What do children aged 12-18 think about COVID-19 vaccines?

OBJECTIVES: Vaccines are crucial for preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and controlling its effects. We aimed to determine the desire of children aged 12-18 to be vaccinated with the current vaccines, the reasons for wanting or not wanting to be vaccinated, where they had learned about the vaccine, how many of the children with a history of chronic disease want to be vaccinated, and which factors affect them. METHODS: A questionnaire form was completed for children aged 12-18 years who applied to Gazi University Pediatric Emergency Department and the Child Health and Diseases Polyclinic between April 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022. RESULTS: A total of 924 children participated in the study. The mean age of the participants was 14.64±1.77 years. The willingness to be vaccinated was 83.1%. Being older, living in the city, having a mother, father, or sibling who was vaccinated, information about vaccines obtained from health personnel, a completed national vaccination program, and the presence of a first-degree relative in the healthcare field significantly increased the probability of the child being vaccinated. The most important factors affecting the desire to be vaccinated in children were the vaccination status of the mother, father, or sibling and the completed national vaccination program. CONCLUSION: We found that the immunization status of the parents is the most important factor guiding the child's desire to be vaccinated and that the most common reason for vaccine hesitancy is the side effects of the vaccine.

Evaluation of Physicians' Knowledge About Honey/Sucralfate Treatments in Children With Button Battery Ingestion.

OBJECTIVES: Ingestion of button batteries (BBs) causes serious mortality and morbidity. We aimed to evaluate the knowledge level of physicians working in pediatric emergency departments about the updated guidelines for BB ingestion and whether they used honey and sucralfate, which have proven positive effects in preventing mucosal damage, in their daily practice. METHODS: A "Google Form" questionnaire was prepared and used to evaluate the approach of physicians who worked in pediatric emergency department with questions about pediatric patients who were admitted with the suspicion of BB swallowing. RESULTS: A total of 263 physicians, 169 women (64.3%), with a mean age of 34.5 ± 7.3 years, participated in the study. Seventy-five percent of the participants were from tertiary care hospitals, and 60.8% had less than 5 years of pediatric emergency experience. Some 71.9% of the physicians who participated in the survey (n = 189) had no algorithm at their hospitals. Fifty-eight percent (n = 152) of the participants completely and correctly answered all our survey questions about battery swallowing. Fifty-eight (22.1%) of the participants administered sucralfate, and 12.2% (n = 32) used honey treatments in patients who swallowed BBs; 68.1% (n = 179) had never heard of the use of sucralfate, and 77.6% (n = 204) had never heard of honey applications before in the management of swallowed batteries. CONCLUSION: It was determined that the physicians who managed pediatric battery swallowing cases had deficiencies in their treatment approaches, they had no protocol in their institutions, and the use of mucosal damage mitigation and neutralization treatments, such as honey and sucralfate, was insufficient.

A retrospective study to describe the clinical pattern of dermatologic lesions from the pediatric emergency department: our experience from a tertiary care hospital in Turkey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dermatologic lesions that occur primarily or are secondary to disease are among the most common reasons for referral to the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED). This study aims to reveal the clinical features, diagnostic distribution, and management of patients who presented to the PED with dermatologic lesions. METHODS: The study was a retrospective cross-sectional study involving children aged 0-18 years who presented to Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, PED, in 2018 with dermatologic lesions. The SPSS-20 program was used for data analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1590 patients, 57.8% (919) male, were included in the study. The median age was 75 (minimum: 4 days; maximum: 17 years, 11 months) months. The frequency of dermatologic lesions was 4.33% (433/10,000). Allergic and infectious dermatologic lesions, which are the two most common skin lesions in all age groups, were seen in 46.2% (735) and 30.5% (485) (patients, respectively. Urticaria (n = 588, 37%) was the most common in allergic rashes, and viral rashes (n = 162, 10.2%) were the most common in infectious rashes. Ninety-four percent (1495) of the patients were discharged from the PED. Two patients were hospitalized and followed up as dermatologic emergencies. CONCLUSION: Urticaria and viral eruptions are common dermatologic lesions in our PED. Both conditions are easily recognized and treated by physicians. Most lesions do not require hospitalization. Dermatologic emergencies, although rare, should be well-known to physicians.

