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Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics oj patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and to examine their effects on quality of life. Material and Method: 37 patients with PsA and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. To determine disease activity, clinical [disease activity score (DAS28), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI)] and laboratory [Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP)] parameters were used. To evaluate quality of life, the Nottingham health profile (NHP) and Short form-36 (SF-36) were used. Results: The mean age of the patients was 43.9±11.2 years. The diagnostic delay time had a median of 1 year (min-max-0-18). We examined NHP. NHP scores showed that NHP pain, physical activity, tiredness and social isolation of PsA patients were higher than for control subjects. We evaluated SF-36. SF-36 scores indicated that physical function, physical role limitation, body pain, overall health, vitality and emotional role limitation were significantly decreased in PsA patients compared to control subjects. Correlation analysis was performed; Statistically significant correlations were observed between NHP scores (positive correlation) and SF-36 scores (negative correlation) with disease activity parameters (DAS-28, BASDAI, ESR and CRP). Furthermore, statistically significant correlations were observed between NHP scores (positive correlation) and SF-36 scores (negative correlation) with diagnostic delay time. Conclusion: We determined that quality of life was less in patients with PsA compared to control subjects. In addition, we have also found that disease activity and prolongation of diagnostic delay are associated with quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey.Method: The study was conducted by The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Karadeniz Technical University Medical Faculty, in the urban area in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, which has a population of 459,021 (according to the 2000 national census). A total of 4031 subjects over 20 years-old were enrolled, using the sampling method; 2025 (50.7 %) men and 2006 (49.3 %) women were included in the study. A survey consistent with Modified New York Criteria 1987 was used to diagnose AS in patients. The survey was applied and evaluated by two physical medicine residents and 8 trained medical students. Suspected cases were invited to our clinic.Result: Forty one out of fifty patients suspected with AS attended our out- patient clinic. Following physical examination, laboratory tests and radiological investigations of those individuals with suspected AS, 10 ones were diagnosed as AS. 9 of 10 patients were male and 1 patient was female. Patients’ mean age was 40.5 ± 8.4 years. The prevalence was estimated to be 0.25 % (95% CI: 0.09 %-0.40 %). It was 0.44 % in men (95 % CI: 0.15-0.73) and 0.05 % in women (95 % CI: 0.0-0.15) according to gender distribution.Conclusion: The study had value of regional features for evaluating for epidemiology of AS in Turkey. The prevalence of AS was found to be as 0.25 %. A male predominance was noted among AS patients in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sjogren’s syndrome and ankylosing spondylitis can occur either alone or in conjunction with other disorders. In this article we report a female patient afflicted with ankylosing spondylitis and Sjogren’s syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the case of a 21-year-old man who presented with right-side low back pain. He was diagnosed with facet syndrome due to the fluid observed in the right lumbar four to five facet joint on magnetic resonance imaging. Treatment consisted of conservative and interventional approaches including joint injection and radiofrequency treatment where fluoroscopy or computed tomography guidance is necessary.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as well as the quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia (FM). Materials and Methods: A total of 37 female patients diagnosed with FM and 31 healthy females were included into the study. Individuals were asked about their demographic characteristics. The number of sensitive points (NSP), skin fold sensitivity, cutaneous hyperemia and reticular skin changes of patients and healthy controls were evaluated during physical examination. Individuals were evaluated for pain severity using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), for psychological states using the Beck Depression Scale (BDS), for quality of life using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) and for functional status using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Results: The mean age of FM patients was 39.2±6.5 years versus 39.1±6.2 years in the controls. The most frequently encountered FM symptoms were fatigue (94.6%), sleep disturbances (86.5%) and anxiety (86.5%). Differences between FM patients and controls were statistically significant for NSP (p=0.001), VAS (p=0.001), FIQ (p=0.001), BDS (p=0.001) and SF-36 (p=0.003), and FIQ subgroups were also different between the two groups (p<0.001). In the SF-36 survey, FM patients were different from the control in the physical function (p=0.001), pain (p=0.005), general health (p=0.017), physical fitness (p=0.003), and mental health (p=0.008) portions of the survey. Conclusion: Fibromyalgia has distinct clinical features that lead to low functional capacity and quality of life. Thus, patients' sociodemographic characteristics and the evaluation of their quality of life may be important in the diagnosis and monitoring of treatment progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]