Gillfeddersen7171
Background and Objectives This systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy of Tele-Rehabilitation for decreasing pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Materials and Methods Following the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), three electronic databases (CINAHL, PubMed, PEDro), along with the addition of grey literature, were used to collect information. Randomized control trials (RCTs) comparing tele-rehabilitation (TR) to office-based-rehabilitation (OB) were critically appraised using the 2005 University of Oxford Standard. A total of 139 articles (PubMed = 132, CINAHL = 5, PEDro = 0, grey literature = 2) were acquired. Results After the screening, three RCTs were included in our review. Their results show no statistically significant differences between TR and OB intervention. Furthermore, their results showed an overall reduction in pain in both groups from the baseline to the end of the study. However, each intervention's clinical efficiency was dependent on the exercise protocol itself and not on the method of delivery. There is a potential ceiling effect to the amount of therapy a patient can receive in which additional therapy would no longer lead to improved recovery. Conclusions Our review suggests evidence that TR's efficacy is similar to that of OB for improvement of WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) score parameters in patients suffering from knee OA.Intertrochanteric femur fractures are common in older patients and often have a significant impact on disability. The treatment aims to achieve a rapid return to the prior functional level with a low rate of complications and mortality. Surgical management by internal fixation is the mainstay of treatment for most of these fractures. Even when treated with intramedullary nails, the overall complication rates are high, especially for unstable or highly comminuted fractures or in the presence of poor bone quality. Hip arthroplasty is an alternative in older patients with intertrochanteric femur fractures at high risk of fixation failure or with concomitant intraarticular pathologies. find more Especially patients whose condition precludes prolonged bedrest and who are at risk of significant deterioration if their locomotor function cannot be restored rapidly are likely to benefit from hip arthroplasty. The choice of the surgical technique mainly depends on the surgeon's preferences and the fracture characteristics. Bipolal surgical technique.Background The covert or indirect type of aggression has a risk of converting in violent acts and, considering that, it is very important to identify it in order to apply effective preventive measures. In cases of psychotic patients, the risk of becoming violent is harder to predict, as even neuter stimuli may be perceived as threat and trigger aggression. Treating all the psychiatric patients as potential aggressive subjects is not the best preventive measure as only a few of them are aggressive and this measure may further enhance the stigma on mentally ill patients. There is a current need for better understanding of covert aggression and to find objective measures, such as biological markers, that could be indicative of potential violent behavior. In this work, we try to investigate the role of cortisol and oxytocin as potential biomarkers of aggression in patients with psychosis. Material and Methods We analyzed the level of peripheral oxytocin (pg/mL) and cortisol level (ng/mL) in 28 psychotic patients with a higher level of oxytocin are significant predictors of a style of internalized manifestation of aggression, with the predictive model explaining 55% of the variant of the internalized manifestation of aggression (F (2.25) = 17.6, p less then 0.001, β = 0.35, R2 = 55.2). We did not find significant correlations between cortisol and overt aggression, and neither between oxytocin and overt aggression. Positive correlations were also found between the overt type of self-reported aggression and overt aggression reported by the rater (r = 0.459, p = 0.01). Conclusions The importance of a predictive model in understanding covert aggression is imperative and the results of our study show that oxytocin and cortisol warrant to be further investigated in establishing a definitive predictive model for covert aggression.Background and Objectives Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have improved sustained virologic response (SVR) rates in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Our aim was to elucidate the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to compare the outcomes of patients aged 75 years or older (older group) with those of patients younger than 75 years (younger group) after SVR. Materials and Methods Among 441 patients treated with interferon-free DAA combinations, a total of 409 SVR patients were analyzed. We compared the two age groups in terms of HCC incidence and mortality rates. Results Older and younger groups consisted of 68 and 341 patients, respectively. Occurrence of HCC after SVR did not differ between the two groups of patients with a history of HCC. Occurrence of HCC after SVR was observed more in younger patients without a history of HCC (p less then 0.01). Although older patients without a history of HCC had a higher mortality rate (p less then 0.01), their causes of death were not associated with liver diseases. Among younger patients without a history of HCC, none died. Conclusions After SVR, liver disease may not be a prognostic factor in older HCV patients without a history of HCC.
Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a potent osteoclast activation inhibitor, decreases bone resorption and plays a role in mediating bone mineral density (BMD). Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between BMD and serum OPG in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients.
Fasting blood samples were obtained from 75 MHD patients. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in lumbar vertebrae (L2-L4). The WHO classification criteria were applied to define osteopenia and osteoporosis. A commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum OPG values.