Individual Factors Influencing the Public's Perceptions About the Importance of COVID-19 Immunity Certificates in the United Kingdom: Cross-sectional Web-based Questionnaire Survey.

BACKGROUND: Understanding how perceptions around immunity certificates are influenced by individual characteristics is important to inform evidence-based policy making and implementation strategies for services around immunity and vaccine certification. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess what were the main individual factors influencing people's perception of the importance of using COVID-19 immunity certificates, including health beliefs about COVID-19, vaccination views, sociodemographics, and lifestyle factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional web-based survey with a nationally representative sample in the United Kingdom was conducted on August 3, 2021. Responses were collected and analyzed from 534 participants, aged 18 years and older, who were residents of the United Kingdom. The primary outcome measure (dependent variable) was the participants' perceived importance of using immunity certificates, computed as an index of 6 items. The following individual drivers were used as the independent variables: (1) personal beliefs about COVID-19 (using constructs adapted from the Health Belief Model), (2) personal views on vaccination, (3) willingness to share immunity status with service providers, and (4) variables related to respondents' lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: The perceived importance of immunity certificates was higher among respondents who felt that contracting COVID-19 would have a severe negative impact on their health (ß=0.2564; P<.001) and felt safer if vaccinated (ß=0.1552; P<.001). The prospect of future economic recovery positively influenced the perceived importance of immunity certificates. Respondents who were employed or self-employed (ß=-0.2412; P=.001) or experienced an increase in income after the COVID-19 pandemic (ß=-0.1287; P=.002) perceived the use of immunity certificates as less important compared to those who were unemployed or had retired or those who had experienced a reduction in their income during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our survey suggest that more vulnerable members in our society (those unemployed or retired and those who believe that COVID-19 would have a severe impact on their health) and people who experienced a reduction in income during the pandemic perceived the severity of not using immunity certificates in their daily life as higher.

Electrocardiographic changes after breast reduction surgery.

Macromastia is associated with symptoms related to postural changes and decreased mobility. Breast reduction surgery (BRS) is the treatment of choice for these patients. Anatomical and structural changes in body posture and habitus might cause changes in electrocardiography (ECG). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the outcome of BRS on ECG changes of the patients after surgery. Study population included 33 female patients who had undergone BRS. ECG records of every patient before procedure and 6 months after procedure were analyzed retrospectively. Patients were naïve of known cardiac diseases and the patients did not have any known arrhythmia. The mean age of the study population was 40.8 ± 9.6. Total removed breast tissue from both sides was 1493 (1052-2138) mL, as 800 (513-1093) mL removed from right side and 740 (519-1050) mL removed from left side. There were significant changes in ECG of the patients in post-operative period. Atrial conduction parameters such as, PR duration (p<.001), Pmax duration (p<.001) and P wave dispersion (p<.001) were significantly decreased post-operatively. Additionally, ventricular conduction parameters such as, TPe duration (p<.001), TPe/QT (p=.013) and TPe/QTc (p=.005) ratios were found significantly decreased in ECGs of the patients. BRS as a treatment for macromastia does not only improve posture and mobility of the patients and also have positive impact on cardiac conductions. In patients those had BRS, atrial and ventricular conductions detected by ECG recordings were improved after surgery.

Airport business models and the COVID-19 pandemic: An exploration of the UK case study.

