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Ultrasonography (USG) is becoming increasingly important in visualizing the musculoskeletal system. It is used as a diagnostic guide and in local injection procedures but is less frequently applied in visualizing deep joints and injections. The purpose of this study is to describe the results of USG-guided facet joint injection in a 19-year-old male patient with low back pain for the preceding year and a preliminary diagnosis of facet syndrome, together with a review of the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being one of the conditions presenting with patellar pain, Hoffa's syndrome is characterized with inflammation of the fat tissue in the patellar region. In advanced stage, this may lead to transformation of the fibrocartilage tissue and ossification of the infrapatellar fat pad. Some cases can be associated with tumors or tumor-like conditions. In this article, we describe a 72-year-old female case suffering from knee pain for a long time and discuss the end-stage Hoffa's disease and function of the infrapatellar fat pad in the light of literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being one of the conditions presenting with patellar pain, Hoffa's syndrome is characterized with inflammation of the fat tissue in the patellar region. In advanced stage, this may lead to transformation of the fibrocartilage tissue and ossification of the infrapatellar fat pad. Some cases can be associated with tumors or tumor-like conditions. In this article, we describe a 72-year-old female case suffering from knee pain for a long time and discuss the end-stage Hoffa's disease and function of the infrapatellar fat pad in the light of literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Local injections are widely used in patients with a painful shoulder. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible impact of patients' visual information on the effectiveness of ultrasound (US)-guided local injections on anxiety levels and shoulder pain. Design: A total of 1 51 patients, scheduled for local injection owing to shoulder pain, were randomly assigned into two groups in a consecutive order. Patients in group I (n = 72) were provided information related to US findings and allowed to watch the procedures from the monitor, whereas patients in group II (n = 79) received the injection only without any collaboration. Data were collected from both groups immediately before and after injections through visual analog scale and questionnaire (the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI] forms 1 and 2). Results: US-guided local injections provided significant improvement of anxiety and pain in both groups, irrespective of providing visual information. Group I and group II comparisons with respect to the visual analog scale, STAI 1, and STAI 2 yielded significant difference only for postinjection STAI 2 in group I (P= 0.006). Intragroup comparisons revealed significant differences between preinjection and postinjection values (group I: visual analog scale, P= 0.001; STAI form 1, P= 0.001; STAI form 2, P= 0.002; group II: visual analog scale, P= 0.001; STAI form 1, P= 0.002; STAI form 2, P= 0.042). There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of postinjection satisfaction levels from the procedures (P= 0.824). Conclusions: Performing US-guided shoulder injections with patient visual information provides positive contributions to coping with pain and anxiety. In particular, the patient collaboration--based US-guided injections have positive consequences on patients' long-standing "trait-anxiety" levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to investigate ultrasound examination findings of cartilage, tendon and nerve structures in patients with acromegaly and assess whether imaging findings have any association with the clinical and laboratory features of the patients. Patients and methods: The study included 38 diagnosed acromegaly patients (18 males, 20 females; mean age 45.6±10.4 years; range 28 to 63 years) and 21 control subjects (8 males, 13 females; mean age; 43.1±7.4 years; range 29 to 58 years) similar for age, sex and body mass index. Patients' clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters were recorded. The cross sectional area of median nerve, flexor pollicis longus and Achilles tendon, and humeral cartilage thickness were bilaterally assessed by ultrasound. Results: Arthralgia was present in 13 patients (34.9%) and 11 (28.9%) had paresthesia in the hands. Thickness of humeral cartilage and the cross sectional area of median nerve, flexor pollicis longus tendon and Achilles tendon was significantly higher in acromegaly patients compared with controls (p<0.001). While measurements performed with ultrasound were correlated among themselves, no significant correlation was present between ultrasound measurements and growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1. When acromegaly patients were analyzed as active (n=22) and inactive (n=16), no significant difference was determined in the parameters with the exception of median nerve measurements. Conclusion: Ultrasound examination revealed significantly different cartilage, tendon and nerve parameters in acromegaly patients compared to the control group. Median nerve cross sectional area was significantly greater in active patients compared to inactive patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate posterior segment (PS) findings in the eye in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods: Eighty-four patients with AS and 63 healthy controls were enrolled. PS evaluations were performed using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Foveal thickness, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, macular volume, ganglion cell complex, and choroidal thickness (CT) values were compared between the groups . Results: Mean CT was higher in patients with AS (326.5 ± 71.5 µm) than in the healthy controls (286.2 ± 59.5 µm) ( p = 0.001). There was no significant difference between patients with AS and the healthy control group in terms of other OCT parameters. There was also no significant correlation between CT, AS activity index, and disease duration. Conclusions: This is the first study to evaluate effects of AS on CT. CT was high in patients with AS compared to healthy controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the authors of the article "Evaluation of Choroidal Thickness in Ankylosing Spondylitis Using Optical Coherence Tomography" in the 2014 issue is presented.