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The effect of neuropathic pain on quality of life, depression levels, and sleep quality in patients with combat-related extremity injuries
Merve Örücü Atar, Gizem Kılınç Kamacı, Fatma Özcan, Yasin Demir, Koray Aydemir
J Trauma Inj. 2022;35(3):202-208.   Published online August 9, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20408/jti.2022.0019
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AbstractAbstract PDF
Purpose
There is limited research on the effects of neuropathic pain (NP) on quality of life, depression levels, and sleep quality in patients with combat-related extremity injuries. This study evaluated whether patients with combat-related extremity injuries with and without NP had differences in quality of life, sleep quality, and depression levels.
Methods
A total of 98 patients with combat-related extremity injuries, 52 with NP and 46 without, were included in this cross-sectional study. The presence of NP was determined using the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs questionnaire. The outcome measures were a visual analogue scale (VAS), the 36-Item Short Form Survey, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
Results
The VAS subparameter scores for pain (all P˂0.05), PSQI sleep duration subscale scores (P=0.025), PSQI sleep disturbance subscale scores (P=0.016), and PSQI total scores (P=0.020) were significantly higher in patients with NP than those without. Logistic regression analysis showed that VAS scores of 5 and above for average pain during the previous 4 weeks contributed independently to the prediction of NP.
Conclusions
Patients with combat-related extremity injuries with NP had more pain and poorer sleep quality than those without NP. Sleep quality should be evaluated as part of the diagnostic work-up in patients with combat-related extremity injury with NP, and interventions to improve sleep quality may help manage NP in this patient group.
Summary
Treatment of Combat-related Gunshot and Explosive Injuries to the Extremities
Jung Eun Lee, Young Ho Lee, Goo Hyun Baek, Kyung Hag Lee, Young Jae Cho, Yeong Cheol Kim, Gil Joon Suh
J Trauma Inj. 2013;26(3):111-124.
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AbstractAbstract PDF
PURPOSE
We should prepare proper medical service for disaster control as South Korea is not free from terrorism and war, as we experienced through the two naval battles of the Yeonpyeong, one in 1999 and the other in 2002, the sinking of Cheonan in 2010, and the attack against the border island of Yeonpyeong in 2010. Moreover, North Korea's increasingly bellicose rhetoric and mounting military threats against the world demand instant action to address the issue. The aim of this article is to describe our experience with three patients with combat-related gunshot and explosive injuries to their extremities and to establish useful methods for the management of patients with combat-related injuries.
METHODS
Three personnel who had been injured by gunshot or explosion during either the second naval battle of the Yeonpyeong in 2002 or the attack against the border island of Yeonpyeong in 2010 were included in our retrospective analysis. There were one case of gunshot injury and two cases of explosive injuries to the extremities, and the injured regions were the left hand, the right foot, and the right humerus. In one case, the patient had accompanying abdominal injuries, and his vital signs were unstable. He recovered after early initial management and appropriate emergency surgery.
RESULTS
All patients underwent emergent surgical debridement and temporary fixation surgery in the same military hospital immediately after their evacuations from the combat area. After that, continuous administration of antibiotics and wound care were performed, and definite reconstructions were carried out in a delayed manner. In the two cases in which flap operations for soft tissue coverage were required, one operation was performed 5 weeks after the injury, and the other operation was performed 7 weeks after the injury. Definite procedures for osteosynthesis were performed at 3 months in all cases. Complete union and adequate functional recovery were achieved in all cases.
CONCLUSION
The patient should be stabilized and any life-threatening injuries must first be evaluated and treated with damage control surgery. Staged treatment and strict adherence to traditional principles for open fractures are recommended for combat-related gunshot and explosive injuries to the extremities.
Summary

J Trauma Inj : Journal of Trauma and Injury