Tugce Ozekli Misirlioglu

Regression of a symptomatic thoracic disc herniation with a calcified intervertebral disc component

There were only a few cases describing spontaneous regression of calcified thoracic disc herniation in the literature. We present a 38-year-old male office worker who had left paramedian-foraminal extruded disc at T7–T8 with calcifications of the T7–T8 and T8–T9 intervertebral discs. This case was unique in that the non-calcified extruded disc material regressed almost completely in 5 months while the calcified intervertebral discs remained the same during the process of regression. This report stresses that regression of the herniated material of the thoracic discs with subsidence of the symptoms is still possible even if the disc material is calcified.

A case of drop foot due to piriformis syndrome.

Piriformis syndrome is a sciatic neuropathy resulting from the compression of the sciatic nerve at the level of the piriformis muscle. Its diagnosis is difficult because there are no universally accepted diagnostic criteria [1, 2]. Piriformis syndrome is rarely seen to cause lower extremity motor weakness. Herein, we report a case of drop foot in a 51-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with piriformis syndrome and responded well to a ultrasound (US)-guided piriformis injection.

Reliability of sonographic muscle thickness measurements of the thenar and hypothenar muscles

Introduction This study was undertaken to assess the intra‐ and interrater reliability of sonographic thickness measurements of the thenar and hypothenar muscles. Methods: The thickness of the thenar and hypothenar muscles of both hands of 15 volunteers (7 male, 8 female) were evaluated with a 4–13‐MHz linear probe by 2 examiners who were blinded to each others measurements. Interrater reliability was then evaluated. To assess intrarater reliability, the first examiner also performed a second measurement after an interval of at least 1 day. Results: Mean age of the subjects was 31.1 ± 9.0 years. Test–retest reliability showed excellent intrarater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient range: 0.889–0.963) and substantial to excellent results for interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient range: 0.692–0.937). Discussion: We found that ultrasound is a reliable method for thickness measurements of the thenar and hypothenar muscles. Muscle Nerve 57: E14–E17, 2018

Recovery features in ulnar neuropathy at the elbow

[Purpose] This study evaluated the effect of age, sex, and entrapment localization on recovery time in patients treated conservatively for ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. [Subjects] Thirty-five patients (16 women and 15 men) who were diagnosed with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow using short segment conduction studies were evaluated retrospectively. [Methods] Definition of recovey was made based on patient satisfaction. The absence of symptoms was considered as the marker of recovery. Patients who recovered within 0–4 weeks were in Group 1, and patients who recovered within 4 weeks to 6 months were in Group 2. The differences between Group 1 and Group 2 in terms of age, sex and entrapment localization were investigated. [Results] Entrapment was most frequent in the retroepicondylar groove (54.3%). No significant difference was found in terms of age and entrapment localizations between Groups 1 and 2. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups for the male sex. [Conclusion] In ulnar neuropathy at the elbow, age and entrapment localization do not affect recovery time. However, male sex appears to be associated with longer recovery time.