A systematic review of silver-containing dressings and topical silver agents (used with dressings) for burn wounds.

Silver preparations are commonly used for burns, but evidence of their effectiveness remains poorly defined. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of silver-containing dressings and topical silver for preventing infection and promoting healing in burns wounds through a meta-analysis of the available evidence. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and relevant databases were searched.

Oseltamivir overuse at a Chicago hospital during the 2009 influenza pandemic and the poor predictive value of influenza-like illness criteria.

We report on the overuse of oseltamivir at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Of 210 patients with suspected influenza who underwent respiratory virus reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, 113 (54%) received empiric oseltamivir therapy. However, only 50 treated patients (44%) had laboratory confirmed 2009 H1N1.

Human platelet lysate permits scale-up of dental pulp stromal cells for clinical applications.

BACKGROUND AIMS. Dental pulp stromal cells (DPSC) are considered to be a promising source of stem cells in the field of regenerative therapy. However, the usage of DPSC in transplantation requires large-scale expansion to cater for the need for clinical quantity without compromising current good manufacturing practice (cGMP).

Multidisciplinary management of metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the era of targeted therapies.

The use of targeted agents to treat metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has significantly extended progression-free and overall survival but raises issues relating to the long-term delivery of care and the sustained monitoring of efficacy and toxicities, certain of which have not previously been experienced. In this paper, an expert group of medical oncologists, urologists and oncology nurses and pharmacists review and make informal recommendations on the multidisciplinary management of mRCC in the light of progress made and problems that have arisen. Decentralisation of care, with a shift in emphasis from large to small hospitals and possibly to the community, may offer advantages of cost and convenience.

Assessment of quality of life with imatinib mesylate as first-line treatment in chronic phase-chronic myeloid leukemia.

Imatinib mesylate (IM) is a first-line treatment of chronic phase-chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML). The primary objective of this study was to assess the quality of life (QOL) in patients with CP-CML treated with IM. Ninety patients with newly diagnosed CP-CML were assessed for QOL with first-line IM.

Electromagnetic therapy for treating venous leg ulcers.

Background: Leg ulceration is a common, chronic, recurring condition. The estimated prevalence of leg ulcers in the UK population is 1.5 to 3 per 1000.

Survival of women with locally advanced breast cancer at a teaching hospital in Lahore.

Objectives: To correlate the clinical features of women presenting with locally advanced breast cancer with event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) and to evaluate the patterns of relapse.

Methods: A total of 200 patients presenting consecutively over 9 years with Stage III breast cancer were evaluated for age, socio-economic status (SES), tumour size and grade, number of involved lymph nodes, stage III sub-categories, estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER/PR) status, treatment profiles and responses, and sites of relapse. EFS and OS at 5 and 10 years were calculated.

Predictive factors for lower extremity amputations in diabetic foot infections.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of diabetic foot infections (DFIs) and its predictive factors for lower extremity amputations. A prospective study of 100 patients with DFIs treated at the National University Hospital of Singapore were recruited in the study during the period of January 2005-June 2005. A protocol was designed to document patient's demographics, type of DFI, presence of neuropathy and/or vasculopathy and its final outcome.

Assessment of sensory neuropathy in patients with diabetic foot problems.

Our aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of three different modalities for testing sensory neuropathy in diabetic patients with and without diabetic foot problems. The three devices used included the pin-prick testing using the Neurotip® (PPT), the Semmes-Weinstein 5.07/10 g monofilament testing (SWMT), and the rapid-current perception threshold (R-CPT) measurements using the Neurometer® testing.

Role of multidetector computed tomography in evaluating complications following endovascular repair of aortic aneurysm.

Objective: To study the role of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in evaluating various complications following endovascular stenting of aortic aneurysms.

Materials And Methods: Over a period of 2 years (June 2005 to June 2007), 50 patients with aortic aneurysm on computed tomography (CT) angiogram were prospectively studied. Images were acquired on a 64 slice multidetector row CT scanner (GE-LightSpeed VCT) after intravenous administration of nonionic iodinated contrast.

Oblique septal crossbar graft for anterior septal angle reconstruction.

Nasal septal deformity is a central feature of the crooked nose, contributing to functional and aesthetic problems. Straightening of the septum often requires resection, scoring, or incision of the septum--maneuvers that inevitably weaken the cartilaginous dorsal and caudal L-shaped struts, which together are known as the L-strut. Compromise of this L-strut predisposes to septal buckling, recurrent deviation, and saddle nose deformity.

Electromagnetic therapy for treating pressure ulcers.

Background: Pressure ulcers are defined as areas "of localized damage to the skin and underlying tissue caused by pressure, shear, friction and/or the combination of these". Electromagnetic therapy (EMT), in which electrodes produce an electromagnetic field across the wound, may improve healing of chronic wounds such as pressure ulcers.

Objectives: To assess the effects of EMT on the healing of pressure ulcers.

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of endometriosis of the abdominal wall: a potential diagnostic pitfall.

Endometriosis is a relatively common disease in women, usually of reproductive age. In rare occasions, endometriosis may occur in unusual body sites, including extragonadal, extra-pelvic sites, or in the skin. We report a case of endometriosis of the abdominal wall diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB).

Foot screening for diabetics.

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the results of foot screening performed in a study population of 2137 diabetics (3926 feet) screened from 2006 to 2008 by the National University Hospital (NUH) multi-disciplinary team for diabetic foot problems.

