ABSTRACT
Abstract Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals faced psychological stress caused by fear and anxiety due to the high transmission and mortality rate of the disease, the social isolation, economic problems, and difficulties in reaching health services. Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic centralized pain sensitivity disorder. Psychological, physical and/or autoimmune stressors were found to increase FM symptoms. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 fear and anxiety level, and to examine their effect on disease severity, sleep quality, and mood in FM patients compared to control group. Methods: This pilot study conducted as a cross-sectional study, and included 62 participants. Participants were divided into two groups: FM patient group ( n = 31) and control group ( n = 31). Symptom severity, sleep quality, and mood were determined using the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), Pitsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), respectively. In order to evaluate the level of COVID-19 fear and anxiety, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) were used compared to control group. Results: FIQR, PSQI, HAD-A, HAD-D, FCV-19S and CAS scores were significantly higher in the FM group ( p = 0.01). A positive significant correlation was found between FCV-19S and CAS results and FIQR, PSQI, and HAD-anx results in FM patients ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: This pilot study showed that, the individuals with FM can be more affected by psychological stress, and this situation negatively affects the symptom severity, sleep quality, and mood in FM patients, so these patients should be closely monitored in terms of psychological stressors and their effects during pandemics. More studies with more participants are necessary to describe the challenges lived by fibromyalgia population.
ABSTRACT
: We aimed to investigate the presence of brachial plexus injury (BPI) in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and to draw attention to BPI, which can be overlooked by physicians in TBI patients. Methods : The study was designed retrospectively by examining the files of 58 patients with moderate to severe TBI to investigate coexistence of TBI and BPI. Results : BPI was detected in six of 58 TBI patients (10.3%). BPI was detected after an average 116 days from the initial injury. Three patients had lower trunk BPI and three patients had panplexopathy. Conclusion : Diagnosis of BPI in patients with TBI is delayed in the acute period of injury. The clinicians should keep in mind that BPIs may occur and remain undiagnosed in patients with TBI.
ABSTRACT
Background@#The genicular nerve block (GNB) is demonstrated from several reports to alleviate pain and improve knee functionality in patients with chronic knee osteoarthritis (OA). Ultrasound (US)-guided GNB has been the most used imaging method. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of US-guided versus blind GNB in the treatment of knee OA. @*Methods@#This prospective, randomized clinical trial included patients with knee OA based on American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria. The patients were evaluated for clinical and dynamometer parameters at the baseline, 4 weeks after treatment, and 12 weeks after treatment. The patients underwent blind injection or US-guided injection. @*Results@#When compared with the baseline, both groups showed significant improvement in pain, physical function, and quality of life parameters. Significant differences were observed between the groups for clinical parameters (30-second chair stand test, 6-minute walk test) in favor of the US-guided group. On the other hand, blind injection was more significantly effective on some parameters of the Nottingham Health Profile. There wasn’t any significant improvement in isokinetic muscle strength for either group. @*Conclusions@#This study demonstrated that both US-guided and blind GNB, in the treatment of knee OA, were effective in reducing symptoms and improving physical function. GNB wasn’t an effective treatment for isokinetic muscle function. USguided injections may yield more effective clinical results than blind injections.