Fatigue injuries of the femur.

The purpose of this study was to describe the anatomical distribution and incidence of fatigue injuries of the femur in physically-active young adults, based upon MRI studies. During a period of 70 months, 1857 patients with exercise-induced pain in the femur underwent MRI of the pelvis, hips, femora, and/or knees. Of these, 170 patients had a total of 185 fatigue injuries, giving an incidence of 199 per 100 000 person-years. Bilateral injuries occurred in 9% of patients. The three most common sites affected were the femoral neck (50%), the condylar area (24%) and the proximal shaft (18%). A fatigue reaction was seen in 57%, and a fracture line in 22%. There was a statistical correlation between the severity of the fatigue injury and the duration of pain (p = 0.001). The location of the pain was normally at the site of the fatigue injury. Fatigue injuries of the femur appear to be relatively common in physically-active patients.

Eating practices and diet quality: a population study of four Nordic countries.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Daily practices related to eating are embedded in the social and cultural contexts of everyday life. How are such factors associated with diet quality relative to motivational factors? And, are associations universal or context-specific? We analyze the relationship between diet quality and the following practices: social company while eating, the regularity and duration of eating and the activity of watching TV while eating. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based internet survey was conducted in April 2012 with stratified random samples of the populations (aged 15-80 years) in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden (N=7531, completion rate 9-13%). The questionnaire elicited detailed accounts of one day of eating focusing on social and practical aspects of eating events. The validated Dietary Quality Score was the dependent variable. This measure is based on eight food frequency questions focusing on fats, vegetables, fruits and fish in the diet. RESULTS: Eating activities were associated with diet quality even when motivation to eat healthily and sociodemographic factors were controlled for. The number of daily eating events and eating main meals was positively correlated with diet quality in all countries. Beyond that, activities that were significantly associated with diet quality varied with country. When measured separately, the association between each activity and diet quality was weaker than motivation to eat healthily, but in combinations that are found in parts of the populations, the association was substantial. CONCLUSIONS: Daily practices related to eating are correlated with diet quality. Practices that are important are in part universal but also country-specific. Efforts to promote healthy eating should address not only cognitive factors but also everyday contexts of eating that facilitate or hamper healthy practices.

Effects of diclofenac in the prevention of pericardial effusion after coronary artery bypass surgery. A prospective, randomized study.

BACKGROUND: It is suggested that pericardial effusions after cardiac surgery can be managed with non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, but the efficacy of this therapy is not well established. This study was planned to evaluate the efficacy of the prophylactic use of diclofenac in the prevention of pericardial effusion after coronary artery bypass surgery. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized study, diclofenac sodium 50 mg was administered orally every 8 hours to 22 patients in the postoperative period. The control group consisted of 19 patients who were not given postoperatively either steroids or non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. RESULTS: Twelve patients of the diclofenac-treated group (54.5%) and 7 of the control group (36.8%) experienced supraventricular arrhythmias postoperatively. There was no statistically significant difference in the size of postoperative pericardial effusion as well as in the occurrence of pleural effusion in both groups. However, there was a higher rate of significant pericardial effusion (grade I-III) in the control group as compared with the diclofenac-treated group (52.6% vs 31.8%, p=ns). Based on chest X-ray findings, patients in the control group had higher incidence of pleural effusion either alone (42.1% vs 22.7%, p=ns) or combined with pericardial effusion (21.0% vs 13.6%, p=ns). Patients who received diclofenac had lower median C-reactive protein concentration (76.0+/-45.2 mg/L) than the patients of the control group (99.6+/-47.8 mg/L), (p=ns). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that diclofenac, even if without a striking effect, may lessen the degree of inflammatory reaction after cardiac surgery and may be useful in the prevention and in the management of early pericardial effusion after cardiac surgery.