Pyrolytic Carbon Resurfacing Arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis of the Proximal Interphalangeal Joint of the Finger :

In this study, psychometric principles were used to develop an outcomes questionnaire capable of measuring health state domains important to patients with hand disorders. These domains were hypothesized to include (1) overall hand function, (2) activities of daily living (ADL), (3) pain, (4) work performance, (5) aesthetics, and (6) patient satisfaction with hand function. An initial pool of 100 questions was pilot-tested for clarity in 20 patients; following factor analysis, the number of questions was reduced to a 37-item Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHQ). The MHQ, along with the Short Form-12, a generic health status outcomes questionnaire, was then administered to 200 consecutive patients at a university-based hand surgery clinic and was subjected to reliability and validity testing. The mean time required to complete the questionnaire was 10 minutes (range, 7-20 minutes). Factor analysis supported the 6 hypothesized scales. Test-retest reliability using Spearman's correlation demonstrated substantial agreement, ranging from 0.81 for the aesthetics scale to 0.97 for the ADL scale. In testing for internal consistency, Cronbach's alphas ranged from 0.86 for the pain scale to 0.97 for the ADL scale (values >0.7 for Cronbach's alpha are considered a good internal consistency). Correlation between scales gave evidence of construct validity. In comparing similar scales in the MHQ and the Short Form-12, a moderate correlation (range, 0.54-0.79) for the ADL, work performance, and pain scales was found. In evaluating the discriminate validity of the aesthetics scale, a significant difference (p = .0012) was found between the aesthetics scores for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome and patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The MHQ is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring hand outcomes. It can be used in a clinic setting with minimal burden to patients. The questions in the MHQ have undergone rigorous psychometric testing, and the MHQ is a promising instrument for evaluation of outcomes following hand surgery.

To investigate the prevalence and pattern of radiographic osteoarthritis (ROA) of the hand joints and its association with self reported hand pain and disability. Baseline data on a population based study (age >/=55 years) were used (n = 3906). Hand ROA was defined as the presence of Kellgren-Lawrence grade >/=2 radiological changes in two of three groups of hand joints in each hand. The presence of hand pain during the previous month was defined as hand pain. The health assessment questionnaire was used to measure hand disability. 67% of the women and 54.8% of the men had ROA in at least one hand joint. DIP joints were affected in 47.3% of participants, thumb base in 35.8%, PIP joints in 18.2%, and MCP joints in 8.2% (right or left hand). ROA of other joint groups (right hand) co-occurred in 56% of DIP involvement, 88% of PIP involvement, 86% of MCP involvement, and 65% of thumb base involvement. Hand pain showed an odds ratio of 1.9 (1.5 to 2.4) with the ROA of the hand (right). Hand disability showed an odds ratio of 1.5 (1.1 to 2.1) with ROA of the hand (right or left). Hand ROA is common in the elderly, especially in women. Co-occurrence of ROA in different joint groups of the hand is more common than single joint disease. There is a modest to weak association between ROA of the hand and hand pain/disability, varying with the site of involvement.

To quantify the prevalence of radiographic hand osteoarthritis (OA) among a group of community-dwelling individuals. Joint-specific prevalence rates/100 of radiographic OA of the hand were quantified and reported by age, gender, and dominant hand. Data from a community-based, longitudinal study designed to follow the natural history of OA were used. Participants were ambulatory men and women, ages 40 years and older, with and without radiographic hand OA (N = 3327). Bilateral hand OA was examined at three joints: second distal interphalangeal joints (DIP), third proximal interphalangeal joints (PIP), and first carpometacarpal joint of the thumb (CMC). The ordinal scale of Kellgren and Lawrence (0-4) was used to determine OA status (grades 2+). Radiographic hand OA status was determined for all persons in the study group comprised of 2302 women (69%) and 1025 men (31%). The sample sizes for the age groups (years) were 532 (40-49), 905 (50-59), 998 (60-69), 749 (70-79), and 143 (80+). Overall, the DIP joint demonstrated the highest OA prevalence, while the PIP joint showed the lowest prevalence. Joint-specific hand OA prevalence rates for second DIP, third PIP, and first CMC were 35%, 18%, and 21%, respectively. Expectedly, hand OA prevalence for all joints increased with age. With exceptions, women demonstrated higher hand OA prevalence rates for the three sites examined. However, among men aged 40-49, the second DIP joint OA rate was higher (13%) compared with women (8%). Additionally, men in that age group demonstrated an elevated first CMC joint OA rate (9%) compared with women (5%). Gender-specific hand dominance analyses demonstrated that the majority of individuals with unilateral second DIP or third PIP OA presented in their dominant hand. However, among those with unilateral first CMC OA, both genders displayed a tendency to present in their nondominant hand. These findings suggest the need for further investigation of the role gender can play in the development of hand OA in populations under 60 years of age. Additional epidemiological studies addressing hand OA will serve to bridge the gap between the current levels of knowledge about the knee and the hand. The disease burden of hand OA affects a large percentage of the population. Research efforts that more exhaustively characterize the prevalence of hand OA may contribute toward interventions that, ultimately, impact a rapidly growing segment of our population.