The COVID-19 pandemic had been a major crisis for the air transport industry due to its global reach, duration, and continuing uncertainty. Demand for air travel fell globally by around 90% in the period immediately following the introduction of lockdown restrictions which induced significant revenue loss for the industry and led to widespread bankruptcies and job losses. Within this extremely challenging business environment, commercially operated airports have struggled. This paper investigates how airport management has been impacted by this sudden and prolonged fall in the demand for air travel. Specifically, the UK case was studied through the Business Model Canvas, with documentary evidence supplemented with 31 in-depth interviews from the Government, airports, airlines, and other aviation organisations and from a variety of stakeholder roles within airports across the country. Interviewees were asked about how airport business models responded to COVID-19 and how they were likely to change in the future as a consequence. The findings suggest that COVID-19 encouraged airports to restructure key components in their business models. Fundamentally, airports have significant fixed costs, and it has been especially challenging to run terminals and operations with little or no revenue from conventional channels. The study finds airports were introducing more flexibility into their cost base while diversifying their revenue streams into areas such as developing business parks and enhancing retail portfolios. This is leading to a restructuring of airport business models to improve resilience to future systemic shocks. Overall, 4 future airport business drivers and approaches have emerged: 1) Cost-effectiveness and minimisation, 2) Diversification of revenue streams and intensified commercial activities, 3) Enhanced digitalisation and operational efficiency, and 4) Sustainability focused approach.

Traumatic brain injury detection performance of the infant scalp score in children younger than 2 years in the pediatric emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Our study sought to externally validate the Infant Scalp Score (ISS) within an international pediatric emergency department (PED) setting. The ISS for pediatric Closed Head Injury (CHI), includes age, hematoma localization, and size, and has the potential to predict the presence of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on computed tomography. We aimed to describe a potentially low risk cohort of children younger than 24 months with CHI and scalp hematomas, where clinicians may limit diagnostic radiation exposure to this vulnerable patient population. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study was conducted in Gazi University. Faculty of Medicine, Pediatric Emergency Department, a tertiary trauma care hospital. We reviewed patients (< 24 months) with CHI and scalp hematoma who visited the PED of our institution between January 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021 for rates of TBI and clinically important TBI (ciTBI). RESULTS: 380 cases met inclusion criteria for this study. The median age was 11 months and 58.7% were male children. 121 (31.8%) patients underwent CT, and 57% (n:69) of these studies were normal. TBI on CT was found in 26 (21.5%) patients with ciTBI was detected in 5 (1.3%) patients. All children with TBI were noted to have ISS scores of ≥ 5. Hematoma location OR 18.9 (95% CI, 3.4-105.1) and hematoma size OR 3.0 (95% CI, 1.2-7.3) were positively associated with presence of TBI. CONCLUSIONS: Children with ISS scores of ≥ 5 were noted to have increased rates of both TBI and ciTBI. CHI related scalp hematomas located in the temporal/parietal region or with a size greater than 3 cm were associated with increased rates of TBI. Within the context of this study, ISS scores of 4 or less represented a lower risk for TBI and ciTBI. Future research on this potentially low risk pediatric CHI cohort is needed.

Electromyographic and Clinical Investigation of the Effect of Platelet-Rich Plasma on Peripheral Nerve Regeneration in Patients with Diabetes after Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy. Studies have shown that results of CTS surgery are poorer in patients with diabetes. In this study, the effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on nerve regeneration was investigated through clinical and electromyographic findings in patients with diabetes who underwent CTS surgery. Methods A retrospective analysis of 20 patients with diabetes who had surgically decompressed CTS was conducted. Patients were divided into two groups. The study group received PRP treatment following surgery. The control group did not receive any treatment. Patients were assessed using electromyography and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire preoperatively as well as postoperatively at 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year follow-ups visits. Results There was a decrease in complaints and an improvement in sensory and motor examinations in both groups. The Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire scores did not show any statistically significant differences between the two groups. However, electromyographic findings showed that there were statistical differences between preoperative and postoperative (3 months, 6 months, and 1 year) results in both groups. When the two groups were compared using preoperative and postoperative (3 months, 6 months, and 1 year) electromyographic values, no statistically significant differences were seen. