No abstract

The difference in the range of dynamic motion of the wrist between young and middle-aged men was studied. To analyse wrist function easily, a new quantitative evaluation technique for wrist circumduction using a biaxial flexible electrogoniometer was introduced. A phase plane was made from two-channel signals of the electrogoniometer, and the 'ROM (range of motion) Index' for wrist circumduction was defined. Twelve healthy young men (age 19-31 years) and twelve healthy middle-aged men (age 45-63 years) were studied. Under forearm fixed conditions, there was no difference of the ROM Index between the two age groups. A significant decrease of the ROM Index in the middle-aged group was found in the non-dominant wrists without forearm fixation. The four quadrantal analysis of wrist circumduction clarified that this difference appeared especially in the radiodorsal direction. These results suggest that in the middle-aged men, the motor function involving the radiocarpal and midcarpal joints does not decrease, but that for the proximal and distal radioulnar joints in the non-dominant side drops.

No abstract

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a general term used to describe deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). Since VTE is known to occur frequently in hospitalized patients, this study aimed to clarify the incidence and risk of VTE during hospitalization. Subjects and Methods: We calculated the incidence of VTE among adult patients admitted to Shimane University Hospital within 1 year. The inclusion criteria were cases where VTE was diagnosed after admission, and clinical treatment was considered necessary. Results: The number of patients with hospitalization-related VTE was 55 (0.41%) out of 13534, including eight (0.06%) patients with PTE. VTE occurred in patients older than 40 years, and 42 (76.4%) of the included patients were !65 years old. The incidence rate in women (0.53%) was higher than that in men (0.29%). According to the clinical department, the incidence rates were 2.53% in orthopedics, 1.55% in the department for collagen disease, and 1.39% in advanced trauma centers. When classified by disease, arthritis/arthropathy accounted for 6.40%, followed by 2.01% of traumatic fractures, and the number of affected patients with cancer was 18 (32.7%). Twenty-eight (50.9%) patients developed VTE within 10 days of admission. However, the aggravation risk factors could not be determined. Conclusion: The incidence of hospitalization-related VTE cases in the elderly is higher. In the present study, one-third of the observed VTE cases occurred in patients with cancer, while arthritis/ arthropathy or traumatic fractures were often observed in other cases. Therefore, there is a need to continually assess VTE risks to prevent or treat VTE at an early stage.

No abstract