Which Treatment Method Is Better in the Treatment of Chronic Plantar Fasciitis: Corticosteroid Injection, Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy, or Radiofrequency Thermal Lesioning?

BACKGROUND: Chronic plantar fasciitis (CPF) is a common disease that has various treatment options. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of three of these options: corticosteroid injection (CSI), extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT), and radiofrequency thermal lesioning (RTL). METHODS: The records of 229 patients treated with CSI (n = 81), ESWT (n = 76), or RTL (n = 72) were retrospectively analyzed. Visual analog scale scores, patient satisfaction-related success rates, repeated treatment rates, and initial treatment change rates were compared. RESULTS: Mean ± SD follow-up was 19.0 ± 4.5 months. Baseline clinical characteristics, mean visual analog scale scores (before treatment and at months 3, 6, and 12), patient satisfaction and success rates (at months 6 and 12), and repeated treatment and initial treatment change rates were similar between treatment groups. No complications were observed after the treatments. CONCLUSIONS: All three options-CSI, ESWT, and RTL-were found to be safe and effective in treating CPF, with similar outcomes up to 1 year. Use of CSIs is advantageous because it is more accessible than the other treatments. Similarly, the noninvasive nature of ESWT is glaring among other minimally invasive options. Therefore, the first-line treatment modality of CPF can be CSI or ESWT, depending on the patient's and physician's joint preference; RTL treatment should be tried in patients who do not respond to these treatments.

Patients with Achilles Tendon Rupture Are Prone to Develop Ventricular Arrhythmia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the ventricular repolarization (VR) disturbances of patients operated on for acute spontaneous Achilles tendon ruptures (ATRs), by comparing them with a healthy individual control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between June 2014 and July 2020, a total of 29 patients (28 males, 1 female; mean age: 40 ± 9.78 years; range, 21-66 years) who presented to the emergency department within the first three weeks of injury, and were diagnosed with acute spontaneous ATRs and treated with an open Krackow suture technique, were retrospectively analyzed. Fifty-two healthy individuals (47 males, 5 females; mean age: 39 ± 11.45 years; range, 21-66 years) were recruited as a control group from the cardiology outpatient clinic. Clinical data (demographic features and laboratory parameters (serum glucose, creatinine, hemoglobin, white blood cell count, and lipid profile)) and electrocardiograms (ECGs) were collected from medical records. ECGs were evaluated for heart rate and VR parameters of QRS width, QTc interval, cQTd interval, Tp-e interval, and Tp-e/QT ratio. The clinical data and these ECG parameters were compared between groups. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between groups, regarding clinical data (all p < 0.05). Among ECG parameters, heart rate, QRS width, QTc interval, and cQTd interval were similar between groups (all p < 0.05). There were two important statistically significant findings of this research: The mean Tp-e interval was longer (ATR group: 72.4 ± 24.7, control group: 58.8 ± 14.5, p: 0.01), and the Tp-e/QT ratio was higher (ATR group: 0.2 ± 0.1, control group: 0.16 ± 0.4, p: 0.027) in the ATR group. CONCLUSIONS: According to the ventricular repolarization disturbances found in this study, patients with ATR may be at a higher risk of ventricular arrhythmia than healthy people. As a result, ATR patients should be assessed for ventricular arrhythmia risk by an expert cardiologist.

Open Double-Button Technique is Superior to Hook Plate in the Treatment of Acute Rockwood Type III/V Acromioclavicular Dislocations.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to compare open double-button (DB) and hook plate (HP) techniques in the treatment of acromioclavicular joint dislocation (ACJD) in terms of clinical and radiological outcomes and to determine which method is superior. METHODS: This retrospective comparative study included patients with ACJDs (Rockwood Type III/V) who were treated with one of these implants (22 patients with HP, 21 patients with DB) between June 2014 and February 2018. RESULTS: A total of 43 patients (39 men and 4 women) with a mean age of 41.8±17.4 years have participated in this study. The mean follow-up time was 20.6±7.5 months. Mean times of fluoroscopy, operation, and return to work were shorter in the DB group. Compli-cation rates were 23.8% and 54.6%, reoperation rates (including mandatory implant removals [IR]) were 4.8% and 77.3%, mean constant scores were 92.1±3.4 and 88.3±4.2, and mean Visual Analog Scale scores were 0.8±1.0 and 1.5±1.0 for the DB and HP groups, respec-tively. IR was the main reason for reoperations in the HP group, whereas the DB group's only reoperation was caused by a coracoid cutout (due to coracoid tunnel malposition) leading to redislocation. AC joint arthritis (36.4%) and subacromial osteolysis (31.9%) were com-monly encountered in the HP group. The most frequent complication of the DB group was malreduction (initial undercorrection) (9.6%). CONCLUSION: DB was superior to HP in functional outcome, post-operative pain, complication and reoperation rates, operation and fluoroscopy times, and time to return to work. Besides, reoperation (for IR) was needed in most of the HP patients. Therefore, the open DB technique should be preferential to the HP procedure.

