Measuring health-related quality of life in the population of Tetouan, Morocco, by the SF-36: normative data and the influence of gender and age

Measuring health-related quality of life [HRQOL] is an essential complement to medical evaluation. However, few studies of this type have been conducted in Morocco. This study aims to develop normative data for the SF-36 and analyse the HRQOL according to gender and age in the population of Tetouan city, Morocco. The SF-36 was administered to a sample selected by quotas containing 385 subjects aged over 16 years living in Tetouan. Comparisons of means were done to determine the significance of differences. The study population perceived mental health to be worse than physical health. Men presented significantly higher mean scores than women for all domains of the SF-36. Perceived health, especially physical health, declines with age, and so participants over the age of 55years recorded a poor perception of their health in the majority of domains measured. The results highlight the vulnerability of the two groups: women and the elderly

[Fractures of the tibial shaft [Report of 61 cases]]

Sixty one tibial pilon fractures have been collected at the department of orthopaedic and traumatologic surgery. The fracture of the tibial pilon represents 8% of the ankle traumatisms, it is the prerogative of the young person as the mean age of our patients was 36 years old with neat male predominance [71%]. The etiologic circumstances are dominated by the fall of a high place in 52%. The cutaneous lesions were present in 53% of cases. According to Vives classification, the complete complex fractures represent 46% of cases. The surgical treatment by internal osteosynthesis was practiced in 35 cases [57%], the osteosynthesis of the fibula fractures was systematic. The external fixator has been rise in 26 cases [22 Hoffman's type, 4 Ilizarov's type]. The functional results according to Lechevallier's criteria have been good in 30 cases [58%], medium in 11 cases [21%] and bad in 11 cases. We couldn't notice a correlation between functional results and radiological results; the latter's have been good in 20%, satisfactory in 46% and bad in 43%. The internal fixation proved its superiority in relationship with the external fixation