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Biomedical subjects

H J Ten Duis

Publications and source records attributed to H J Ten Duis.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Return to work and quality of life in severely injured patients.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the long-term consequences of severe injuries in terms of return to productivity and quality of life. METHODS: In this study we focused on the return to work status and quality of life in 53 severely injured patients (AIS/ISS > or = 16, mean ISS 24, range 16 - 54), mean age 37 years, one to two years after the injury. Questions were asked concerning employment in the past and at present. Quality of life was measured by means of the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) questionnaire. Injury-related parameters were analysed in order to study their relation with disablement. RESULTS: Of those patients who survived their injuries, 87% had resumed their former work. Only 10% of the patients received disability benefits. A mean SIP-total score of 6.7 was found, the mean SIP-physical score was 5.9 and the mean SIP-psychosocial score was 6.9. "No disability" (SIP score < or = 3) was found in 55% of the patients, whereas 11% of the patients reported "severe disability" (SIP score > or = 20). Age was a significant predictor of disablement (odds ratio 1.07). The Injury Severity Score (ISS), the length of hospital stay and the number of diagnoses did not predict disablement. CONCLUSIONS: Although the results were obtained in a relatively small sample size, the return to work rate in the surviving severely injured patients appears to be excellent. The quality of life is good; the majority of patients are not disabled. Age (and not the ISS) seems to be a significant predictor of disablement.

Adolescent↗

External fixation for unstable intra-articular distal radial fractures in women older than 55 years. Acceptable functional end results in the majority of the patients despite significant secondary displacement.

UNLABELLED: Unstable intra-articular distal radial fractures in women older than 55 years were treated by closed reduction and external fixation to achieve the best functional outcome. Sixteen women had radiographic and functional assessment. Despite initial good alignment secondary displacement occurred in 11 patients, probably due to the comminution of the fracture and possibly influenced by osteoporosis. Malunion of the distal radius was seen in two patients and intra-articular incongruity with an intra-articular step exceeding 1 mm was observed in two other patients. The functional outcome was excellent or good in 10 and fair in two patients. Four patients had a poor functional outcome. Two of these patients had a significant loss of reduction, one resulting in a malunion. The other two had an intra-articular incongruity of more than 1 mm. Three of the four patients with a poor functional outcome had clinical signs of reflex sympathetic dystrophy. CONCLUSION: Closed reduction and external fixation of "bad case" severely comminuted unstable distal radial fractures in the elderly may result in an acceptable functional outcome in the majority of the cases, although significant secondary displacement occurred in eleven of the sixteen patients.

Accidental Falls↗

Long-term outcome of equestrian injuries in children.

PURPOSE: To investigate the possible development of long-term disabilities arising from paediatric equestrian injuries. METHOD: All patients, aged 17 years or younger, treated in a hospital setting because of an equestrian injury during a five-year period received a questionnaire. A reference population and healthy friends served as controls. RESULTS: Four years post-injury, 41 of the 100 respondents still experienced disabilities following the injury. The median Injury Severity Score was 4. Absenteeism from school lasted 2 weeks, and from horse riding, 4 months. Compared to the reference population, the results of the Child Health Questionnaire were poorer considering most of its subscales. In comparison with the friends, the patients only scored lower on 'physical functioning'. The risk factors concerning poor long-term outcomes were being an advanced rider, sustaining injuries other than fractures of the extremities or sustaining subsequent injuries following the riding accident. CONCLUSIONS: Although equestrian injuries in children are minor to moderate in their severity, these injuries are significant considering that a large proportion of patients experience long-term disabilities.

Activities of Daily Living↗

The distal radial fracture in elderly women and the bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and hip.

The incidence of distal radial fractures in elderly women is high and is associated with osteoporosis and hip fracture. Osteoporosis can be detected by measuring the bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine or hip with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Low BMD of the lumbar spine or hip is a strong predictor for future vertebral deformities and hip fractures. At present, elderly women with a distal radial fracture are not investigated for osteoporosis on a routine basis. The BMD of the lumbar spine and hip were assessed in 94 women (mean age, 69 years) with a distal radial fracture. A low BMD was found in 85% of the patients, and osteoporosis was diagnosed in 51%. The mean BMD decreased by 0.04 SD per year and there was a significant relationship between post-menopausal status and decreased BMD of the hip. The BMD in patients treated with bisphosphonate medication increased significantly in 1 year. As more than half of the elderly women with a distal radial fracture have osteoporotic BMD values for the lumbar spine or hip, it is our opinion that such patients should be screened for osteoporosis.