Functional and radiological comparison of three cephalomedullary nails with different designs used in the treatment of unstable intertrochanteric femur fractures of elderly.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study to compare three cephalomedullary nails (CMNs) with different designs in terms of complica-tion, reoperation, implant failure, mortality rates, and functional outcomes in the treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fractures (UIFs). METHODS: This retrospective study included patients with UIFs (AO/OTA type 31-A2 and 31-A3) who were treated with one of these CMNs (74 patients with Talon-PFN, 70 patients with PFN-III, and 69 patients with Intertan) between October 2014 and October 2018. RESULTS: A total of 213 patients (122 females and 91 males) with a mean age of 81.0±9.3 years have participated in this study. The mean follow-up time was 26.1±6.3 months. Malfixation was the most common complication and the most common reason of reop-eration for each type of CMN. Complication and reoperation rates, post-operative functional status, mean union times, and overall mortality rates were similar between groups. Mean operation/fluoroscopy time and mean blood loss were low in the Talon-PFN group, whereas the highest means of these parameters were in the PFN-III group. There were six (8.2%) implant failures in the Talon-PFN group and one (1.5%) in PFN-III group. No implant failure was seen in the Intertan group. The highest rate (58.6%) of anatomic reduc-tion was detected in PFN-III group. CONCLUSION: Our study results showed that each implant type had its own advantages and disadvantages in the treatment of UIFs with similar functional and reoperation outcomes. Intertan was advantageous with its absence of implant failures. Talon-PFN decreased the operation/fluoroscopy time and intraoperative blood loss but had the highest implant failure rate. There was a need for more anatomic reduction to centralize two separate parallel lag screws in the femoral neck in PFN-III group, and that costs operation/fluo-roscopy time and blood loss. Malfixation, which was the most common cause of complications and reoperations, should be avoided.

Foot orthoses use for pediatric flexible flatfoot: comparative evaluation of quality of life for children and parents.

This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the quality of life scores of patients with pediatric flexible flatfoot (PFF) according to the use of foot orthoses. We also aimed to compare quality of life scores of children and their parents. Nonobese children aged between 5 and 10 years old who were diagnosed as PFF according to physical and radiological examinations were included in this cross-sectional comparative study. All children and their parents completed the Turkish translation of Oxford ankle foot questionnaire (OxAFQ) which contains four domains (physical, school and play, emotional, and footwear). Patients were grouped according to the use of foot orthoses (group I: no foot orthoses group and group II: foot orthoses group). Comparison of OxAFQ scores demonstrated no significant differences between the two groups. However, the mean emotional scores of parents were significantly lower in group II (P = 0.007). In group I, the mean emotional score of children was significantly lower compared to their parents' scores (P = 0.001). In group II, the mean physical score of children was significantly lower compared to their parents' scores (P = 0.003). According to our results, we observed no significant difference in terms of quality of life scores between children using foot orthoses and not using foot orthoses. However, we observed significantly lower emotional scores in parents whose children were using foot orthoses. We recommend that physicians should be aware of low physical scores in children with PFF and should inform parents about this situation rather than considering foot orthoses to relieve parents' concern about foot deformity.

Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Outcomes of Microfracture Plus Chitosan/Blood Implant vs Microfracture for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes of arthroscopic microfracture (MF) plus chitosan-glycerol phosphate/blood implant and MF alone for the treatment of the osteochondral lesions of the talus (OCLTs). METHODS: Patients who underwent either MF plus chitosan (group 1, n = 32) or MF alone (group 2, n = 31) between 2015 and 2019 in 2 separate time periods were retrospectively analyzed. Visual analog scale (VAS) score and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) score were used for clinical evaluation. The magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) system was used for MRI evaluation. The mean follow-up time was 32 ± 13 months (range, 12-61 months). RESULTS: Postoperatively, we detected significant improvements in both groups in terms of VAS and AOFAS scores. However, we observed no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of clinical scores, except the mean VAS function score, which was significantly higher in group 1 (P = .022). According to MOCART scale, complete repair with the filling of the chondral defect and intactness of the surface of the repair tissue were more common in group 1. However, these parameters did not significantly differ between groups (P = .257 and .242, respectively). CONCLUSION: Arthroscopic MF plus chitosan glycerol phosphate/blood implant did not result in better clinical and MRI outcomes compared with MF alone in the treatment of OCLTs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective comparative study.