Materials And Methods: A standardised protocol was designed. Foot screening consisted of detailed history taking and clinical examination including assessment for sensory neuropathy by Semmes Weinstein monofilament (SWMF) and neurothesiometer and assessment of vasculopathy by ankle-brachial index (ABI) and total body irradiation (TBI).

Efficacy and safety of levetiracetam as adjunctive therapy in adult patients with uncontrolled partial epilepsy: the Asia SKATE II Study.

This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of levetiracetam as adjunctive therapy for partial seizures in everyday clinical practice in Asian populations. Patients aged > or =16 years (N=251) with inadequately controlled partial epilepsy were recruited from 29 centers across Asia. Levetiracetam was added to existing antiepileptic medication for 16 weeks at a starting dose of 500 or 1000 mg/day and titrated to a maximum of 3000 mg/day according to clinical response.

Sustained superior long-term outcomes and cytogenetic responses with imatinib mesylate in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukaemia: report from a developing country.

Objective: Imatinib mesylate is now a standard treatment for chronic myeloid leukaemia. Primary objective of our study was to report long-term survival outcomes in patients receiving Imatinib in chronic phase. Secondary objectives included determination of cytogenetic responses and toxicity profile of Imatinib mesylate.

Biopsy-proved idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: spectrum of nondiagnostic thin-section CT diagnoses.

Purpose: To document the spectrum of misleading thin-section computed tomographic (CT) diagnoses in patients with biopsy-proved idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Materials And Methods: This study had institutional review board approval, and patient consent was not required. Three observers, blinded to any clinical information and the purpose of the study, recorded thin-section CT differential diagnoses and assigned a percentage likelihood to each for a group of 123 patients (79 men, 44 women; age range, 27-82 years) with various chronic interstitial lung diseases, including a core group of 55 biopsy-proved cases of IPF.

Quality-of-life and quality-adjusted survival (Q-TWiST) in patients receiving lapatinib in combination with paclitaxel as first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer.

Background: In a phase 3 randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, first-line therapy with lapatinib plus paclitaxel significantly improved clinical outcomes based on a pre-planned analysis of ErbB2+ metastatic breast cancer patients (GSK Study #EGF30001; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00075270). Patients with ErbB2- or untested did not significantly benefit.

Worsened oncologic outcomes for women of lower socio-economic status (SES) treated for locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) in Pakistan.

Two hundred and thirty-seven women, undergoing multimodality treatment for locally advanced breast cancer (LABC), were retrospectively analyzed for age, menopausal status, socio-economic status (SES), tumor size, nodal involvement, tumor grade, estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER, PR) status and tumor stage. Primary purpose was to assess outcomes of these patients treated in a low-income country as defined by the World Bank and using limited-level treatment resources as defined by Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) guidelines. Secondary objectives included correlation of predictive and prognostic features with event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) at 5 years.

Comparison of arsenic concentrations in simultaneously-collected groundwater and aquifer particles from Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, and Nepal.

One of the reasons the processes resulting in As release to groundwater in southern Asia remain poorly understood is the high degree of spatial variability of physical and chemical properties in shallow aquifers. In an attempt to overcome this difficulty, a simple device that collects groundwater and sediment as a slurry from precisely the same interval was developed in Bangladesh. Recently published results from Bangladesh and India relying on the needle-sampler are augmented here with new data from 37 intervals of grey aquifer material of likely Holocene age in Vietnam and Nepal.

Phase III trial of casopitant, a novel neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist, for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this phase III trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of regimens containing casopitant, a novel neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist, for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting during the first cycle in patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC).

Patients And Methods: Predominantly female patients (98%) diagnosed with breast cancer (96%) who were chemotherapy-naïve and scheduled to receive an anthracycline and cyclophosphamide (AC) -based regimen were enrolled onto this multinational, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled clinical trial. All patients received dexamethasone 8 mg intravenously (IV) on day 1 and oral ondansetron 8 mg twice daily on days 1 to 3.

The prevalence of germ-line TP53 mutations in women diagnosed with breast cancer before age 30.

Germ-line mutations in the TP53 gene are rare, but predispose women to a range of cancer types, including early-onset breast cancer. Breast cancers in women from families with the Li-Fraumeni syndrome often occur before age 30. The prevalence of deleterious TP53 mutations in unselected women with early-onset breast cancer is not precisely known.

Efficacy and safety of casopitant mesylate, a neurokinin 1 (NK1)-receptor antagonist, in prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients receiving cisplatin-based highly emetogenic chemotherapy: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) remains a clinical management problem after treatment with highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC). We therefore designed and carried out a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess whether a three-drug antiemetic regimen of ondansetron, dexamethasone, and the neurokinin-1-receptor antagonist casopitant mesylate was able to prevent acute and delayed CINV events in patients naive to chemotherapy with a malignant solid tumour who were scheduled to receive cisplatin-based HEC regimens.

Methods: The study was done between Nov 6, 2006, and Oct 9, 2007, in 77 participating centres in 22 countries.

Double aortic arches, esophageal atresia and tracheal compression.

We report a case of double aortic arch in a 12-month-old male infant well delineated on 64 slice computed tomography scan. It formed a complete vascular ring around the trachea compressing it. The symptoms resolved after surgical division of the ring.

Garlic supplementation and serum cholesterol: a meta-analysis.

Background: Prevention of cardiovascular disease by modifying its major risk factors, including serum cholesterol levels, is an important strategy. Regular intake of garlic has been suggested, but its impact on cholesterol levels has been inconsistent.

Objective: A systematic review to critically summarize the evidence on the effect of garlic on serum cholesterol.