Aged↗

Long-term disabilities and handicaps following sports injuries: outcome after outpatient treatment.

PURPOSE: The aim was to investigate whether long-term disabilities and handicaps arise from a sports injury requiring outpatient treatment and to identify the potential risk factors. METHOD: A representative sample was taken from a population of patients treated as outpatients due to a sports injury. The selected patients were sent a questionnaire, 2-5 years after the injury. RESULT: Thirty-nine percent of the patients studied were unable to work for up to 1 month after the injury, 19% were not able to work for up to 3 months and another 5% could not work for a maximum of 8 months. Participation in sporting activities was hampered for up to 1 year in 76% of the patients and 11% had not resumed sports participation at all. In addition, 20% of the population stated that they still suffered from disabilities and handicaps following the sports injury. The outcome of the SIP68 underlines these results. Nine percent of the patients had a sumscore larger than 0. The variables which could be identified as risk factors were the body region: knee and sex: female. CONCLUSIONS: Sports injuries requiring outpatient treatment can lead to long-term disabilities and handicaps, especially in patients with knee injuries and injuries in women. On average these consequences are less severe than those associated with inpatients; however, this finding is of great value since the number of outpatients is much higher than in patients admitted to a hospital.

Absenteeism↗

Measurement of severity of sports injuries: an epidemiological study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the severity of sports injuries in relation to the severity of injuries due to other causes and in relation to type of sport, using generally applied measures of injury severity. SUBJECTS: A total of 12403 patients, 4-50 years old, who were treated in the trauma department of the Groningen University Hospital for a sports injury, from January 1990 until January 1997. METHOD: All patients treated because of an injury entered the study. A distinction was made between injuries caused by playing sports, home and leisure accidents, traffic accidents and violence. The severity of the injuries was assessed by using the criteria of rate of admission, Injury Severity Scale (ISS). Finally the sports injuries were analysed with regard to type of sport. RESULTS: In total, 57760 injuries were registered. After injuries due to home and leisure accidents (44%; 25228) sports injuries (21%; 12 403) were the most frequent cause of injury. Of the patients with a sports injury, 7.9% (980) were admitted, which is more than with home and leisure accidents (6.7%; 1690) but less than with traffic accidents (21.5%; 2202) and violence (9.3%; 364). In a majority of cases, admission was related to a limited number of types of sport. The mean ISS of sports injuries was low, as with injuries following home and leisure accidents and violence. The percentage of sports injuries with an ISS higher than or equal to 16 and the percentage mortality were both low in comparison to injuries due to violence or traffic accidents. CONCLUSIONS: Sports injuries rank second highest in terms of cause of injury, after home and leisure accidents; and rank third in terms of severity, after traffic accidents and violence. Even though the ISS is low, sports injuries may have serious consequences.

Adolescent↗

Injuries due to school sports accidents in 4 to 13-yr.-old children.

505 kindergarten and primary school children from 4 to 13 years of age were treated for school sports injuries during the period 1990-1997. The incidence of injuries increased statistically significantly from .5 per 1,000 children 4- to 5-yr.-old to 4.8 injured children per 1,000 in 12- to 13-yr.-old. 59% of the injuries involved upper extremities; 35% of these were in the wrist region. 33.5% of the injuries were of the lower extremities, with 50% being of the feet and 36.4% of the ankle. Accidental falls were the main situation (53%) in which school sport accidents occurred. Nearly 65% of these accidental falls occurred at the ground level; the remaining accidents (35%) occurred when the child was working on an apparatus, e.g., parallel bars, balancing beam, side horse. The 4- to 5-yr.-old children were the most vulnerable to accidental fall (67%). A statistically significant increase in injuries in ball sports was observed from 4- to 5-yr.-olds (0%) to the 12- to 13-yr.-olds (28%).

Accidents↗

Severity of injuries due to accidental fall across the life span: a retrospective hospital-based study.

This retrospective study investigated injuries due to accidental fall across the life span for which 19,593 patients were admitted to the Emergency Unit of the Groningen University Hospital during the period 1990 through 1997. 64% of the accidental falls were found for those in the age range between 10 years and 59 years; however, the proportion of accidental falls with regard to other causes of injuries by age group were the highest in youngsters (infants up to 9 years old) and in elderly persons (over 60 years old), 43% or more of these patients having falls with injuries. The clinically treated patients had on the average a statistically greater Injury Severity Score (7.2) than the outpatients (2.4). The highest percentages of medically treated inpatients were the patients of 60 years and over. Their mean ISS score was about the same for elderly inpatients, but the percentage of clinical treatment increased with age as well as the mortality. 30% of the injuries were found in the lower extremities and 30% in the upper extremities. Bone fracture was statistically significantly the major (36%) injury followed by contusion (20%). 34% of the accidental falls occurred at home, and statistically significantly more females, 50 years of age and older, were injured than males.

