Yafim Brodov, PhD, MD, Lori Mandelzweig, MPH, Valentina Boyko, MSc and Solomon Behar, MD
Background: Clinical studies showing an association between immigration and increased prevalence of coronary risk factors or mortality rate in patients immigration is associated with greater risk among immigrants from the Soviet with coronary artery disease are scarce.
Objectives: To compare the risk profile and mortality of coronary patients born in Israel with those who immigrated to Israel, and to determine whether recent Union.
Methods: Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected on chronic coronary artery disease patients from 18 Israeli medical centers during the screening period of the Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention Study in the early 1990s. Data on mortality after a mean 7.7 year follow-up were obtained from the Israel Population Registry.
Results: While significant differences in mortality (14.7% vs. 18.5%, P < 0.001) were observed between Israeli-born patients and immigrants respectively, the mortality in these groups was similar when compared within specific age groups. Immigrants suffered more from hypertension and angina pectoris, and their New York Heart Association functional limitation class was higher, as compared to their Israeli-born counterparts. A multivariate analysis of mortality comparing patients from the Soviet Union who immigrated after 1970 with those who immigrated before 1970 showed an increased risk for newer immigrants, with a hazard ratio of 1.69 (95% confidence interval 1.19-2.40) for those immigrating between 1970 and 1984, and 1.68 (95% CI 1.01-2.28) for those immigrating between 1985 and 1991.
Conclusion: The worse profile and prognosis observed among patients who recently emigrated from the Soviet Union cannot be explained by traditional risk factors for CAD such as smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and lipid disorders. Further investigation, including variables such as psychological stress to which immigrants are more exposed than others, is needed.
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Israel Dudkiewicz, MD, Rami Levi, MD, Alexander Blankstein, MD, Aharon Chechick, MD and Moshe Salai, MD
Background: Open reduction and internal fixation are the current trends of treatment for comminuted calcaneal fractures. Assessing treatment results is often difficult due to discrepancy between objective parameters such as range of movement, and subjective results such as pain.
Objectives: To test the reliability of footprint analysis as an adjuvant method of postoperative assessment of patients who sustained calcaneal fractures.
Methods: Dynamic and static footprint analysis was used as an adjuvant method to objectively assess operative results. This method is simple and is independent of the patient’s initiatives. This modality was used in 22 patients followed-up 9–90 months postoperatively.
Results: We found a good correlation between footprint analysis and objective and subjective parameters of results expressed by the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society hind foot score. In certain cases, this method can be used to distinguish between uncorrelated parameter results, such as malingering, and workmens’ compensation claims.
Conclusion: We recommend the use of this simple, non-invasive objective test as an additional method to assess the results of ankle and foot surgery treatment.
Kobi Peleg, PhD, Haim Reuveni, MD and Michael Stein, MD
Konstantin Lavrenkov, MD, PhD, Issac Meller, MD and Yoram Cohen, MD
Ori Efrati, MD, Asher Barak, MD, Jacob Yahav, MD, Lea Leibowitz, MD, Nathan Keller, MD and Yoram Bujanover, MD
Aneta Lazarov, MD, Keren Moss, MD, Natalie Plosk, MD, Mario Cordoba, MD and Liliana Baitelman, Pharm
Gahl Greenberg, MD, Myra Shapiro-Feinberg, MD and Rivka Zissin, MD
Sami Viskin, MD, Aharon Glick, MD and Bernard Belhassen, MD