Is there any relationship between orthotic usage and functional activities in children with neuromuscular disorders?
Night ankle-foot orthoses were not found to be effective directly on functional performance in children with neuromuscular diseases, although they protect ankle from contractures and may help to correct gait and balance.
In this study serum PCT levels of patients with septic arthritis were significantly higher than those of patients with nonseptic arthritis (P = .001). However, the sensitivity when referencing the normal upper limit of PCT (0.5 ng/mL) is not high enough to establish a diagnosis based exclusively on serum parameters. This reflects the results of other studies examining localized infections without generalized bacteremia. The data suggest that a specific PCT cutoff level for localized infections could be helpful in the future.