Tranexamic Acid in Mohs Micrographic Surgery: A Systematic Review.

Background: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic that has historically been used to treat menorrhagia and bleeding disorders. Exploration of its use in procedures has grown, and it has shown promise in its ability to achieve hemostasis with low risk to patients. Analysis of its use in Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is warranted due to its potential superiority to traditional methods of achieving hemostasis (direct pressure, electrocoagulation, and sutures).

Legislative review and recommendations for improving sun protection in schools.

Background: Sun exposure in schools can account for a large portion of childhood sun exposure before the age of 20 years, yet legislation in the United States is lacking to properly protect children. Schools serve as a foundational resource to introduce and implement sun-safe practices in the youth population.

Methods: Federal and state legislation relating to the access of sunscreen, sun-protective apparel, and shade was reviewed via the website LegiScan.

Neutrophil-predominant bullous pemphigoid induced by checkpoint inhibitors: A case series.

Checkpoint inhibitors have been revolutionary in the treatment of metastatic melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. By restricting negative feedback of T-cells, checkpoint inhibitors allow the immune system to identify and destroy malignant cells. This enhanced immune response is efficacious in the treatment of the aforementioned malignancies; however, it may lead to immune-related adverse events.

Nonsyndromic Craniosynostosis and Deformational Head Shape Disorders.

This article provides an overview of etiology, epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of nonsyndromic craniosynostosis, including sagittal, metopic, coronal, lambdoid, and complex synostosis. Detailed discussion is presented regarding indications for surgical intervention and management options, including frontoorbital advancement, cranial vault reconstruction, endoscopic strip craniectomy, spring-assisted strip craniectomy, and cranial vault distraction osteogenesis. Deformational plagiocephaly is also presented with treatment options including repositioning, physical therapy, and helmet therapy.

Complications in facial trauma.

This article reviews common complications encountered in the setting of facial trauma. Many complications are the result of the primary injury, and a facial plastic surgeon should be able to quickly identify these to prevent further morbidity. Common pitfalls and controversial topics are presented, as well as an overview of treatment for many complications.

Mouse middle ear ion homeostasis channels and intercellular junctions.

Hypothesis: The middle ear contains homeostatic mechanisms that control the movement of ions and fluids similar to those present in the inner ear, and are altered during inflammation.

Background: The normal middle ear cavity is fluid-free and air-filled to allow for effective sound transmission. Within the inner ear, the regulation of fluid and ion movement is essential for normal auditory and vestibular function.

Stability of dried blood spots for HIV-1 drug resistance analysis.

The wide scale application of dried blood spots (DBS) as a collection tool for low-cost HIV drug resistance testing requires a greater understanding of the accuracy of DBS for genotype analysis and the stability of DBS under various environmental conditions. Analysis of a 50microl DBS via a single amplicon, nested PCR-based in-house assay (the Burnet genotyping assay) showed an average nucleotide concordance of 98.9% with plasma samples, although only 65% of nucleotide mixtures detected in plasma were also detected within DBS.

Evaluation of the blood stabilizers TransFix and Cyto-Chex BCT for low-cost CD4 T-cell methodologies.

TransFix(TM) and Cyto-Chex((R)) BCT (blood collection tube) reagents have been shown to maintain whole blood integrity for delayed immunophenotyping by flow cytometry. We evaluated the ability of these blood-stabilizing reagents to preserve HIV-seropositive blood for delayed CD4(+) T-cell quantification utilizing the Dynal((R)) Biotech T4 Quant Kit. TransFix was added to EDTA-anticoagulated whole blood and tested at a 1:10 dilution over 7 d using the Dynal (n = 21) manual method.

Evaluation of the Cavidi ExaVir Load assay (version 3) for plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 load monitoring.

We evaluated the new low-cost ExaVir Load (version 3) reverse transcriptase viral load assay against the Roche Cobas Amplicor assay. Results for samples tested using the reverse transcriptase assay correlated well with those obtained with the Roche assay (r = 0.85; n = 202).