The effect of herbal medicines on platelet function: an in vivo experiment and review of the literature.

Background: Herbal medicines are used by a considerable number of surgical patients. An increased risk of bleeding, substantiated by anecdotal reports, has been attributed to the use of certain herbs, and numerous in vitro experiments have identified some herbal extracts as platelet inhibitors. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether standard commercial preparations of commonly used herbal medicines have an effect on platelet function in vivo and, by extension, to provide clinical scientific evidence of the safety of their use in the perioperative period.

Analysis of freshwater pathogens: a guide to rational empiric antibiotic coverage.

Fresh water injuries are often contaminated with bacteria that are not typically encountered in other wounds. Their treatment should include empiric administration of appropriate antibiotics. This study identifies the most common pathogens found in the Lake of the Ozarks and their antibiotic sensitivity.

The utility of clinical and laboratory data for predicting intraabdominal injury among children.

Background: The initial assessment of the child with blunt injury should lead ideally to a low rate of missed intraabdominal injury (IAI) while avoiding unnecessary imaging among children without IAI. The purpose of this study was to determine the utility of clinical and laboratory data for predicting the risk for IAI.

Methods: Among 351 children evaluated for possible blunt abdominal trauma, 23 variables potentially associated with IAI were determined retrospectively.

Analysis of lipocyte viability after liposuction.

Free fat grafts from liposuction aspirate can be used as donor material for soft-tissue augmentation. The purpose of this study was to attempt to identify a subpopulation of adipose cells within liposuction aspirate with the greatest viability and, it is hoped, a greater chance for increased survival after transplantation. Liposuction samples were obtained from 20 individuals (16 women, four men; age range, 27 to 49 years).