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Dysphagia is one of the most common and important complications of stroke. It is an independent marker of poor outcome after acute stroke and may become chronic after the acute period and continues to affect all aspects of the patient's life. Patients with stroke may encounter any of the medical branches in the emergency room or outpatient clinic, and as in our country, there may not be specialists specific for dysphagia, such as speech-language pathologists (SLP), in every hospital. This study aimed to raise awareness and create a common opinion of medical specialists for stroke patients with dysphagia. This recommendation paper has been written by a multidisciplinary team and offers 45 recommendations for stroke patients with dysphagia. It was created using the eight-step Delphi round via e-mail. This study is mostly specific to Turkey. However, since it contains detailed recommendations from the perspective of various disciplines associated with stroke, this consensus-based recommendation paper is not only a useful guide to address clinical questions in practice for the clinical management of dysphagia in terms of management, diagnosis, and follow-up, but also includes detailed comments for these topics.

Aim To observe the clinical course of symptomatic pregnant women diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID‐19. Methods This study analyzed the clinical and laboratory results of 27 patients with real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR)‐confirmed COVID‐19 and 25 patients with a suspected COVID‐19 diagnosis based on their symptoms and chest computed tomography (CT) findings. The patients' coagulation parameters and acute‐phase reactants were evaluated both before and after treatment. The maternal and neonatal outcomes were also reviewed. Results The mean duration of hospitalization was 6.1 ± 3 days. The gestational age of the patients ranged from 6w2d to 40w2d. Thirty‐five patients' CT scan findings suggested viral pneumonia. Four patients delivered vaginally, and 10 patients underwent a cesarean section during the study period. Four of the cesarean deliveries were indicated due to COVID‐19 hypoxemia‐related fetal distress. Four patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after the cesarean section. Conclusion Early hospitalization and medical treatment can alleviate symptoms, improve the clinical course and reduce the need for ICU in symptomatic pregnant patients with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19. Chest CT scans are a suitable option for suspected but unconfirmed COVID‐19 infection.

Dysphagia is one of the most common and important complications of stroke. It is an independent marker of poor outcome following acute stroke and it continues to be effective for many years. This consensus-based guideline is not only a good address to clinical questions in practice for the clinical management of dysphagia including management, diagnosis, follow-up, and rehabilitation methods, but also includes detailed algorithms for these topics. The recommendation paper has been written by a multidisciplinary team and offers 117 recommendations for stroke patients with dysphagia. While focusing on management principles, diagnosis, and follow-up in the 1st part (45 items), rehabilitation details were evaluated in the 2nd part (72 items).

Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility of using shear wave elastography (SWE) to assess first extensor compartment tendons rigidity and its alterations with tenosynovitis.We performed B-mode ultrasound and SWE to total number of 80 participants. All participants were evaluated clinically to call the diagnosis of de Quervain tenosynovitis or to rule out the diagnosis. We composed 2 groups. Group 1 included 40 healthy volunteers (33 females and 7 male participants with ages ranging from 24 to 60 years, median age was 37.5 years) and group 2 had 40 de Quervain patients (32 females and 8 male patients with ages ranging from 25 to 51 years, median age was 34 years). SWE measurements were repeated 3 times and arithmetic average was used for the final SWE value.The median SWE value of healthy group (group 1) was 72kPa and the de Quervain patient group (group 2) was 29kPa. Two groups demonstrated statistically significant difference (p0.001). The ROC curve analysis was performed and the SWE value of 40.5kPA was calculated as a cut-off value for the diagnosis of de Quervain tenosynovitis with 95% specificity and 85% sensitivity.SWE modality can provide useful data regarding de Quervain tenosynovitis.

