeons who were either expert in and willing to perform both surgeries or by a surgeon with particular expertise in the allocated procedure. The primary endpoint was the Oxford Knee Score (OKS) 5 years after randomisation in all patients assigned to groups. Health-care costs (in UK 2017 prices) and cost-effectiveness were also assessed. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (ISRCTN03013488) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01352247). Between Jan 18, 2010, and Sept 30, 2013, we assessed 962 patients for their eligibility, of whom 431 (45%) patients were excluded (121 [13%] patients did not meet the inclusion criteria and 310 [32%] patients declined to participate) and 528 (55%) patients were randomly assigned to groups. 94% of participants responded to the follow-up survey 5 years after their operation. At the 5-year follow-up, we found no difference in OKS between groups (mean difference 1·04, 95% CI −0·42 to 2·50; p=0·159). In our within-trial cost-effectiveness analysis, we found that PKR was more effective (0·240 additional quality-adjusted life-years, 95% CI 0·046 to 0·434) and less expensive (−£910, 95% CI −1503 to −317) than TKR during the 5 years of follow-up. This finding was a result of slightly better outcomes, lower costs of surgery, and lower follow-up health-care costs with PKR than TKR. Both TKR and PKR are effective, offer similar clinical outcomes, and result in a similar incidence of re-operations and complications. Based on our clinical findings, and results regarding the lower costs and better cost-effectiveness with PKR during the 5-year study period, we suggest that PKR should be considered the first choice for patients with late-stage isolated medial compartment osteoarthritis. National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme.

Background. The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was discovered September 2012 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The first US case of MERS-CoV was confirmed on 2 May 2014. Methods. We summarize the clinical symptoms and signs, laboratory and radiologic findings, and MERS-CoV–specific tests. Results. The patient is a 65-year-old physician who worked in a hospital in KSA where MERS-CoV patients were treated. His illness onset included malaise, myalgias, and low-grade fever. He flew to the United States on day of illness (DOI) 7. His first respiratory symptom, a dry cough, developed on DOI 10. On DOI 11, he presented to an Indiana hospital as dyspneic, hypoxic, and with a right lower lobe infiltrate on chest radiography. On DOI 12, his serum tested positive by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) for MERS-CoV and showed high MERS-CoV antibody titers, whereas his nasopharyngeal swab was rRT-PCR negative. Expectorated sputum was rRT-PCR positive the following day, with a high viral load (5.31 × 106 copies/mL). He was treated with antibiotics, intravenous immunoglobulin, and oxygen by nasal cannula. He was discharged on DOI 22. The genome sequence was similar (>99%) to other known MERS-CoV sequences, clustering with those from KSA from June to July 2013. Conclusions. This patient had a prolonged nonspecific prodromal illness before developing respiratory symptoms. Both sera and sputum were rRT-PCR positive when nasopharyngeal specimens were negative. US clinicians must be vigilant for MERS-CoV in patients with febrile and/or respiratory illness with recent travel to the Arabian Peninsula, especially among healthcare workers.

The current strategy for interrupting transmission of lymphatic filariasis (LF) is annual mass drug administration (MDA), at good coverage, for 6 or more years. We describe our programmatic experience delivering the MDA combination of ivermectin and albendazole in Plateau and Nasarawa states in central Nigeria, where LF is caused by anopheline transmitted Wuchereria bancrofti. Baseline LF mapping using rapid blood antigen detection tests showed mean local government area (LGA) prevalence of 23% (range 4-62%). MDA was launched in 2000 and by 2003 had been scaled up to full geographic coverage in all 30 LGAs in the two states; over 26 million cumulative directly observed treatments were provided by community drug distributors over the intervention period. Reported treatment coverage for each round was ≥85% of the treatment eligible population of 3.7 million, although a population-based coverage survey in 2003 showed lower coverage (72.2%; 95% CI 65.5-79.0%). To determine impact on transmission, we monitored three LF infection parameters (microfilaremia, antigenemia, and mosquito infection) in 10 sentinel villages (SVs) serially. The last monitoring was done in 2009, when SVs had been treated for 7-10 years. Microfilaremia in 2009 decreased by 83% from baseline (from 4.9% to 0.8%); antigenemia by 67% (from 21.6% to 7.2%); mosquito infection rate (all larval stages) by 86% (from 3.1% to 0.4%); and mosquito infectivity rate (L3 stages) by 76% (from 1.3% to 0.3%). All changes were statistically significant. Results suggest that LF transmission has been interrupted in 5 of the 10 SVs, based on 2009 finding of microfilaremia ≥1% and/or L3 stages in mosquitoes. Four of the five SVs where transmission persists had baseline antigenemia prevalence of >25%. Longer or additional interventions (e.g., more frequent MDA treatments, insecticidal bed nets) should be considered for 'hot spots' where transmission is ongoing.