Cervical and lumbar spinal changes diagnosed in four-view radiographs of 732 military pilots

BACKGROUND: Pilots who fly jet fighters or helicopters frequently experience vertebral problems due to acceleration and vibration, wearing helmets and other headgear, and sitting in suboptimal postures. METHODS: We looked for spondylarthritic or spondylitic changes in 4-view radiographs (AP, lateral, left and right oblique) of the cervical and lumbar vertebrae of 732 pilots and 202 non-flying controls. The subjects included 91 F-16 jet pilots, 363 other jet pilots, 119 transport pilots, and 159 helicopter pilots. RESULTS: The prevalence of cervical changes in helicopter pilots was 19%, significantly higher than those for other pilots (8-13%) or controls (10%). There was no difference among groups with respect to prevalence of lumbar changes. Among all pilots, compression fractures were more common in the lumbar region than in the cervical region. Age was the most important variable related to spondylarthritic or spondylitic changes in all subjects, whereas height was an important factor only among jet pilots. CONCLUSION: We found an increased prevalence of cervical changes, especially osteoarthritis, in helicopter pilots. Increasing age and tall stature were associated with an increased prevalence of vertebral spondylarthritic or spondylitic changes in jet pilots.     

The effects of menstrual cycle on the knee joint position sense: preliminary study

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of menstrual cycle on proprioception by using the active knee joint position sense test (JPST). The 19 healthy women (ages between 20 years and 27 years) who have normal regular menstrual cycle were included in the study. We applied JPSTs at two different directions throughout the three different phases of the menstrual cycle, i.e. menstrual, follicular, and early luteal in dominant knees. When we started from flexion (90°), target angles were 70°, 50°, and 30° and we started from extension (0°), target angles were 20°, 40° and 60°. The absolute reposition errors from the target angles have been evaluated. Results have shown that reposition errors from the target angle at 40°, 50° and 70° of knee angles were higher in the menstrual phase than that of the follicular phase (P<0.05). In addition, higher value of reposition error from the target angle at 40° was found in the menstrual phase compared to luteal phase (P<0.05). In conclusion, we have demonstrated that active JPST was significantly reduced in the menstruation period.     

A Simple Method for Breast Implant Placement Using a Drainage Tube

Silicone breast implants have been used for augmentation mammoplasty. In most cases, the surgery is performed for cosmetic purposes. Although the incision line must be of minimal length, it is difficult to replace silicone prosthesis in these patients by a minimal incision. A Drainage tube is a choice for draining the air and facilitates replacement of the prosthesis. The authors have used this method successfully for 13 cases. There were no complications. The described technique can be used for all augmentation mammoplasties using silicone breast implants.     

Evaluating the effects of ice application on the pain felt during botulinum toxin type-a injections: a prospective, randomized, single-blind controlled trial

The pain felt during botulinum toxin type-A injections and the troubled and distressed treatment it induces is common and well known for the patient and the doctor applying the treatment. This problem is further intensified on the patients who have needle phobia. The effect of ice application on the treatment zone before botulinum toxin type-A treatment on the pain felt during injections is investigated. Totally, 24 patients who underwent botulinum toxin type-A treatment in upper face region for esthetic purposes are included in the study. Ice was applied 5 minutes before the injections on the right lateral orbital zones (crow's feet area) of the patients, whereas on their left sides, toxin was injected without applying any ice. All the drugs were diluted by normal saline; 5 U of active botulinum toxin type-A was used in each diziem (0.1 mL). Total injection number was determined both in right and left areas as 8. Visual analog scale (VAS) was used for pain intensity and evaluation. On the side where ice was applied, the treatment was completed in 1 session and lasted shorter when compared with that of the control side. However, the average VAS values defining the pain that the patients felt in their right and left sides were found as 1.1 and 5.9, respectively. The clinical findings obtained indicated that pain is significantly reduced on the side where ice is applied. The statistical significance of the test results were evaluated by Student's t test, and the difference between VAS values was found statistically significant (P = 0.000).     

Cost of renal replacement therapy in Turkey

BACKGROUND AND RESULTS: By the end 2000, 22224 patients were on renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Turkey. We investigated the cost of RRT in three medical faculties and one private dialysis centre. Yearly expenses were US dollars 22759 for haemodialysis (HD), US dollars 22350 for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), and US dollars 23393 and US dollars 10028, respectively, for the first and second years of transplantation (Tx). In the first year, renal Tx was significantly more expensive than CAPD. However, after the first year of renal transplantation, Tx became significantly more economical than both CAPD and HD. The sum of all yearly RRT expenses for the country was US dollars 488958709, which corresponds to nearly 5.5% of Turkey's total health expenditure. CONCLUSION: Measures such as early construction of vascular access, promoting home dialysis and the reuse of the dialysers, strict control of the use of some expensive drugs like erythropoietin and active vitamin D, and also increasing the number of transplantations, especially if pre-emptive transplantation is possible, should be taken into account in order to reduce these expenses.     

Treatment of imperforate hymen by application of Foley catheter

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of hypertension and obesity on endometrial thickness. STUDY DESIGN: Forty obese women with hypertension (Group 1), 28 non-obese women with hypertension (Group 2), 58 obese women (Group 3), 56 non-obese healthy women (Group 4), totally 182 postmenopausal women were included in this prospective study. All patients were examined, and Papanicolaou cervical smear was performed after interview. Endometrial thickness was measured in the anterior-posterior diameter by vaginal ultrasonography. The data were analysed with one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA), Scheffe and chi2 tests. P<0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: Endometrial thickness in obese women with or without hypertension were significantly greater than in non-obese women with or without hypertension (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference between non-obese hypertensive women and control group regarding endometrial thickness measurement (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Obesity has been found to increase endometrial thickness independently. Hypertension may increase the endometrial thickness if it is combined with obesity.