Is blood group a risk factor in lateral epicondylitis?

OBJECTIVE: Lateral epicondylitis is a common disorder in the community. Identification of risk factors plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of the disease. In our study, the relationship between risk factors in lateral epicondylitis and blood group, which has not been mentioned before in the literature, will be examined. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In our study, patients' age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), dominant upper extremity, affected upper extremity, duration of symptoms, duration between onset of symptoms and hospital admission, occupation, number of children and youngest child age (if the patient is a mother), smoking, alcohol use, presence of additional diseases, sports activities, job requiring repetitive movements and strength in the upper extremities in daily life, marital status, where he/she lives and his/her blood type were questioned. In our study, there were 304 patients in the patient group and 304 patients in the control group. RESULTS: In our study, blood type 0 was significantly more common in the patient group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In our study, it was concluded that there is a relationship between 0 blood group and lateral epicondylitis.

Sevoflurane induced diffuse alveolar haemorrhage in a young patient after orthopedic surgery: A case report.

We present a very rare case of Sevoflurane Induced Diffuse Alveolar Haemorrhage in a young male patient with a closed tibial fracture after direct trauma to the right cruris. The patient was operated for tibial fracture, but diffuse alveolar haemorrhage developed after sevoflurane inhalation in the postoperative period following general anesthesia. Diffuse alveolar haemorrhage (DAH) is associated with inhalation injury from halogenated gases and reported as a unique entity in the literature that practicing clinicians should be aware of and consider in post-operative cases of acute respiratory distress. As DAH usually presents with symptoms the presence of hemoptysis, anemia, dyspnoea and radiological alveolar infiltrates, rapid detection of the aetiology and initiation of cause-directed treatment are of great importance on survival.

Age and gender related changes in bronchial tree: a morphometric study with multidedector CT.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study are the identification of differences in the diameter, length, area and branching angles of the trachea and bronchi with gender and age, and the identification of trachea types by using MDCT images. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The thoracic MDCT images of 253 patients (0-74 years old, 142 male and 111 female) were evaluated. Tracheal diameter, tracheal cross-sectional area, diameter and length of bronchi, and several angles of the bronchial tree [e.g. subcarinal angles (SCA), interbronchial angles (IBA)] were measured. RESULTS: Average anteroposterior and transverse diameter of the trachea in adult patients were measured as 15.8 ± 2.9 mm and 17.5 ± 3.7 mm respectively. Average tracheal cross-sectional areas in adult patients were calculated as 160.7 ± 41.3 mm² in females and as 275.7 ± 57.3 mm² in males. Four types of trachea were identified as circular (68% in adults, 73% in children), oval (13%, 15%), rectangular (11%, 5%) and horseshoe shaped (8%, 7%). The average right and left SCA were calculated as 34.5º ± 8.1º and 38.1º ± 8.9º respectively. The average right and left IBA were calculated as 32.4º ± 7.7º and 35.2º ± 8.1º respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study may be helpful during bronchoscopy and tube and stent application procedures. MDCT seems to be a convenient technique for the evaluation of the bronchial tree.

Serum uric acid and slow coronary flow in cardiac syndrome X.

OBJECTIVE: It has been recently shown that cardiac syndrome X (CSX) patients with slow coronary flow (SCF) have a worse long-term prognosis than those with normal coronary flow. Increased uric acid levels were shown to be associated with atherosclerosis, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between coronary flow assessed with TIMI frame count (TFC) and serum uric acid (SUA) levels in patients with CSX. METHODS: The study population consisted of 113 consecutive patients with typical cardiac CSX and 41 controls without cardiac CSX. Frequencies of risk factors as well as biochemical and hematological data were recorded for all participants. Coronary blood flow was evaluated by TFC. All patients with a TFC greater than two standard deviations from the published normal range for any one of the three vessels were accepted as having slow coronary flow (SCF group), while those whose TFC values fell within the standard deviation of the published normal range for all of the three vessels were considered to have normal coronary flow. RESULTS: Of the 113 CSX patients enrolled, 40 (35.4%) had SCF. The mean TFC value was strongly positively correlated with SUA level, but weakly correlated with male sex, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, serum creatinine level, and hemoglobin. Multivariate regression analysis showed that only the SUA level was independently associated with SCF. The cut-off value for uric acid obtained by the ROC curve analysis was 4.55 mg/dl for the prediction of SCF (sensitivity, 77.5%; specificity, 73.6%). CONCLUSION: The SUA level is independently associated with SCF in patients with CSX.

Comparison of CT virtual cystoscopy of the contrast material-filled bladder with conventional cystoscopy in the diagnosis of bladder tumours.

AIM: To investigate the value of virtual cystoscopy using contrast material to fill the bladder during routine abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) examinations for the detection of bladder tumours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-three consecutive patients (25 men and eight women; are range 51-82 years; mean age+/-SD, 65+/-7 years) who had painless macroscopic haematuria and were suspected to have bladder neoplasms were prospectively evaluated with virtual cystoscopy. After intravenous injection of contrast medium, the contrast material-filled bladders were examined with single-detector helical CT with 2-mm section thicknesses. Source CT data were transferred to a workstation for interactive navigation using surface rendering. All the patients also underwent conventional cystoscopy. RESULTS: The results of virtual cystoscopy were compared with the findings from the conventional cystoscopy. Seventy-one of 78 bladder tumours detected with conventional cystoscopy in 28 patients were also shown on virtual images. The bladders of five patients appeared normal on both conventional cystoscopy and virtual cystoscopy. On virtual cystoscopy, seven of the 12 lesions that were < or =5 mm in diameter could be identified. The following statistical values for the identification of bladder lesions using virtual cystoscopy were calculated: sensitivity 94%, specificity 90%, positive predictive value 87%, negative predictive value 93%, and accuracy 93%. CONCLUSION: CT virtual cystoscopy is a noninvasive technique that can be used successfully for detection of bladder tumours >5 mm in selected cases during daily routine abdominopelvic work.

Subungual glomus tumour: magnetic resonance imaging findings.

The present study aims to present a case of a subungual glomus tumour with literature to the findings on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. A 51-year-old man consulted his physician because of a pain in the nail bed of his thumb, which he had had for 2 years. A plain radiography and MR examination was performed. Physical examination showed a blue-brown focus beneath the nail and there was deformation. A plain radiography demonstrated no abnormality. T1-weighted spin-echo images showed a well-marginated, oval, slightly hyperintense lesion (4 mm diameter) located in the subungual region. On turbo spin-echo T2-weighted images the lesion was hyperintense with a hypointense rim. T1-weighted spin-echo images after intravenous administration of contrast medium showed strong enhancement. The lesion was completely excised at surgery and the diagnosis of a glomus tumour was established histologically. In conclusion, MR imaging offers excellent diagnostic information about a clinically suspected glomus tumour.