Blood flow velocity in the anterior humeral circumflex artery and tear size can predict synovitis severity in patients with rotator cuff tears

Background Rotator cuff tears are often associated with synovitis, but the ability of noninvasive ultrasonography to predict the severity of synovitis remains unclear. We investigated whether ultrasound parameters, namely peak systolic velocity in the anterior humeral circumflex artery and Doppler activity in the glenohumeral joint and subacromial space, reflect synovitis severity. Methods A total of 54 patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were selected. Doppler ultrasound was used to measure peak systolic velocity in the anterior humeral circumflex artery and Doppler activity in the glenohumeral joint and subacromial space, and these values were compared with the intraoperative synovitis score in univariate and multivariate analyses. Results Univariate analyses revealed that tear size, peak systolic velocity in the anterior humeral circumflex artery, and Doppler activity in the glenohumeral joint were associated with synovitis in the glenohumeral joint (P=0.02, P<0.001, P=0.02, respectively). In the subacromial space, tear size, peak systolic velocity in the anterior humeral circumflex artery, and Doppler activity in the subacromial space were associated with synovitis severity (P=0.02, P<0.001, P=0.02, respectively). Multivariate analyses indicated that tear size and peak systolic velocity in the anterior humeral circumflex artery were independently associated with synovitis scores in both the glenohumeral joint and the subacromial space (all P<0.05). Conclusions These findings demonstrate that tear size and peak systolic velocity in the anterior humeral circumflex artery, which can both be measured noninvasively, are useful indicators of synovitis severity. Level of evidenceIV

Development and evaluation of an English learning system using smartphones in Japanese dental hygiene education

Purpose: To develop and evaluate the effects of an English learning system using smartphones in Japanese dental hygiene education.Methods: Forty-three third-year undergraduate university dental hygiene students took a preliminary examination and then were randomly divided into two groups, Group I or II, according to their results to make the English level of each group approximately equal. Group I took examination A as a pre-examination and examination B as a post-examination. Group II took examination B as a pre-examination and examination A as a post-examination. Each examination was composed of dental terminology and speaking sections. All participants studied English learning materials via a learning management system, which included a series of four subtopics related to dental caries prevention, as re- and self-learning.Results: In the terminology section, both groups showed significantly higher post-examination scores than pre-examination scores, regardless of which examination (A or B) was taken as the pre-examination (Group I: p < 0.0001, Group II: p =0.0025).Conclusions: The English learning system using smartphones developed in this study effectively increased participants’ dental English vocabulary. English speaking skills showed no improvement and another learning style should be evaluated in a future study