Comparison of depression and anxiety among pacemaker and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator recipients: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Anxiety and depression among implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) recipients can lead to physical or psychological consequences and reduce the quality of life of these patients. Few studies have compared the frequency and severity of depressive and anxiety disorders in the pacemaker (PM) and ICD recipients. The aim of the present study was to compare depression and anxiety among PM and ICD recipients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 296 patients referred to a specialized cardiology teaching hospital from October 1, 2019 to July 1, 2020. Patients were selected using convenience sampling method. RESULTS: Regarding anxiety, the results showed that the overall prevalence of anxiety in PM, ICD, and control groups was 23.5%, 28%, and 8%, respectively. Results showed no significant difference between PM and ICD recipients regarding the anxiety prevalence (p = .46). With regard to depression, the results showed that the overall prevalence of depression in the PM, ICD, and control groups was 7.1%, 23%, and 4.1%, respectively. The results showed a significant difference between PM and ICD recipients in terms of depression prevalence (p = .03). The results also showed that the prevalence of depression was significantly higher among PM and ICD recipients than the control group (p = .01). CONCLUSION: Considering the results of the present study and the high prevalence of anxiety and depression, it seems necessary to focus more on educating patients about the effectiveness of PM and ICD devices in reducing anxiety and depression.

Diagnostic value of cross-sectional area of median nerve in grading severity of carpal tunnel syndrome.

PURPOSE: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common peripheral entrapment neuropathy. The purpose of this study is to determine whether high resolution ultrasonography can be an alternative diagnostic method to nerve conduction study in grading the severity of carpal tunnel syndrome. METHODS: A total of 164 wrists of 82 patients, bilaterally, were enrolled in the study. The cross-sectional area of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel inlet and outlet was measured in all patients with electrophysiologically confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome. All patients had nerve conduction study performed one week before ultrasonography. Then, comparisons between ultrasonography and nerve conduction study were made. The grading severity according to nerve conduction study was used as a gold standard reference. RESULTS: The mean median nerve cross-sectional area at the tunnel inlet was 11.4±1.7 mm² for the carpal tunnel syndrome affected wrist and 5.78±0.9 mm² for the normal wrist (P<0.001). The mean median nerve cross-sectional area at the tunnel outlet was 9.9±1.2 mm² for the affected wrist with carpal tunnel syndrome and 4.7±0.7 mm² for the normal wrist (P<0.001).The best cutoff value of cross-sectional area at the tunnel inlet and outlet was 8.5 mm². The difference in cross-sectional area of the median nerve in mild, moderate and severe carpal tunnel syndrome was not statistically significant (P=0.2) neither in the carpal tunnel inlet nor outlet. CONCLUSION: Based on this study, cross-sectional area of median nerve ultrasonography has a diagnostic value to confirm or exclude carpal tunnel syndrome, but could not be used for grading its severity.