Nasal and hand carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in staff at a Department for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery: endogenous or exogenous source?

Objective: To investigate the rates of Staphylococcus aureus carriage on the hands and in the noses of healthcare workers (HCWs) and the relatedness of S. aureus isolates found in the two sites.

Design: Point-prevalence study.

Cheek and lip pressure against maxillary dental arch during dummy sucking.

The sucking pattern and intra-oral negative air pressure were studied simultaneously with the cheek/lip pressure in 12 children when sucking a dummy. The cheek/lip pressure was measured at the canine and at the second primary molar on the right side of the upper dental arch. The cheek/lip pressure peaks followed the intra-oral negative air sucking pressure peaks continuously.

Measurement of intra-oral negative air pressure during dummy sucking in human newborn.

Non-nutritive sucking on a dummy was studied in 23 clinically normal full-term infants with a mean gestational age of 40 weeks (SD 1.5). The intra-oral negative air pressure was measured by a miniature air pressure transducer inside a commercial dummy.