Irish medical journal
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This article describes the technique of manipulation of nasal bones under local anaesthesia. With increased demand on day ward and in patient hospital beds there is a growing need to treat fractured nasal bones under local anaesthesia at the ENT clinic. Ten patients were treated in this fashion in the out patient setting. ⋯ All ten had an obvious cosmetic deformity of the nose as a result of the fracture. All ten patients underwent satisfactory reduction under local anaesthesia and without the need for intra nasal manipulation to elevate overlapping bones. Reduction of nasal bones in the clinic under local anaesthesia should become the accepted practice where there is a deformity but no overlap of the nasal bones.
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Irish medical journal · Feb 2003
Chronic neck pain following road traffic accidents in an Irish setting and it's relationship to seat belt use and low back pain.
Chronic neck pain following road traffic accidents is a highly prevalent condition in developed societies. It constitutes the main element of chronic whiplash syndrome, and is often used synonymously with that term. It is also a highly controversial condition, with debate in the extensive literature as to the nature of the complaint. ⋯ The mean time off work due to the injury was 4.9 months (range 1 week-3 years). 60 patients also complained of accident related low back pain, a statistically significant association with whiplash syndrome (p<0.001). Our study demonstrates a significantly high incidence of reported seatbelt use in patients presenting with chronic neck pain and whiplash syndrome. We also found a significant association between whiplash and chronic lumbar pain, an association having important medico-legal implications and requiring further analysis.