Tehran University Medical Journal

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The arthroscopic study of knee joint is of outstanding interest in assessment of knee complaints. The present article describes the results of arthroscopic examination of 100 patients (Mean age 29.4 years 82% male) evaluated from 1996 to 1997 in Imam Khomeini hospital of Tehran. Sport injury was the most prevalent cause of referral (40%). The 2 most frequent complaints were knee pain (94%) and tenderness (63%). Arthroscopic findings were pathologic changes of synovial fluid in 8, changes on articular surface of patella in 23, pathologic findings of femoral condyles and changes on articular surface of tibial plate in 24 cases. Other findings included plica in 18, tears of meniscus in 49, complete or partial tears of anterior cruciate ligament in 23 patients. Diagnostic accuracy of pre-arthroscopic clinical diagnosis was 88% and 93% for tears of meniscue and anterior cruciate ligament respectively. Arthroscopy of patellofemoral joint is an important adjunct to clinical and radiographic examination in diagnosis of knee complaints.

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Background: Pneumothorax is a potential life-threatening condition especially in patients with underlying disorders. In this study we compared the diagnostic accuracy of general practitioners and emergency medicine specialists in interpreting chest x-rays (CXR) suspected of having iatrogenic pneumothorax in emergency departments.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Shahid Chamran Hospital in Tehran, Iran during 2008- 2010. The study was designed to compare the ability of general practitioners and emergency medicine specialists in diagnosing iatrogenic pneumothorax regarding 500 CXRs of one-hundred patients admitted for upper central venous catheterization.

Results: General practitioners and emergency medicine specialists could accurately (P<0.001) diagnose pneumothorax in 484 (96.8%) and 497 (99.4%) CXRs, respectively. None of the underlying causes of the condition affected the diagnostic accuracy of both physician groups (P>0.05).

Conclusion: These findings indicate that the diagnostic accuracy of emergency medicine specialists is significantly higher than those of general physicians. The diagnostic accuracy of both physician groups was higher than the values in similar studies that signifies the role of relevant training given in the emergency departments of the Hospital.