"The Gordian knot of it he will unloose": Lessons learned from studies of half-hitch surgical knots and implications for practicing surgeons: A systematic review.

Background: Insecure surgical knots can cause surgical complications ranging from wound dehiscence to massive exsanguination and death. Most surgeons tie half-hitch knots, of which some configurations are prone to slippage. We aim to characterize the securities of different half-hitch knot configurations.

Modernizing Surgical Quality: A Novel Approach to Improving Detection of Surgical Site Infections in the Veteran Population.

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are an important quality measure. Identifying SSIs often relies upon a time-intensive manual review of a sample of common surgical cases. In this study, we sought to develop a predictive model for SSI identification using antibiotic pharmacy data extracted from the electronic medical record (EMR).

Anorectal anomaly: a review of 82 cases seen at JUTH, Nigeria.

Background: The management of anorectal anomaly remains a challenge to Surgeons. This study was carried out to determine the pattern and outcome of management of anorectal malformations (ARM) in a Nigerian tertiary hospital.

Patients And Methods: The clinical and operative records of consecutive children with anorectal anomaly managed between October 1990 and September 2000 at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, were reviewed.

Acquired rectal fistula in human immunodeficiency virus-positive children: a causal or casual relationship?

Acquired rectal fistula in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive children is a new and worrisome entity. The aim of this paper is to highlight the relationship between HIV infection and acquired rectal fistula (RF) in children in order to create awareness among clinicians who attend to children. Over a 1-year period, 11 girls aged 4 weeks-11 months (median 5 months) with acquired RF were managed at our institution.

Open versus closed haemorrhoidectomy.

Objective: To compare post operative complications, rates of wound healing, and cost effectiveness between the closed and open methods of haemorrhoidectomy.

Design: Prospective.

Setting: Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos and Evangel Hospital, Jos.

Penetrating head wound: a remarkable case.

Background: The modern management of penetrating head injuries is generally considered a neurosurgical specialty that relies heavily on the use of sequential imaging techniques, an ever-changing armamentarium of sophisticated antibiotics and specific neurosurgical operative skills. Unfortunately these optimal therapeutic components are frequently not available to patients injured in underdeveloped countries.

Methods: An unusual case of a young patient suffering a penetrating brain wound and undergoing delayed treatment in an African mission hospital is reviewed.

Marfan's syndrome presenting with abdominal aortic aneurysm: a case for vigilance.

We present the case of a 16-year old student with Marfan's syndrome and abdominal aortic aneurysm who presented with a diagnostic conundrum. He presented with a three months history of progressive painful left upper abdominal mass and back pain. It became severe in the last two weeks before presentation and was associated with constipation.

Initial clinical assessment of the comatose patient: cerebral malaria vs. meningitis.

One hundred twenty-one Liberian children were admitted in coma to the ELWA Hospital, Monrovia, Liberia. Admitting diagnoses, before lumbar puncture, were compared with discharge diagnoses. Ninety-four children were discharged with a final diagnosis of cerebral malaria and 27 with a diagnosis of meningitis.