Fixation of the short-term central venous catheter. A comparison of two techniques

Purpose: To compare the fixation of the central venous catheter (CVC) using two suture techniques. Methods: A clinical, analytical, interventional, longitudinal, prospective, controlled, single-blind and randomized study in adult, intensive care unit (ICU) patients. After admission and indication of CVC use, the patients were allocated to the Wing group (n = 35, catheter fixation with clamping wings and retainers) or Shoelace group (n = 35, catheter fixation using shoelace cross-tied sutures around the device). Displacement, kinking, fixation failure, hyperemia at the insertion site, purulent secretion, loss of the device, psychomotor agitation, mental confusion, and bacterial growth at the insertion site were evaluated. Results: Compared with the Wing group, the Shoelace group had a lower occurrence of catheter displacement (n=0 versus n =4; p = 0.04), kinking (n=0 versus n=8; p=0.001), and fixation failure (n=2 versus n=8; p=0.018). No significant difference was found in bacterial growth (n=20 versus n=14; p=0.267) between groups. Conclusion: The Shoelace fixation technique presented fewer adverse events than the Wing fixation technique.(AU)

The use of a biocompatible cement in endodontic surgery. A randomized clinical trial

PURPOSE:To evaluate the clinical applicability of Pozzolana Biologic Silva cement (PBS(r)) in endodontic surgery.METHODS:Persistent apical periodontitis was diagnosed in 30 teeth of 12 patients by cone-beam computed tomography (CT). All patients had 2 or 4 affected teeth and underwent endodontic surgery with root-end filling. Patients with 2 affected teeth had one tooth (control) treated with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA-Angelus(r)) as a root-end filling material, and the other tooth treated with PBS (experiment). When the patient had four affected teeth, two of them were treated with MTA and two with PBS. Six months after surgery, all patients were assessed by CT scan. Between-group comparisons of measurements were performed using the Wilcoxon test.RESULTS:Periradicular tissue regeneration was observed in all cases. Significant within-group differences in long axes of the lesion were found in the bucco-palatal direction (PBS group, p=0.0012; MTA group, p=0.024) and coronal-apical direction (PBS group, p=0.0007; MTA group, p=0.0015) between pre- and postoperative measurements.CONCLUSIONS:Pozzolana Biologic Silva cement can be used in the treatment of persistent periradicular lesions. The clinical use of PBS as a root-end filling material may be an alternative to MTA. PBS has additives, which provide enhanced strength.(AU)

Repair of surgical wounds in rats using a 10 por cento unripe Musa sapientum peel gel

To investigate the efficacy of a 10% gel of unripe banana (Musa sapientum) peel in treating surgical wounds in rats. A longitudinal, prospective, randomized triple-blind study was conducted with 60 Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) weighing approximately 400g. The animals were randomly divided into: control group (treated with gel containing no active ingredient) and study group (treated with 10% gel of unripe banana peel). The gel was applied every three days to a 4x4-cm surgical wound created on the back of each animal (day 0) in both groups. Tissue samples were collected for histological analysis on days 14, 21 and 28. On day 14, more extensive vascular proliferation (p=0.023), presence of mononuclear cells (p=0.000), fibroblast proliferation (p=0.012), re-epithelialization (p=0.000), and decreased presence of polymorphonuclear cells (p=0.010) were observed in the study group than in controls. No significant between-group difference in the presence of polymorphonuclear cells was found on day 21. Fibroblast proliferation was significantly greater (p=0.006) in the study group than in the control group on day 28. The 10% gel of unripe banana peel showed anti-inflammatory activity and stimulated wound healing in rat skin when compared with a gel containing no active ingredient.(AU)