Acta clinica Croatica
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Acta clinica Croatica · Jun 2020
CALCIFIC TENDINOPATHY: CALCIUM DEPOSIT MORPHOLOGY DIRECTLY AFFECTS PAIN AND FUNCTION OF THE SHOULDER.
The aim of this study was to determine conventional ultrasonography characteristics of calcium deposits in patients diagnosed with calcific tendinopathy, to determine vascularization around deposits by power Doppler, and to compare morphological and power Doppler findings with clinical findings by use of two questionnaires. Pain and function were evaluated using the visual analog scale and two questionnaires, Constant Shoulder Score and Oxford Shoulder Score. All subjects underwent ultrasonography examination and evaluation of vascularization (flow) along calcium deposit using power Doppler. ⋯ This study showed the patients with fragmented, cloudy calcification to have statistically significantly worse results on functional questionnaires and more positive power Doppler findings (grades II and III) and to experience stronger pain (visual analog scale 8-10). Upon defining the stage of calcific tendinopathy, the method of treatment can be determined and further course of the disease predicted. Defining the stage of calcification precisely helps avoid unnecessary and long-lasting physical therapy while introducing an effective treatment option, depending on the stage of the disease.
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The most obvious indication for thyroid surgery is malignancy, but other indications are also not rare. As with any other surgical procedure, those surgeries also carry risks which can be classified as minor or major. ⋯ In recent years, thyroid surgery is becoming safer due to the development of new surgical, hemostatic, and other techniques such as intraoperative monitoring of the recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroid gland detection.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Jun 2020
Case ReportsCOMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SCAN FOR DIAGNOSIS OF OSTEOARTHRITIS: RARE LOCALIZATION IN THE SHOULDER IN A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD BOY.
Acute osteomyelitis is pyogenic infection of the bone and bone marrow. We report a case of successful diagnosis and treatment in a 12-year-old boy with right shoulder joint osteoarthritis. On admission, he was febrile (39.0 ºC) with pain in his right shoulder. ⋯ The purulent content was removed by surgery. Prolonged antibiotic therapy and rehabilitation led to improvement of the condition. At two-month follow-up, ultrasonography and CT scan showed that there were no pathologic changes, while magnetic resonance imaging showed minimal tissue fibrosis that did no require surgical treatment.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Jun 2020
Case ReportsSURGICAL ASPECT OF BLEPHAROSPASM TREATMENT: A CASE REPORT.
Blepharospasm is an idiopathic condition characterized by involuntary eyelid closure mainly caused by bilateral tonic-clonic contractions of the orbicularis oculi muscle. It results in patient inability to open their eyes, thus significantly impairing their ability to perform activities of daily living. ⋯ In this overview, we present a case of a 75-year-old female patient who received surgical treatment as per Anderson's method after being treated with botulinum toxin type A for 3 years. This form of therapy proved to be an extremely successful permanent solution in the treatment of severe cases of refractory blepharospasm, without any long-term complications, especially ectropion and lagophthalmos.
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Acta clinica Croatica · Jun 2020
The effect of smoking on disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis - our experience.
The aim of this study was to investigate the association of smoking with disease activity, seropositivity, age and gender in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. We included 89 rheumatoid arthritis patients. All patients fulfilled the 2010 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism rheumatoid arthritis classification criteria. ⋯ In this study, we found no association between smoking status and disease activity, seropositivity, age or gender in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Furthermore, disease activity was not related to age, gender or seropositivity. Additional studies on the effects of smoking on rheumatoid arthritis activity are needed.