People diagnosed with osteoporosis have almost twice the risk of developing hearing loss as those without the bone-fragile skeletal disease, according to results from a large retrospective study in Taiwan. The study looked at the risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) using data collected from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance claims and is believed to…
Antibody-like molecules that can bind to more than one target—with the goal of having a more powerful effect than if those targets were treated separately in a combination of therapies—could become part of treatment regimens in rheumatic diseases over the next several years, an expert said here in a session at EULAR 2015, the annual…
ROME, Italy—The role of ACPA positivity in osteoarthritis is coming more into focus, with results from recent studies by researchers in Germany showing that ACPA positivity apparently works in concert with rheumatoid factor positivity to enhance bone erosion and that ACPA-positive patients show signs of bone erosion before they have clinical signs of arthritis. The…
Level 3 Visit with Primary Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis A 36-year-old patient presents with unilateral primary osteoarthritis of the left hip. She reports her groin pain as 7 on a scale of 1–10. When she tries to straighten her left leg, she experiences increased groin pain. She is currently taking over-the-counter medication to relieve the pain,…
CPT codes: 99213 Diagnosis Codes: ICD-9: 715.15, 278.01 ICD-10: M16.12, E66.01, Z68.41 This encounter is coded as 99213 as follows: History—The history of present illness was extended. The review of systems was comprehensive, and no past family social history was documented. This makes the history level expanded problem focused. Examination—There were eight systems examined. This…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A Dutch study confirms that reduced serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are associated with increased fracture risk in elderly women, but not men. In an Aug. 31 online paper in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Dr. N.C. van Varsseveld, of VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, and colleagues noted that…
To increase access to community-based physical activity for arthritis patients, the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance has awarded funding to three programs designed to implement evidence-based physical activity programs and osteoarthritis education in their communities…
An Australian study found an association between child physical performance measures and adult knee structures. The data, collected from three points in participants’ lives, revealed a link between childhood activity and adult tibial cartilage volume and bone area.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Growth hormone is associated with a decrease in fractures in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis even a decade after treatment ceases, researchers from Sweden report. “We were surprised and pleased to find that the patients had a reduced risk of fracture so many years after the growth hormone treatment was ceased,” Dr. Emily…
New research in mice has found that treatment with a vitamin C derivative can effectively suppress the generation of mitochondrial superoxide, which plays a role in cartilage degeneration and the progression of osteoarthritis…