Assessment of orthodontic treatment efficacy of Clarity Aligners using the Peer Assessment Rating index and the American Board of Orthodontics Cast-Radiograph Evaluation.

Introduction: 3M Oral Care Solutions (St Paul, Minn) has recently introduced Clarity Aligners into the market. This cohort study evaluated the orthodontic treatment efficacy of this clear aligner system using the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) index and the American Board of Orthodontics Cast-Radiograph Evaluation (CR-Eval).

Methods: Pretreatment and posttreatment dental models of 87 subjects who had undergone orthodontic treatment using Clarity Aligners in both arches to align their teeth to a target setup were independently evaluated by 4 examiners using the PAR index and the American Board of Orthodontics CR-Eval.

Medical Adhesive-Related Skin Injury Prevalence Among Adult Acute Care Patients: A Single-Center Observational Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the daily prevalence of adhesive product use and related skin injuries in adult patients in a non-intensive care unit setting.

Design: Prospective, descriptive study.

Subjects And Setting: The study sample consisted of patients cared for on 2 inpatient care units in a university-based acute care facility in the Midwestern United States.

Catheter securement systems: comparison of two investigational devices to a sutureless securement device, a securement dressing, and sutures in a pig model.

Background: Catheter securement is critical for the success of infusion therapy and to prevent complications. Our purpose was to compare the strength of catheter securement achieved with two investigational adhesive securement devices to two securement products and also to sutures using an in vivo animal model.

Methods: Twenty-five live pigs were prepared for aseptic abdominal surgery.

Nitric oxide levels in wound fluid may reflect the healing trajectory.

We analyzed nitric oxide metabolites (nitrate and nitrite, NOx) and other biomarkers in human wound fluids and correlated these markers with wound healing status (progressing or worsening) based on patient's wound history. Samples were collected pre- and postcleansing from patients with wounds of various etiologies and analyzed for NOx, matrix metalloproteinase activity, and elastase activity. A laboratory method was developed to analyze NOx which can detect at least 5 μM in samples as small as 10 μL.

A comparison of the in vitro moisture vapour transmission rate and in vivo fluid-handling capacity of six adhesive foam dressings to a newly reformulated adhesive foam dressing.

This study compared moisture vapour transmission rate (MVTR) and wear time or fluid-handling capacities of six adhesive foam dressings to a reformulated control dressing. Standardised in vitro MVTR methodology and a previously published in vivo artificial wound model (AWM) were used. Mean inverted MVTR for the reformulated dressing was 12 750 g/m(2) /24 hours and was significantly higher than four of the six comparator dressings (P < 0·0001), which ranged from 830 to 11 360 g/m(2) /24 hours.

A new in vivo test method to compare wound dressing fluid handling characteristics and wear time.

A refined in vivo artificial wound model utilizing artificial wound fluid (AWF) was developed to overcome important limitations such as adhesive-skin interactions, movement, pressure, shear, and varying environmental conditions in in vitro models. Using this model, a study with primary endpoints of wear time and fluid handling capacity was conducted to compare two foam dressings: a high performance (HPF) dressing and an adhesive dressing (AAF). A 10-cm(2) artificial wound bed, created using a nonstick absorbent pad, was applied to the lower back of 24 healthy volunteers and the tip of a 23-gauge catheter was inserted into the pad to administer AWF.

Suppression of regrowth of normal skin flora under chlorhexidine gluconate dressings applied to chlorhexidine gluconate-prepped skin.

Background: Catheter colonization and bloodstream infection during the first week after insertion of a central venous catheter have been shown to result from the patient's own skin flora.

Methods: The backs of 32 healthy subjects were prepped with a 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG)/70% isopropyl alcohol antiseptic. Three dressings, 2 of which contained CHG, were placed on the prepped skin in a randomized design.

A randomized controlled trial to compare the complications of 2 peripheral intravenous catheter-stabilization systems.

An open-label, prospective, randomized, noninferiority study was conducted at a large academic, Magnet-designated, Level I trauma center to compare the peripheral intravenous catheter securement-related complication rates of 2 different stabilization systems. The control stabilization system included the StatLock device with a nonwinged catheter, and the investigational stabilization system included a closed catheter system with a specially designed Tegaderm dressing. Data from 302 subjects indicated that the investigational stabilization system was noninferior or similar to the control stabilization system with respect to the overall securement-related complications.

A randomised controlled 8-week crossover clinical evaluation of the 3M Coban 2 Layer Compression System versus Profore to evaluate the product performance in patients with venous leg ulcers.

This study compared a two-layer (Coban 2 Layer) and a four-layer (Profore) compression bandage system in venous leg ulcer patients. Participants (n = 81) were enrolled into an 8-week, randomised, open-label, ten-centre, crossover clinical trial. The primary endpoint was bandage slippage measured at each dressing change.

Sequential gene profiling of basal cell carcinomas treated with imiquimod in a placebo-controlled study defines the requirements for tissue rejection.

Background: Imiquimod is a Toll-like receptor-7 agonist capable of inducing complete clearance of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and other cutaneous malignancies. We hypothesized that the characterization of the early transcriptional events induced by imiquimod may provide insights about immunological events preceding acute tissue and/or tumor rejection.

Results: We report a paired analysis of adjacent punch biopsies obtained pre- and post-treatment from 36 patients with BCC subjected to local application of imiquimod (n = 22) or vehicle cream (n = 14) in a blinded, randomized protocol.

Dietary intake and food sources of whole grains among US children and adolescents: data from the 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals.

Objective: This study characterizes whole grain consumption among a nationally representative sample of US children and adolescents.

Design: Data used in this study were collected as part of the 1994-1996 US Department of Agriculture Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII).

Subjects/setting: CSFII was designed to obtain a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized persons of all ages residing in the United States.