Among all MHD patients, seven (9.3%) and 20 patients (26.7%) were defined as osteoporosis and osteopenia, respectively. Female patients had lower lumbar BMD than males (
= 0.002). Older age (
= 0.023), increased serum OPG (
< 0.001) urea reduction rate (
= 0.021), Kt/V (
= 0.027), and decreased body mass index (
= 0.006) and triglycerides (
= 0.020) were significantly different between the normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis groups. Lumbar spine BMD was positively correlated with body mass index (BMI) (
< 0.001) but negatively correlated with OPG (
< 0.001) and age (
= 0.003). After grouping patients into T scores < -1 and < -2.5, female sex and OPG (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.022, 95% confidence interval [C.I.] 1.011-1.034,
< 0.001) were predictors of T scores < -1, whereas only OPG was predictive of T scores < -2.5 (aOR 1.015, 95% C.I. 1.005-1.026,
= 0.004) by multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis. The areas under the curve for predicting T scores < -1 or < -2.5 were 0.920 (95% C.I. 0.834-0.970,
< 0.001) and 0.958 (95% C.I. 0.885-0.991,
< 0.001), respectively.
Increased serum OPG negatively correlated with lumbar BMD and could be a potential biomarker predictive of osteoporosis in MHD patients.
Increased serum OPG negatively correlated with lumbar BMD and could be a potential biomarker predictive of osteoporosis in MHD patients.Background and objectives In oral and maxillofacial operations, the iliac crest is a commonly used donor site from which to harvest bone for augmentation prior to dental implantation or for reconstruction of jaw defects caused by trauma or pathological lesions. In an aging society, the proportion of elderly patients undergoing iliac crest bone grafting for oral augmentation is growing. Although postoperative morbidity is usually moderate to low, the age and health of the patient should be considered as risk factors for complications and delayed mobilization after the operation. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the postoperative morbidity and complications in elderly patients after the harvesting of iliac crest bone grafts for oral surgery. Material and Methods Data were collected from a total of 486 patients (aged 7-85) who had a surgical procedure that included the harvesting of iliac crest bone grafts for intraoral transplantation. All patients were operated on between 2005 and 2021 in th699), preexisting orthopedic handicaps (p = 0.9828), and the volume of the bone graft (p = 0.770), only male sex was associated with the likelihood of suffering gait disturbances (p = 0.031). Conclusions In conclusion, harvesting bone grafts from the anterior iliac crest for intraoral augmentation is a safe procedure for both young and elderly patients. Although there is some postoperative morbidity, such as gait disturbances, hypesthesia, scar formation, or delayed wound healing at the donor site, rates for these minor complications are low and mostly of short duration. Major complications, such as fractures or incision hernias, are very rare. However, in our study, the volume of the bone graft was associated with a longer stay in hospital, and this should be considered in the planning of iliac crest bone graft procedures.Backgroundand Objectives The reconstruction of tongue defects after cancer resection is challenging for reconstructive surgeons. The facial artery musculomucosal (FAMM) flap and the myomucosal buccinator flap (Bozola flap) are important tools in the reconstruction of intraoral defects. In this study, we describe the combination of both flaps-the extended, double-pedicled FAMM (dpFAMM) flap-and present clinical results of the reconstruction of moderate tongue defects in edentulous patients. Materials and Methods a tongue defect, after squamous cell carcinoma excision, was reconstructed with the dpFAMM flap in 5 patients. Most of them received postoperative radiotherapy. Results the healing process was uneventful in all patients. We did not observe flap necrosis or venous congestion. Tongue mobility, speech and swallowing were satisfactory. Conclusions In conclusion, the dpFAMM flap is a good alternative in the reconstruction of moderate defects of the lateral part of the tongue. The flap is easy to harvest and has a good vascularity. This is a predictable method of reconstruction, especially for elderly patients with numerous comorbidities.Background and Objectives Hepatitis B virus infection remains a major public health concern. The interaction between hepatitis B virus (HBV) hepatitis B virus and the host inflammatory response is an important contributing factor driving liver damage and diseases outcomes. The management of chronic hepatitis B virus infection is an area of massive unmet clinical need worldwide. Our primary aim for this study was to evaluate biological response rates and sustained virological response in patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with Peg-IFN α-2a/b. The second aim of the study was the identification of metabolic changes and insulin resistance. Materials and Methods We enrolled in this study 166 patients who fulfilled all inclusion and exclusion criteria. These treatment-naive patients with chronic HBV were treated with Pegylated Interferon α-2a/b. HBV infection was defined by the presence of HBV serological markers (HBsAg, anti-HBsAb, anti-HBcAb, HBeAg, anti HBeAb) by Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) and serum HBV-DNA levels were estimated by a commercially available quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay.