PRF application to the saphenous nerve for eight minutes showed remarkable amount of patient satisfaction. Application of PRF for the second time could be recommended if it shows some benefit after the sixth month. But none of our patients needed a second application of PRF after six months period.

ObjectiveCoccydynia is defined as pain in the coccygeal region. Among the many causes of coccydynia, the most common cause is trauma as a result of falling on the buttocks, repetitive microtrauma, or childbirth. Several methods are currently used for the treatment of coccydynia, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intrarectal manipulation, epidural injections, ganglion impar blocks, and radiofrequency treatment (RFT). Wemm and Saberski used the transacrococcygeal methods to reduce tissue trauma. RFT is a percutaneous minimally invasive procedure. In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of the transsacrococcygeal approach on ganglion impar RFT in patients with chronic coccydynia.MethodsWe retrospectively examined the data of 41 patients at the Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Faculty of Medicine, Maltepe University (Pain Clinic), between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2012.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 46.68±11.00 years (range 28–67 [46] years). The average pain duration was 3.10±1.37 years. The difference between visual analog scale scores of the pre-and postprocedure was statistically significant. In the examinations carried out in the sixth month of the treatment, 90.2% of patients had a successful outcome, whereas treatment failed in 9.8% of patients. According to our patients’ data, most of them had pain due to a trauma, were female, and overweight. Visual analog scale difference between preprocedure and early postprocedure, preprocedure and first month, preprocedure and sixth month were statistically significant (P=0.001).ConclusionBased on the lower pain scores and low complication rates after the operations, the results suggest that application of RFT on ganglion impar by the transsacrococcygeal approach is an effective and safe method for the treatment of chronic coccydynia. Patient selection, technique, and experience are the most important factors affecting the success of this method.

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Pulsed radiofrequency technique application to the suprascapular nerve for 480 seconds shows remarkable improvement at patients' chronic shoulder pain.

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OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to measure the sleep quality and anxiety level of a group of employees, as well as determine the relationship between sleep quality and anxiety and other factors.METHODS:A total of 130 of 185 employees at a university campus were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. A descriptive questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were the data collection instruments. In addition to univariate analysis, the relationship between the 2 scales was examined with Spearman correlation analysis.RESULTS:Of the participants, 38.9% had poor sleep quality. Gender, income level, presence of a chronic disease, regular medication use, and relationship with family and the social environment were found to affect both sleep quality and anxiety. A decrease in sleep quality was associated with an increase in the level of anxiety.CONCLUSION:Poor sleep quality and a high anxiety level are common in this country, as in the rest of the world. Socioeconomic interventions and psychosocial support to improve the status of individuals with risk factors, such as chronic disease, will reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality and overall psychosocial health. Further prospective studies should be conducted with different groups of participants and with larger samples to expand knowledge of the relationship between sleep quality and anxiety.

Objective: This study was planned as a community-based research study to estimate the prevalence of osteoporosis and explore related risk factors in the Thrace region of Turkey. Material and Methods:The community-based study involved a total of 620 people, 498 women and 122 men, aged between 40 and 89 years. A questionnaire on the medical history and lifestyles of the participants was applied with a face-to-face interview. Body weight height, and arm span of each participant were measured, together with bone mineral density at the middle phalanges of the second, third, and fourth digits of the non-dominant hand using dual-energy X-ray laser absorptiometry. Results: Age, clothing, lack of regular exercise, and giving birth to more than two children seem to contribute to osteoporosis, while high education, high economic level, tea and moderate alcohol consumption, oral contraceptive use, and hormone replacement therapy seem to retard osteoporosis. Osteoporotic patients had more fractures in the past. Height and weight were significantly lower in osteoporotic women. Conclusion: Lifestyle affects the prevalence of osteoporosis. Drinking tea and alcohol seems to be controversial with regard to osteoporosis risk. Key Words: Osteoporosis, bone density, risk factors, lifestyle Özet Amaç: Çalışma, Türkiye'nin Trakya bölgesinde osteoporoz prevalansını kestirmek ve ilgili risk faktörlerini ortaya çıkarmak amacıyla tasarlandı. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Toplum temelli çalışma, yaşları 40 ile 89 arasında, 498 kadın ve 122 erkekten oluşan toplam 620 kişiyi kapsadı. Çalışmaya katılanların tıbbi geçmişlerini ve yaşam tarzlarını sorgulayan bir anket yüz yüze gerçekleştirildi. Kilo, boy, kulaç uzunluğu ve Dual-Enerji X-ray lazer absorpsiyometri ile baskın olmayan elin 2, 3 ve 4.parmaklarının orta falankslarından kemik mineral yoğunluğu ölçüldü. Bulgular: Yaş, giyinme, düzenli egzersiz yokluğu ve doğum sayısı osteoporoz ihtimalini arttırıyor görünürken iyi eğitimli olma, ekonomik seviyenin yüksekliği, çay ve hafif alkol tüketimi, doğum kontrol hapı kullanımı ve hormon replasman tedavisi osteoporozu yavaşlatıyor görünmektedir. Osteoporotik hastaların geçmişlerinde daha fazla kırık tespit edilmiştir. Osteoporotik kadınların boyu ve kilosu belirgin biçimde daha az bulunmuştur. Sonuç: Yaşam stili osteoporoz prevalansını etkilemektedir. Çay ve alkol içmenin osteoporoz riski açısından etkisi tartışmalı görünmektedir.

Background Being one of the key players in healthcare, pharmacists could have an important role in the early detection and care of children with autism, by familiarizing themselves with autism-related resources and helping families to find relevant professional resources. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the awareness of pharmacists about autism, and their knowledge and attitude towards autism. Setting İstanbul Province of Turkey. Method This descriptive study was carried out in pharmacists working in Istanbul Province of Turkey in 7 municipalities out of 39. One hundred forty-one out of 150 pharmacists who agreed to participate in our study were interviewed with the help of questionnaires. Main outcome measure Knowledge about childhood ASD and the social characteristics thereoff amongst pharmacists. Results Minimum 33.4 and maximum 73.1 % of the pharmacists gave correct answers to each question. Furthermore pharmacists' knowledge about causative factors of childhood ASD proved to be lacking and they tend to believe in outdated theories. The percentage of pharmacists believing that autism holds social stigma in this community was 66.0 %. Conclusion Pharmacists' knowledge regarding ASD needs to be improved. Enhancing their awareness, especially about basic social characteristics of childhood ASD will help pharmacists direct families of children with ASD to responsible health authorities.