Medium- to long-term functional outcomes of artcure diffusional patch therapy for lumbar disc herniation: which herniation is more likely to require surgery?

Background: Artcure diffusional patch (ADP) is a novel transdermal therapeutic system that started to be used in the last decade for lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Previous studies have reported early results of the therapy. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the medium- to long-term functional outcomes of this treatment in LDH patients and examine factors predicting the need for surgery after treatment.

Internet and social media preferences of orthopaedic patients vary according to factors such as age and education levels.

Background: Patients can often access the internet and social media for health information but it is not clear how much they trust and use the information retrieved.

Objective: To investigate the social media and internet use rates and preferences of orthopaedic patients, to reveal to what extent they self-treat, and to probe the affecting factors.

Methods: Two thousand fifty-eight patients admitted to an orthopaedic polyclinic were asked to fill out a survey (voluntarily) consisting of 15 items, to collect demographic data, preference for platforms and sources used, trusted sources, and the extent to which information obtained was used for self-care.