Complications after low-velocity ballistic femur fractures: a series of 104 patients at a level 1 trauma center.

Objectives: To report outcomes and risk factors of complications following low-velocity ballistic fractures of the femur.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Setting: Academic Level I trauma center.

An Evaluation of a New Ultrasonic Water Irrigator in the Management of Gingival Health: A Randomised Study.

Introduction: This randomised, single-blind, controlled study aimed to compare daily adjunctive use of an ultrasonic water irrigation device to dental floss in controlling plaque and gingival inflammation in patients with gingivitis.

Methods: Participants were randomly allocated to either daily use of an ultrasonic water irrigator or dental floss as an adjunct to manual toothbrushing for 4 weeks, with periodontal assessment repeated at 1 and 4 weeks after baseline (Rustogi Modified Navy Plaque Index [PI], Loe and Silness Gingival Index [GI] and bleeding on marginal probing [BOMP]).

Results: Sixty-two participants completed the investigation.

The hearts of large mammals generate higher pressures, are less efficient and use more energy than those of small mammals.

A prevailing assumption in the cardiovascular field is that the metabolic rate of the heart is a constant proportion of a mammal's whole-body aerobic metabolic rate. In this Commentary, we assemble previously published cardiovascular, metabolic and body mass data from matched terrestrial mammalian species, at rest and during heavy exercise, and reveal scaling relationships that challenge this assumption. Our analyses indicate that the fractional metabolic cost of systemic perfusion compared with whole-body metabolic rate increases significantly with body size among resting mammals, from ∼2.

Deep infections after low-velocity ballistic tibia fractures are frequently polymicrobial and recalcitrant.

Objectives: To identify risk factors for developing a fracture-related infection in operatively treated ballistic tibia fractures and to report the microbiologic results of intraoperative cultures.

Design: Retrospective review.

Setting: Level 1 trauma center.