Skin closure with 2-octyl cyanoacrylate and polyester mesh after primary total knee arthroplasty offers superior cosmetic outcomes and patient satisfaction compared to staples: a prospective trial

European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology - The goals of this study were to compare patient satisfaction and wound-related complications in patients receiving 2-octyl cyanoacrylate...     

Substituting human chorionic gonadotropin by gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist to trigger final follicular maturation, during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, results in less systemic inflammation.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the degree of systemic inflammation, as reflected by serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, associated with controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) or gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for the induction of final follicular maturation. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. SETTING: An in vitro fertilization (IVF) unit of an academic medical center. PATIENTS: Twenty-four women undergoing COH and IVF with the flexible GnRH antagonist protocol were prospectively assigned to receive hCG or GnRH agonist for the induction of final follicular maturation. METHODS: Blood was drawn three times during COH for measurement of sex-steroid and CRP levels: the day on which adequate suppression was obtained (Day-0); the day of or prior to administration of hCG (Day-hCG); and (3) the day of ovum pick-up (Day-OPU). Levels were compared among the three time points in the two groups. RESULTS: No between-group differences were observed in terms of patient age, gonadotropin dosage, duration of stimulation or number of oocytes retrieved. Serum CRP levels were significantly higher on Day-OPU than on Day-hCG and Day-0, but the difference was significant only in the hCG group (p<0.03 for both). The percentage change in CRP levels after hCG administration (Day-OPU vs. Day-hCG) (96%) was higher than that after GnRH administration (23%). CONCLUSION: Administration of GnRH agonist in patients undergoing COH for IVF yields a lesser degree of systemic inflammation, as reflected by CRP levels, than hCG.     

Effects of pegfilgrastim on normal biodistribution of 18F-FDG: preclinical and clinical studies.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of pegfilgrastim, a long-acting granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, on the normal biodistribution of (18)F-FDG in an animal model and in humans. METHODS: Two groups of 12 rats received a single subcutaneous injection of either normal saline or pegfilgrastim. One, 7, 14, and 21 d after injection, biodistribution studies were performed 1 h after (18)F-FDG injection. Sixteen breast cancer patients underwent baseline (18)F-FDG PET/CT and, approximately 1 wk after receiving 1 dose of docetaxel and adjunctive pegfilgrastim, follow-up (18)F-FDG PET/CT (scan 2). Standardized uptake values corrected for lean body mass (SUL) were determined for several normal organs before and after therapy. RESULTS: In rats, bone marrow (18)F-FDG uptake (standardized uptake value) was higher in the pegfilgrastim group 1 d after injection (mean +/- SD, 8.3 +/- 4.1 vs. 2.5 +/- 0.2, P < 0.05), whereas (18)F-FDG uptake in blood was lower (0.41 +/- 0.06 vs. 0.49 +/- 0.01, P < 0.05). In patients, mean SUL was higher in bone marrow (4.49 +/- 1.50 vs. 1.33 +/- 0.22, P < 0.0001), spleen (3.29 +/- 0.83 vs. 1.23 +/- 0.23, P < 0.0001), and liver (1.45 +/- 0.25 vs. 1.31 +/- 0.23, P = 0.01) but lower in brain (4.18 +/- 0.76 vs. 5.14 +/- 1.44, P < 0.01) on scan 2 than on the baseline scan. CONCLUSION: In both the animal model and humans, pegfilgrastim markedly increased bone marrow uptake of (18)F-FDG and reduced (18)F-FDG uptake in some normal tissues. These profound alterations in (18)F-FDG biodistribution induced by pegfilgrastim must be considered when one is evaluating quantitative (18)F-FDG PET scans for tumor response to therapy.     

Better, (perhaps) cheaper, but is it best?

Patients presented at the emergency room with chest pain, non-characteristicECG changes and negative Troponin represent a very frequentclinical dilemma. These patients are often hospitalized unnecessarilyand frequently undergo non-invasive and even invasive investigationswhich turn out to be negative. Occasionally, they may falselybe discharged from the ER and eventually develop a major cardiacevent. The most common and apparently the cheapest test employedin the evaluation of these patients is standard exercise ECG.Jeetley et al.¹ prospectively studied a large group ofsuch patients. The patients     

Solid variant of odontogenic keratocyst

A case of an unusual lesion from the maxilla is presented. Macroscopically, the lesion was solid and histologically consisted of 'multiple separate keratocysts' of varying size that infiltrated into the surrounding bone and soft tissues. Panoramic image and CT scans showed a multilocular honeycomb ill-defined radiolucency with infiltration into the maxillary sinus and floor of orbit. This lesion should be differentiated from similar odontogenic lesions, such as keratoameloblastoma and papilliferous keratoameloblastoma. As there was no evidence of follicles, islands of ameloblastoma, or papilliferous structures in the entire specimen, the lesion could not be diagnosed as either a keratoameloblastoma or a papilliferous keratoameloblastoma. The invasive and destructive growth behavior, the histopathological features, and the histochemical pattern of the collagen stroma imply that this solid lesion is a neoplasia. It is suggested that the proper term for this lesion is solid variant of odontogenic keratocyst.     

Endocytosis of ultrafine particles by A549 cells

Alveolar epithelium's capacity to ingest inhaled ultrafine particles is not well characterized. The objectives of this study were to use an in vitro model of type II lung epithelium and evaluate the cells' ability to take up ultrafine particles (titanium dioxide [TiO(2)], 50 nm diameter). The human epithelial cell line A549 was grown on aclar substrates and exposed to 40 microg/ml TiO(2) particles for 3, 6, and 24 h before imaging with energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy. Elemental mapping and electron energy loss spectroscopy were used to colocalize Ti/O with electron-dense particles. Particle endocytosis was compared in A549 cells with and without pretreatment with cytochalasin D (cyto D) (2 microg/ml). After 3 h of TiO(2) exposure, cells internalized aggregates of the ultrafine particles which were observed in cytosolic, membrane-bound vacuoles. After 24 h of exposure there were considerably more intracellular aggregates of membrane-bound particles, and aggregated particles were also enmeshed in loosely and tightly packed lamellar bodies. Throughout 24 h of exposure a preponderance of particles remained associated with the free surface of the cells and were not internalized. The majority of membrane-bound vacuoles contained aggregates of particles and only occasionally did they contain as few as two or three particles, despite the use of several different approaches to assure the possibility for individual particles to be ingested and detected. There was morphologic evidence of microfilament disturbance, but no evidence of a decrease in internalized particles in cells pretreated with cyto D. Thus, this model of type II epithelium is able to internalize aggregates of ultrafine particles.