Changing practices in septorhinoplasty: the Irish experience.

PURPOSE: Septorhinoplasty (SR) is one of the most complex surgical procedures of the head and neck. As an elective procedure aiming to enhance patient quality of life, it can be difficult to perform in single-payer healthcare systems due to capacity pressures from acute and oncological surgical demand. We aimed to review national trends in the practice of SR to inform future healthcare planning. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, population-based, longitudinal study of SR cases in Ireland's single-payer (public) healthcare system from 2005 to 2021. Time-series analysis using a linear regression model was performed to analyse trends by operation type, revision rates and length of stay. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and introduction of national surgical guidelines was analysed. RESULTS: 1952 SR were performed. Annual mean cases declined in both real (r = - 0.76, p < 0.01) and relative (r = - 0.87, p < 0.01) terms by 31% and 43%, respectively. Ambulatory SR, while initially rarely performed, increased to account for 55% of cases performed. The mean hospital length of stay declined significantly (r = - 0.84, p < 0.01) by 44%. CONCLUSIONS: SR increasingly struggles to find its place in Ireland's public healthcare system. New changes in SR practices including the rapid growth of ambulatory surgery and shorter lengths of hospital stay indicate positive responses to the mounting pressures faced by healthcare systems.

Development of non-aqueous titrimetric and spectrophotometric methods for the determination of valganciclovir hydrochloride in bulk drug and tablets.

Two non-aqueous titrimetric and one visible spectrophotometric methods were developed and validated for the determination of valganciclovir hydrochloride (VLGH) in pure drug and tablets. The titrimetric methods were carried out by titrating the VLGH solution in glacial acetic acid with acetous perchloric acid (HClO4) in the presence of mercuric acetate and the end point of this titration was being located either visually (method A) or potentiometrically (method B). The spectrophotometric method (method C) was based on the addition of p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde (DMAB) solution to VLGH solution and the formed yellow condensation product was measured at 420nm. In titrimetric procedures, both the methods A and B were applicable over the range of 4-20mg VLGH, and the calculations were based on a 1:1 reaction stoichiometry (VLGH:HClO4). In a spectrophotometric method, Beer's law was valid in a concentration range of 5-50 µg/mL VLGH with the corresponding value of molar absorptivity of 4.43×103L/mol cm for method C. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) for method C were 0.3 and 0.92µg/mL, respectively. The developed methods were successfully applied to the determination of VLGH in tablets, and the results were statistically compared with those of a reference method by applying Student's t-test and F-test. Further, the validity of the developed methods was confirmed by recovery studies via standard addition technique.

Characterization of Insecticidal Genes of Bacillus thuringiensis Strains Isolated from Arid Environments.

This study aimed at characterizing the insecticidal genes of eight Bacillus thuringiensis isolates that were recovered from the local environment of western Saudi Arabia. The screening for the presence of lepidopteran-specific cry1A family and vip3A genes, dipteran-specific cry4 family and coleopteran-specific cry3A, vip1A and vip2A genes, was carried out by PCR. All eight isolates produced PCR products that confirmed the presence of cry1Aa, cry1Ab, cry1Ac, cry4A, cry4B genes, but not cry3A, vip1A and vip2A genes. However, three isolates only were found to carry vip3A genes as revealed by PCR. The observation of cry1 and cry4 genes suggests that these eight isolates may have dual activity against Lepidoptera and Diptera species, while three isolates possessed vip3 genes in addition to cry1 and cry4 which suggests that these three isolates have toxic crystals and vegetative proteins. The results of this study are interesting in the sense that they may help developing new strategies for controlling insects of economic and medical importance in Saudi Arabia, using B. thuringiensis strains that naturally exist in the local environment instead of the current control strategies that are based solely on chemical insecticides.