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Background: MRI is the current pre-operative imaging standard in recurrent anterior shoulder instability; however, CT has increasingly gained interest due to its advantages in the detection of bony glenoid defects. This study compares the value of CT imaging and MRI for pre-operative surgical planning in recurrent anterior shoulder instability., Methods: Between 2006 and 2009, 83 patients presented to the author's department with recurrent anterior shoulder instability. For 48 patients, both, pre-operative MRI and CT images were available. The respective patho-morphological descriptions were retrospectively compared with the intra-operative findings. The effect of each imaging technique on the pre-operative surgical planning was analyzed and the accuracy in predicting the necessity of open versus arthroscopic surgery was compared., Results: In determining the necessity of open versus arthroscopic surgery CT imaging rendered an inaccurate prediction in 4.8 % of the cases which is less than the 25.0 % calculated for MRI. (p = 0.019). MRI showed a low sensitivity (35.3 %) in the detection of significant glenoid bone defects (≥20 % of the glenoid width measured on en-face views using a best-fit circle technique) while CT imaging provided an accurate prediction of the intra-operative finding in all cases., Conclusion: Despite the advantages of MRI in the detection of soft tissue damages in recurrent anterior shoulder instability CT imaging proved to be more important for pre-operative planning by prevailing in the detection of glenoid defects. Therefore, the replacement of MRI as preoperative imaging standard with CT imaging is recommended.

The social stigma toward people with epilepsy (PWE) varies greatly between cultures. In this study, 167 people (59 PWE, 62 relatives, 46 villagers) in a rural area of northern Tanzania were interviewed at the hospital and in the community regarding their prevailing beliefs about epilepsy and attitudes toward PWE. Seventy-eight of those interviewed (46.7%) thought that epilepsy was due to supernatural causes, but 86 (51.5%) assumed that epilepsy is caused by brain disorders or is inherited. According to the interviewees, epilepsy impacts on the lives of affected people. 65.3% (n=109) thought that PWE should not attend school or go to work and 38.3% (n=64) were of the opinion that PWE had decreased chances of getting married. A minority (11.4%; n=19) thought that epilepsy was a reason not to have children. In summary, supernatural and more scientific ideas about the causes of epilepsy seem to coexist. Nevertheless, there is considerable stigma toward PWE, which needs to be interpreted within the sociocultural context of the study., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)