The relationship between nerve conduction studies and the self-administered Boston Questionnaire that measures the severity of symptoms and functional status in carpal tunnel syndrome was assessed in 44 patients with idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. The patients were examined preoperatively and 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Although both the clinical outcome and electrophysiological findings improved significantly after surgery, we observed no correlation between improvements in nerve conduction and the questionnaire scores.

To compare the efficacy of local steroid injection and open carpal tunnel release, a symptom and functional status questionnaire (Boston Questionnaire) and sensory and motor nerve conduction studies were performed in 90 patients with electrophysiologically proven idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome, of whom 44 were treated surgically and 46 by two-dose steroid injection. Electrophysiologic studies and the Boston Questionnaire were applied before and at the 3rd and 6th months after treatment. Both groups showed significant improvement at first follow-up. The surgically treated group showed a significant and further improvement of symptoms and conduction values between the 3rd- and 6th-month evaluations, whereas no significant change was observed in the patient group treated by steroid injection. By the end of follow-up, 5% of the hands in the open carpal tunnel release (OCTR) group and 13% of the hands in the local steroid injection (LSIG) group showed electrophysiological worsening, and 5% of the hands in the OCTR group and 22% of the hands in the LSIG group showed symptomatic worsening. Our results show that steroid injection provides an improvement comparable with that from surgical release of the median nerve at a 3-month interval. However, this improvement is not long-lasting.

Fluoride excess primarily effects dental and skeletal tissues. leading to a condition known as endemic fluorosis. The radiological and clinical features of endemic fluorosis vary in different parts of the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and radiological features of endemic fluorosis in Turkish patients. Physical examination and radiological investigations were performed in 56 patients with endemic fluorosis and 40 age- and sex-matched controls. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) was the main abnormality in both groups, both clinically and radiologically. The radiological severity of knee OA was greater in the endemic fluorosis group than in controls (P=0.01). Osteophytes at the tibial condyles and superior margin of the patellar articular surface of the femur, polyp-like osteophytes on the non-weight-bearing medial side of the femoral condyle, and popliteal loose bodies were detected more frequently in the endemic fluorosis group than in controls (P=0.0001). We suggest that the presence of atypically located osteophytes in the knees may be a feature of endemic fluorosis in Turkish patients and that endemic fluorosis may increase the severity of OA in the knees.

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This study confirms the previously shown efficacy of low-intensity ultrasonic stimulation in acceleration of the normal fracture repair process even when performed with a diagnostic sonographic device.

A AB BS ST TR RA AC CT T O Ob bj je ec ct ti iv ve e: : Determining the type of anesthesia is a complex medical decision that depends on many factors including co-morbidity, age, type of surgery performed, and the risk of the anesthetic techniques. This study evaluated the effects of anesthesia type on postoperative mortality and morbidity in hip fractures. M Ma at te er ri ia al l a an nd d M Me et th ho od ds s: : One hundred eighty-five patients older than 60 years who were operated for hip fracture between 2005-2009 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients received general anesthesia (n=67), spinal anesthesia (n=67), or epidural anesthesia (n=51). The clinical features of the patients were obtained from the hospital records. Morbidity outcomes were assessed on postoperative day 7. Mortality rates were calculated on postoperative day 7 and postoperative day 30. R Re es su ul lt ts s: : There were no significant differences between the three groups with regard to intraoperative blood loss, intraoperative blood transfusion, smoking status, length of stay in hospital, American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) physical status, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) (p=0.393, p=0.088, p=0.369, p=0.228, p=0.491, p=0.371 respectively). Similarly, no difference was detected between the three groups regarding patient mortality rates for day 7 and 30 (p=0.738, p=0.805 respectively). C Co on nc cl lu us si io on n: : No technique was superior to the others. Due to the similar mortality rates among the groups, we suggest that the proper anesthetic technique selected according to the clinical features of the patient combined with adequate monitorization would yield successful results with all three techniques. K Ke ey y W Wo or rd ds s: : Hip fractures; mortality; anesthesia Ö ÖZ ZE ET T A Am ma aç ç: : Anestezi tipinin belirlenmesi, yaş, uygulanacak cerrahi tipi ve anestezi tekniklerinin riski gibi birçok faktörün göz önüne alınmasını gerektiren, kompleks bir tıbbi karardır. Bu çal-ışmada, kalça kırıklarında anestezi tipinin cerrahi sonrası mortalite ve morbidite üzerindeki etkileri değerlendirilmiştir. G Ge er re eç ç v ve e Y Yö ön nt te em ml le er r: : Çalışmada, 2005-2009 yılları arasında kalça kırığı operasyonu geçiren 60 yaş üzeri 185 hasta retrospektif olarak analiz edilmiştir. Hastalara genel anestezi (n=67), spinal anestezi (n=67) ve epidural anestezi (n=51) yöntemlerinden biri uygulanmıştır. Hastalara ait klinik bilgiler hastane kayıtlarından elde edilmiştir. Morbidite sonuç-ları operasyon sonrası yedinci günde değerlendirilmiştir. Mortalite oranı ise operasyon sonrası 7. ve 30. günlerde hesaplanmıştır. B Bu ul lg gu ul la ar r: : Her üç grupta cerrahi sırasındaki kan kaybı ve kan transfüzyonu, sigara içme durumu, hastanede kalış süresi, American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) skoru ve Charlson morbidite indeksi skoru açısından anlamlı bir fark bulunmamıştır (sırasıyla p=0,393, p=0,088, p=0,369, p=0,228, p=0,491, p=0,371). Hastaların 7. ve 30. günlerdeki mortalite oranları açısından gruplar arasında anlamlı bir f...

Background. The aim of the study is to analyze the major agricultural injuries related to the extremities. Patients. We evaluated a 3-year period including 41 patients. Data on age, sex, injury patterns, anatomical localizations, injury season, length of stay in the hospital, and infections were evaluated, and the patients were examined with SF-36 in the follow-up period. Results. Hand was the most commonly injured part (n: 9) followed by the distal part of the lower limb (cruris) (n: 7) and foot (n: 7). Mean time between trauma and emergency-department arrival was 115 minutes (60–360). Mean length of stay was 24 days (4–150), and mean number of operations during hospitalization was 2.4 (1–30). Deep wound infection was seen in 8 patients. Seasonal distribution for accidents was even for spring and fall (27% each), high for summer (36%), and less for winter (10%). Conclusions. Distal parts of the elbow and knee were affected more frequently. Due to the high microbiological load and high incidence of crush-type injuries, repetitive debridements and long duration of hospital stay were needed. Attention should be paid in the harvesting times to the farmyard injuries. Due to the seasonal variation, more resources should be allocated to treat the increasing incidence of injury over the period from spring to fall.

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