Design Prospective audit of first six months. Setting Referral from a district general hospital on the Isle of Wight to a comprehensive tertiary referral service, the Centre for Fetal Care at Queen Charlotte's Hospital 120 km away in London. Participants Women whose pregnancy was suspected, or at risk, of fetal abnormality. Interventions Remote consultation by transmitting ultrasound and video in real‐time over ISDN 30 telephone lines. Contemporaneous questionnaire to referring practitioner and patient. Main outcome measures Frequency, indication, technical success and duration of consultation. Qualitative and semi‐quantitative image quality. Effect of teleconsultation on need for physical referral. Results Twenty‐nine women underwent 39 teleconsultations, and image quality was sufficient for diagnosis in all but one. Fetal abnormalities were present in 76%. Referral in person was required for only four women, significantly fewer than the 13 the referring hospital indicated would have been physically referred in the absence of this service (P < 0.001). Most mothers were counselled by the specialist ‘face‐to‐face’ over the link, and 80% felt teleconsultation reduced their anxiety. Conclusions A fetal telemedicine service is technically and clinically feasible. This demonstration suggests that such a service reduces the need for physical referral while increasing the rate of consultation, allowing better selection of patients who might benefit from referral. Further evaluation in a variety of clinical settings is now indicated, along with cost‐benefit analysis.

ObjectiveTo examine the imaging-detected mechanism of reduction of structural joint damage progression by tocilizumab (TCZ) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using MRI.MethodsIn a substudy of a randomised, double-blind, phase 3b study (ACT-RAY) of biologic-naïve patients with RA who were methotrexate (MTX)-inadequate responders, 63 patients were randomised to continue MTX or receive placebo (PBO), both in combination with TCZ 8 mg/kg every 4 weeks, with optional additional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs at week 24 if Disease Activity Score of 28 joints < 3.2. The most symptomatic hand was imaged with 0.2 Tesla extremity MRI at weeks 0, 2, 12 and 52. MR images were scored using Outcome Measures in Rheumatology–Rheumatoid Arthritis Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score. Predictors of week 52 erosion progression were determined by logistic regression analysis.ResultsTCZ + PBO (n=32) demonstrated mean improvements in synovitis from baseline to weeks 2 (−0.92; p=0.0011), 12 (−1.86; p<0.0001) and 52 (−3.35; p<0.0001), while TCZ + MTX (n=31) had mean improvements in synovitis at week 12 (−0.88; p=0.0074), but not week 52 (−1.00; p=0.0711). TCZ+PBO demonstrated mean reductions in osteitis at weeks 12 (−5.10; p=0.0022) and 52 (−8.56; p=0.0006), while TCZ+MTX had mean reductions at weeks 2 (−0.21; p<0.05) and 12 (−3.63; p=0.0008), but not week 52 (−2.31; p=0.9749). Mean erosion scores did not worsen in either group. MRI erosion scores at weeks 12 and 52 correlated strongly with radiography erosion scores at week 52 (r>0.80). Baseline synovitis and worsening of osteitis predicted erosion progression.ConclusionsRapid suppression of synovitis and osteitis with reduction in structural joint damage progression occurred with TCZ, as monotherapy or in combination with MTX, through week 52.

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Range of motion (ROM) is an important outcome variable after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This may be compounded by a pre-existing fixed flexion deformity (FFD). We therefore examined the long-term outcomes of patients with a flexion deformity undergoing TKA compared to those without a preoperative fixed flexion deformity. Participants who had undergone TKA at our centre between 1989 and 2002 were examined preoperatively, one, five and ten years after TKA (Kinemax PS; Howmedica, Rutherford, NJ, USA). Examining those with a preoperative FFD of greater than ten degrees with complete ten year follow-up data revealed 77 individuals. Seventy seven age, sex and body mass index matched patients were identified and the effect of TKA on indices of knee function (fixed flexion, maximum flexion, total ROM and Knee Society score (KSS) in both groups were analysed using repeated measures ANOVA. A significant difference between the groups with respect to fixed flexion (p<0.001), total ROM (p=0.001) and KSS (p<0.001) was observed between baseline and year one suggesting that those with a preoperative FFD improved more than those without. A significant difference with regard to fixed flexion was also observed between years one to five (p=0.001) and just failed to reach statistical significance between five to ten years (p=0.052) between the groups. This study demonstrates that patients with a preoperative fixed flexion deformity show continued improvement in their fixed flexion up to ten years post arthroplasty and have similar outcomes to those with no preoperative fixed flexion.