Accidental Falls↗

Erectile dysfunction due to a 'hidden' penis after pelvic trauma.

We describe a twenty-six year old patient who presented us with a dorsally retracted 'hidden' penis, which was entrapped in scar tissue and prevesical fat, 20y after a pelvic fracture with symphysiolysis. Penile 'lengthening' was performed by V-Y plasty, removal of fatty tissue, dissection of the entrapped corpora cavernosa followed by ventral fixation.

Adult↗

Variation in measurements of range of motion: a study in reflex sympathetic dystrophy patients.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the amount of variation attributed to different sources of variation in measurement results of upper extremity range of motion, and to estimate the smallest detectable difference (SDD) between measurements in reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) patients. DESIGN: Two observers each measured in two sessions the range of motion of several upper extremity joints of RSD patients participating in an outcome study. SETTING: Department of Rehabilitation of a university hospital. SUBJECTS: Twenty-nine upper extremity RSD patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The range of motion of forward flexion and external rotation of the shoulder, extension, flexion and supination of the elbow, palmar, dorsiflexion and ulnar, radial deviation of the wrist of affected and nonaffected sides, using a two-armed goniometer and an inclinometer. The measurement results were analysed using an analysis of variance according to the generalizability theory. RESULTS: The results indicate that observer and patient-observer were important sources of variation. The random error was the most important source of variation. Averaged over all ranges of motion the observer contributed 3.9% to the total variation, patient-observer interactions contributed 5.2% and the random error 20.3%. The SDD was smallest for elbow flexion, 7.1 degrees and 9.6 degrees and was largest for external rotation of the shoulder, 24.8 degrees and 28.7 degrees. The SDD was smaller for the nonaffected side as compared to the affected side for the majority of ranges of motion except elbow extension, wrist dorsiflexion, and radial and ulnar deviation. CONCLUSION: Clinically, our results indicate that range-of-motion measurements in RSD patients are subject to considerable variation and indicate that results of medical examinations in order to assess disability on the basis of range-of-motion measurements are subject to the same variation.

Arm↗

Trends in sports injuries, 1982-1988: an in-depth study on four types of sport.

In this study, we analyzed the records of both inpatients and outpatients which were treated for acute sports injuries in the Trauma Department of the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) during the years 1982 to 1988. We examined whether there was a trend in sports injuries in this time period. The study comprised four types of sports, i.e., soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, and martial arts. The absolutely highest rates of injuries across the seven years were found in soccer, followed by gymnastics, volleyball, and martial arts. Injuries sustained at participating in soccer, volleyball, and gymnastics involved for the major part the lower extremities, followed by injuries of the upper extremities, whereas the reverse pattern was observed for patients who participated in martial arts. For all four types of sport, the ankle and foot were the most frequently site of injury of the lower extremities. Sprains and strains were the major types of injury. Most injuries were seen at ages between 10 and 30 years. The ratio of male to female patients within age groups did not differ significantly across the seven years. We concluded that, except for martial arts, the increased participation in sports in the last decade was not accompanied with a change in the patterns of sports injuries by the patients' age, sex, and number and nature of the injury. This consistency in results can be used to guide the development of prevention programs aimed at a reduction of injuries in specific sports.

Adolescent↗

Urinary tract injuries in multiply-injured patients: a rational guideline for the initial assessment.

In a retrospective study involving 866 multiply-injured patients we demonstrated urinary tract injuries in 72 patients (8.3 per cent), 17 (2 per cent) of which were serious. Haematuria was a frequent finding in multiply-injured patients. In patients with serious lesions of the urinary tract, more than 35 RBCs/HPF in the sediment or macroscopic haematuria were found. All major injuries were demonstrated by the emergency intravenous urogram. Ultrasonography demonstrated contusions of the kidney or bladder and ruptures of the kidneys, but was not reliable in diagnosing ruptures of the bladder. Of 155 patients with a pelvic fracture 13 (8 per cent) had lower urinary tract injuries. In all these patients the fracture was located in the pubic arch. If a retrograde urethrogram was performed in these patients all urethral lesions were detected. We propose a rational guideline, which guarantees diagnostic accuracy of serious injuries of the urinary tract after blunt trauma, while interfering as little as possible with the resuscitative and diagnostic procedures in severely injured patients.

Hematuria↗