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Background: To present the treatment outcome for patients with stenosing tenosynovitis of thumb flexor tendon treated with a small S incision and page turning style of annular ligament partial resection., Material and Methods: During a 2-year period between August 2011 and July 2013, 12 consecutive patients (mean age, 45.8 years) with stenosing tenosynovitis of the thumb flexor tendon were prospectively enrolled into this study. All 12 patients underwent longitudinal S skin incision to expose annular ligament and thumb flexor tendon, and with page turning style of annular ligament partial resection to finish the operation. The average range of motion of metacarpophalangeal thumb joint, Quick disability of arm, shoulder, and hand and Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment Dysfunction score of arm and hand were primary outcome measures., Results: There were 9 cases of stiff metacarpophalangeal joint of thumb and 3 cases of snapping thumb for stenosing tenosynovitis. At 1-year follow-up, all stenosing tenosynovitis had healed by an average of 4 weeks. The average range of motion of the metacarpophalangeal joint was 37.1° (range, 34-40°). No patients had recurrence, cicatricial contraction, or postoperative infection. The average disability of arm, shoulder, and hand was 0.3 out of 100 (range, 0-1.67), and average Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment Dysfunction score of arm and hand was 6.9 out of 40 (range, 0-15.6). All 12 patients stated that they were highly satisfied., Conclusions: Small S incision and page turning style of annular ligament partial resection for stenosing tenosynovitis of thumb flexor tendon is a safe, simple, and reliable alternative treatment with minimal soft-tissue irritation, good functional results and recovery can be expected.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of a newly developed paper urease test (PUT) for ultra-rapid detection of helicobacter pylori (HP) in gastric mucosa., Material/methods: 100 patients (43 men) with a mean age of 57+/-6.8 years participated. Patients presenting for upper endoscopy with no recent exposure to HP-altering drugs were enrolled. Gastric biopsy specimens were tested by the PUT and histology methods, and then the patients underwent [13C] urea breath tests (UBT). HP was considered positive when either UBT or histology demonstrated it, and negative if HP was not detected in either UBT or histology. The PUT was reported at 15 minutes., Results: 87 of 100 patients tested positive for HP. The PUT correctly identified 74 of 87 HP-positive and 13 of 13 HP-negative patients, yielding sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of 87%, 100%, 100% and 53.5%, respectively, in this population., Conclusions: Rapidly available and reliable results from the PUT can facilitate clinical decision prior to patient discharge from the endoscopy suite. We recommend PUT for screening of HP in endoscopy candidates, due to high specificity, rapid reaction, simplicity and low cost. A positive result shows a definite diagnosis, although a negative result needs further diagnostic methods.