A community-based intervention study involving family gardens with aromatic herbs on changes in dietary and urinary sodium.

OBJECTIVE: To measure dietary and urinary changes in sodium (Na) intake and excretion through the implementation of family gardens with aromatic herbs and workshops for cooking, using the herbs as a substitute for salt and seasoning powder. METHODS: Thirty-five participants from a neighborhood of Mexico City were included. A general questionnaire was administered to collect information on sociodemographic factors. At baseline and 3 months later, a dietary evaluation was conducted, and 24-hour urine samples were collected. Food items reported were classified according to the NOVA classification. Visits to participants´ houses were conducted to measure the amount of salt and seasoning powder added to food during the preparation of meals as well as a home food inventory. All participants were given a family garden with 6 aromatic herbs and a recipe book. The intervention included 7 cooking and 3 garden care workshops. Qualitative information on the experience was also collected. Linear regression models were run in order to estimate the contribution of each NOVA group, salt, and seasoning powder to total dietary Na intake. RESULTS: Participants were 44 years old on average and were mainly women (91.4%). The participation compliance in the workshops was 69.5%. After 3 months, there was a Na intake mean reduction of 976 mg. There was also a reduction in the excreted urinary Na of 325 mg per day. CONCLUSION: A positive level of involvement in this program had a direct influence on dietary habits to lower Na consumption.

[Efficacy of surgical treatment by radial nerve transfer in patients with traumatic isolated axillary nerve injury]. / Eficacia del tratamiento quirúrgico mediante neurotización radial en pacientes con lesión traumática aislada de nervio axilar.

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of surgical treatment by radial nerve transfer in patients with a diagnosis of isolated axillary nerve traumatic injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We present a series of seven cases, six men and one woman, with a mean age of 51.6 years, with a diagnosis of isolated traumatic axillary nerve injury between January 2013 and December 2016. All patients were treated by radial motor branch nerve transfer of the medial triceps head between the sixth and seventeenth months after trauma, with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the DASH questionnaire. RESULTS: In the bivariate analysis we found statistically significant differences regarding the degree of external rotation and abduction strength measured by preoperative and postoperative MRC (p 0.05). The results also demonstrated a statistical significance in the range of postoperative shoulder abduction movement (p = 0.01). The DASH questionnaire showed an average percentage of disability of 20.29% after 12 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Radial nerve transfer in patients diagnosed with axillary nerve traumatic injury provides an excellent degree of improvement in external rotation and abduction strength, in addition to significantly improving the shoulder abduction range, it was also demonstrated by DASH questionnaire that the percentage disability is low.

OBJETIVO: Determinar la eficacia del tratamiento quirúrgico mediante neurotización radial en pacientes con diagnóstico de lesión traumática aislada de nervio axilar. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Se presenta una serie de siete casos, seis hombres y una mujer, con promedio de edad de 51.6 años, con diagnóstico de lesión traumática aislada de nervio axilar tratados quirúrgicamente entre Enero 2013 y Diciembre 2016. Todos los pacientes fueron tratados mediante transferencia nerviosa de rama motora radial de la cabeza medial del tríceps, entre el sexto y decimoséptimo mes después del traumatismo, con un seguimiento mínimo de 12 meses. Se evaluó la eficacia del tratamiento mediante la Medical Research Council (MRC) y el cuestionario DASH. RESULTADOS: En el análisis bivariado encontramos diferencias estadísticamente significativas con respecto al grado de mejoría de fuerza de rotación externa y de abducción medido por MRC preoperatoria y postoperatoria (p 0.05). Los resultados también demostraron una significancia estadística en el rango de movimiento de abducción postoperatorio de hombro (p = 0.01). El cuestionario DASH demostró un porcentaje promedio de discapacidad de 20.29% después de 12 meses de seguimiento. CONCLUSIÓN: La neurotización radial en pacientes con diagnóstico de lesión traumática aislada de nervio axilar proporciona un excelente grado de mejoría de fuerza de rotación externa y abducción, además de mejorar significativamente el rango de abducción del hombro; también se demostró, mediante cuestionario DASH, que el porcentaje de discapacidad es bajo.

Sensory recovery of innervated and non-innervated radial forearm free flaps: functional implications.

Findings reported in the literature on the sensation provided by intraorally applied innervated vs. non-innervated radial forearm free flaps differ. In an effort to understand these differences in sensory recovery, the authors carried out sensory evaluations in 12 patients who had undergone radial forearm free flaps. Seven patients had innervated flaps for defects of the tongue and floor of mouth; five had non-innervated flaps to various sites. Flap sensitivity to temperature, light touch, dull touch, and sharpness and two-point discrimination was assessed at the donor site and contralaterally, and at the recipient site and contralateral mirror-image oral mucosa. Patients subjectively rated post-reconstruction sensation and provided quality of life (QOOL) data. The innervated flaps demonstrated better sensory recovery than the non-innervated flaps, although the latter did restore reasonable sensation. This paper describes the results, compares the study to other similar studies, and discusses various factors in the sensory recovery of both innervated and non-innervated intraoral radial forearm free flaps. The authors conclude that, although the trend in this study is toward improved function with the innervated flaps, these flaps do not appear to offer major intraoral functional advantage over the non-innervated flaps, which attain reasonably effective sensory recovery from neural ingrowth, if the lingual nerve is intact.

Evaluation of results and treatment variables for pressure ulcers in 48 veteran spinal cord-injured patients.

This retrospective study of 48 spinal cord-injured patients with pressure ulcers seen at a tertiary referral Veterans Hospital spinal cord injury unit between 1992 and 1997 correlates a number of variables (co-morbid conditions, nutritional status, smoking history, type of repair performed, type of bed used postoperatively, ulcer location and severity, duration of postoperative antibiotic therapy, time elapsed before sitting rehabilitation began, and length of hospital stay) with ulcer repair outcome measures, including postoperative systemic and wound-healing complications, recurrence rates, and the development of new ulcers at different sites. Surgical complication rates were high, occurring in 19 patients (39.6%), and ulcer recurrence or new ulcer development occurred in 38 patients (79.2%). Correlations were found between ulcer location and postoperative wound separation and the length of hospitalization. The hospital course was shorter if the ulcer was new rather than recurrent. Other than the finding that chronic smokers had longer courses of antibiotic therapy, smoking did not correlate statistically with other outcome variables, including wound-healing complications. No significant correlations were found between any postoperative systemic or wound complications, ulcer recurrence, or new ulcer development and patient age, level of spinal cord injury, number of ulcers and grade, laboratory values, mental status, cardiac or pulmonary disease, diabetes, and presence or absence of osteomyelitis.

Retrolabyrinthine vestibular neurectomy. 10 years' experience.

The advances in the diagnosis of the vertigo patient and in the transtemporal approach to the cerebellopontine angle, have promoted the development of the retrolabyrinthine vestibular nerve section, for the surgical treatment of vertigo with hearing preservation. In a 10 years period (1982-1992), 45 patients underwent a vestibular nerve section through the retrolabyrinthine approach. The vertigo was controlled in 95% of the entire series, with 86% of hearing preservation, 6% of hearing improvement and 6% of hearing loss.