A randomised, open-label, parallel-group, multicentre, comparative study to compare the efficacy and safety of Exufiber® with Aquacel® Extra™ dressings in exuding venous and mixed aetiology leg ulcers.

The performance and safety of Exufiber® gelling fibre and Aquacel® Extra™ Hydrofiber® wound dressings were compared for the management of chronic, exuding leg ulcers. The 6-week study (≤ 24 weeks in a subgroup of subjects) was a randomised, open-label, parallel-group, multicentre, non-inferiority design. Adults (n = 248, 30-97 years of age) were randomised to either Exufiber® or Aquacel® Extra™ dressing.

A novel approach to the antimicrobial activity of maggot debridement therapy.

Objectives: Commercially produced sterile green bottle fly Lucilia sericata maggots are successfully employed by practitioners worldwide to clean a multitude of chronic necrotic wounds and reduce wound bacterial burdens during maggot debridement therapy (MDT). Secretions from the maggots exhibit antimicrobial activity along with other activities beneficial for wound healing. With the rise of multidrug-resistant bacteria, new approaches to identifying the active compounds responsible for the antimicrobial activity within this treatment are imperative.

High prevalence of peripheral arterial disease in patients with previous cerebrovascular or coronary event.

Aim: The presence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in patients with other manifestations of cardiovascular disease identifies a population at increased risk of complications both during acute coronary events and on a long-term basis and possibly a population in whom secondary prevention of cardiovascular events should be addressed aggressively. The present study was aimed at providing a valid estimate on the prevalence of PAD in patients attending their general practitioner and having previously suffered a cardio- or cerebrovascular event.

Patients And Methods: 1000 patients with a previous cardiovascular event were screened and PAD was considered present when the ankle-brachial index (ABI) of systolic blood pressure was less than 0.

Quorum-sensing-regulated virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are toxic to Lucilia sericata maggots.

Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) is widely used for debridement of chronic infected wounds; however, for wounds harbouring specific bacteria limited effect or failure of the treatment has been described. Here we studied the survival of Lucilia sericata maggots encountering Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 in a simple assay with emphasis on the quorum-sensing (QS)-regulated virulence. The maggots were challenged with GFP-tagged P.

Pressure-aided transfusion of platelets: does it affect the platelets?

Background: In massively bleeding patients, pressure infusers are used for transfusion of red blood cells and plasma but not for platelets (PLTs) due to an assumed negative effect on the PLTs. This study examined whether pressure-aided in vitro transfusion affected the number, activation state, and/or function of the PLTs as measured by flow cytometry and thrombelastography (TEG).

Study Design And Methods: PLT concentrates stored for 1 (n = 8) or 8 (n = 7) days were transfused in vitro by means of a pressure inducer (300 mmHg).