Sen, Ekin Ilke/0000-0002-6489-3368; karahan, ali yavuz/0000-0001-8142-913X; Akaltun, Mazlum Serdar/0000-0002-9666-9483, WOS: 000496659300007, Purpose Dysphagia is known to be a disorder of the swallowing function, and is a growing health problem in aging populations. Swallowing screening tests have mostly been studied in comorbidities such as stroke associated with old age. There is no simple, quick and easy screening test to best determine the risk of oropharyngeal dysphagia in geriatric guidelines. We aimed to evaluate whether the Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS) test is an effective method for evaluating swallowing difficulty in healthy older people. Methods This cross-sectional and multicenter study was conducted at 13 hospitals between September 2017 and February 2019. the study included 1163 participants aged >= 65 years and who had no secondary dysphagia. Reliability was evaluated for data quality, scaling assumptions, acceptability, reliability, and validity as well as cutoff points, specificity and sensitivity. Results the age distribution of 773 (66.5%) patients was between 65 and 74 years and 347 (29.8%) of them were male and 767 (66%) patients were female. the average total GUSS score was 18.57 +/- 1.41. the Cronbach's alpha was 0.968. There was a moderate statistically significant negative correlation between the total GUSS and 10-item Eating Assessment Tool scores as well as between the total GUSS score and quality of life. the cutoff point of the total GUSS score was 18.50, sensitivity was 95.5% and specificity was 94.4%. Conclusions the GUSS test is a valid and reliable test to identify possible oropharyngeal dysphagia risk in healthy older people who had no secondary dysphagia. It is suitable as a screen test for clinical practice. Key summary pointsAim We aimed to evaluate whether the Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS) test is an effective method for evaluating swallowing difficulty in healthy older people. Findings Total GUSS score sensitivity was 95.5% and its specificity was 94.4%. Message the GUSS test is a valid and reliable test to identify possible oropharyngeal dysphagia risk in healthy older person who had no secondary dysphagia. It is suitable as a screen test for clinical practice.

Akaltun, Mazlum Serdar/0000-0002-9666-9483; Sen, Ekin Ilke/0000-0002-6489-3368; karahan, ali yavuz/0000-0001-8142-913X WOS: 000476771900010 Key summary pointsAimOur aim was to investigate which swallowing difficulty of food consistency in older people who did not have any disease that might affect swallowing functions, and which symptoms were most likely related to oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) risk.FindingsWe have found that the eating/drinking difficulty of thick liquids was the highest predictive value with respect to OD risk and the eating difficulty of mixed content food had the highest diagnostic ratio.MessageThe present study reports that even in older person who do not go to the hospital with the complaints of swallowing difficulty, the difficulty of swallowing thick liquids and especially the mixed content food should be questioned. AbstractPurposeThe present study aimed to investigate which swallowing difficulty of food consistency in participants over 65years of age who did not have any disease that might affect swallowing functions, and which symptoms were most likely related to oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD).MethodsThe cross-sectional and multicenter study was conducted at 12 hospitals including 883 participants aged >= 65years who were fed orally and who were admitted to the physical medicine and rehabilitation outpatient clinics between September 2017 and December 2018. Demographic characteristics were recorded. Katz Daily Living Activities Index (KDLAI), swallowing-related quality of life scale (Swal-QoL) and 10-item Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) were used. The participants were asked the yes or no questions including swallowing difficulty of various types of food consistency with the face-to-face interview.ResultsParticipants were divided into two groups as normal swallowing (EAT-10= 3 group) (n=244) according to the EAT-10 scores. While there was no difference related to number of teeth and KDLAI scores between groups (p=0.327 and p=0.221, respectively), the significant difference was found between groups in terms of yes/no questions and Swal-QoL scores (p

Ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow (UNE) is the second most common entrapment neuropathy of the arm. Conservative treatment is the treatment of choice in mild to moderate cases. Elbow splints and avoiding flexion of the involved elbow constitute majority of the conservative treatment; indeed, there is no other non-invasive treatment modality. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of ultrasound (US) and low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in the treatment of UNE to provide an alternative conservative treatment method. A randomized single-blind study was carried out in 32 patients diagnosed with UNE. Short-segment conduction study (SSCS) was performed for the localization of the entrapment site. Patients were randomized into US treatment (frequency of 1 MHz, intensity of 1.5 W/cm(2), continuous mode) and LLLT (0.8 J/cm(2) with 905 nm wavelength), both applied five times a week for 2 weeks. Assessments were performed at baseline, at the end of the treatment, and at the first and third months by visual analog scale, hand grip strength, semmes weinstein monofilament test, latency change at SSCS, and patient satisfaction scale. Both treatment groups had significant improvements on clinical and electrophysiological parameters (p < 0.05) at first month with no statistically significant difference between them. Improvements in all parameters were sustained at the third month for the US group, while only changes in grip strength and latency were significant for the LLLT group at third month. The present study demonstrated that both US and LLLT provided improvements in clinical and electrophysiological parameters and have a satisfying short-term effectiveness in the treatment of UNE.