Bone mass assessment in naval crew members by quantitative ultrasound technique.

OBJECTIVE: Of necessity, naval crews live in confined spaces when on board warships, which may lead to decreased bone mass and to subsequent bone fractures. Therefore, we investigated the bone mass of crew members and the relationship between bone mass and lifestyle factors. METHODS: We selected 1510 crew members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. All were men between 18 and 58 years of age. We measured their bone mass by applying quantitative ultrasound (QUS) to the calcaneus. In addition, we reviewed daily milk consumption, levels of physical exercise, type of on-board job, fracture history, nutritional supplementation habits, and body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: Bone mass values were lower than the published mean values for Japanese men across the twenties to forties age groups. CONCLUSIONS: The factors found to be related to bone mass in this study were age, type of on-board job, exercise level, and milk consumption. Lifestyle factors are usually within our control. Our data suggest that moderate levels of regular exercise and milk consumption may maintain bone mass.

The effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the bout of treatment for soft tissue infections.

OBJECTIVES: Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is often combined with antibiotic therapy for infections such as gas gangrene and osteomyelitis. Although numerous investigations have been undertaken to assess the effect of adjunctive HBO therapy on the treatment of infections, the bout of treatment has not been referred in the previous investigations. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficacy of HBO therapy on the bout of treatment for soft tissue infections. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the period between 1994 and 2001, we treated 23 patients with soft tissue infections. Nine patients were treated with antibiotic chemotherapy alone, and 14 patients were treated with a combination of antibiotic chemotherapy and HBO therapy. The mean bout of treatment was compared between these two groups. RESULTS: The mean bout treated with a combination of antibiotic and HBO was significantly shorter than that with antibiotic alone. CONCLUSION: Our result indicates that HBO therapy combined with antibiotic therapy is able to shorten the bout of treatment for soft tissue infections. Therefore, we recommend HBO therapy combined with antibiotic therapy for soft tissue infections.