Serum NO(x) levels and oxidative stress elevate in AA independent from the extent of the lesion. Increased NO may play a role in the increased oxidative stress in AA.

Background/Aims:Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by attacks of fever and diffuse abdominal pain. The primary concern with this presentation is to distinguish it from acute appendicitis promptly. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the role of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to leverage the differential diagnosis of acute FMF attack with histologically proven appendicitis.Methods:Twenty-three patients with histologically confirmed acute appendicitis and 88 patients with acute attack of FMF were included in the study. NLR, C-reactive protein and other hematologic parameters were compared between the groups.Results:Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio was significantly higher in patients with acute appendicitis compared to the FMF attack group (8.24 ± 6.31 vs. 4.16 ± 2.44, p = 0.007). The performance of NLR in diagnosing acute appendicitis with receiver operating characteristic analysis with a cut-off value of 4.03 were; 78% sensitivity, 62% specificity, and area under the curve 0.760 (95% confidence interval, 0.655 to 0.8655; p < 0.001).Conclusions:This study showed that NLR, the simple and readily available inflammatory marker may have a useful role in distinguishing acute FMF attack from acute appendicitis.

Cable cerclage around the femoral cortex significantly decreased blood circulation in the area.

This study was conducted to define the value of procalcitonin (PCT) levels in the differential diagnosis of abdominal familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) attacks from acute appendicitis. From October 2006 to January 2007, 28 FMF (12 males, 16 females) patients with acute abdominal attacks and 34 patients (18 males) with acute abdomen who underwent operation with the clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis were consecutively enrolled in this study. FMF patients with concurrent infectious diseases were excluded. PCT values were measured by an immunofluorescent method using the B.R.A.H.M.S. PCT kit (B.R.A.H.M.S. Diagnostica, Berlin, Germany). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive proteins (CRP) and leucocyte levels were also noted. Mean disease duration in FMF patients was 9.6 +/- 8.1 years (range 2-33 years) and all were on colchicine therapy with a mean colchicine dosage of 1.2 +/- 0.4 mg/day. Among the operated patients, 5 were excluded: 3 patients had normal findings and 2 had intestinal perforation (PCT levels were 2.69 and 4.93 ng/ml, respectively) at operative and pathologic evaluation. There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to gender and age (p was not significant (NS) for all). Acute phase reactants and PCT levels were increased in patients with FMF compared to patients with acute appendicitis (0.529[0.12 +/- 0.96] vs 0.095 [0.01-0.80] p < 0.001, respectively). PCT levels higher than 0.5 ng/ml were found in 11% (3/28) of FMF patients compared to 62% (18/29) of acute appendicitis patients (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that PCT could be a useful test in the differentiation of abdominal FMF attacks from acute appendicitis, though it should not supplant more conventional investigations.

BackgroundLengthening nails have been used to correct limb length discrepancy caused by different etiologies, as well as for post-traumatic reasons. Two important lengthening nail-related complications are damage to the distraction mechanism and femoral fractures around the nail tip. As a result of the curved anatomy of the femur, straight nails impinge on the anterior cortex. Therefore, proper reshaping of the medullary canal to accommodate straight lengthening nails is crucial for the prevention of this problem. Reaming the dense posterior cortex is important when aiming to insert a lengthening nail without incurring anterior cortex nail tip impingement-related complications. Posterior femoral cortex over-reaming is a solution to this situation.MethodsSixty patients received lengthening nails during 2008–2013, (ISKD, Fitbone, Precice). Posterior cortex rigid-reaming technique was used successfully in 45 retrograde femoral lengthening cases. The preoperatively planned posterior cortex amount was reamed until the impingement was overcome during the operation under fluoroscopic control for each case. Since the preoperative determination of posterior cortex reaming amount is time consuming and operator dependent, we evaluated the X-rays of the patients with computer software and conventional paper-based measurements. The effect of reaming the posterior cortical wall on the inclination of the nail tip to the anterior femoral cortex was detected with measurements on the preoperative and postoperative lateral femoral X-rays by using the CorelDRAW® Graphic Suite X6 software package (Corel, Inc., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) software. On the same software, X-rays and the posterior reaming amount were also calculated.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 27 years (11–42), while the mean lengthening was 5.9 cm (2–14). The mean consolidation index was 1.05 (0.75–1.62), and the mean follow-up period was 31 months (range, 18–45 months). The mean distance of the osteotomy site to the intercondylar notch of the femur was 81.2 mm (±16.92). The mean displacement of the nail tip position was 15.42 mm (±4.77) on the measurements on the postoperative X-rays after nail insertion compared to the preoperative simulations on the templates. The mean posterior cortex reaming thickness was 3.68 mm (±1.02).ConclusionsWe derived a formula that allows the required amount of optimal posterior cortex reaming to be determined. No impingement-related complications or nail damage were observed.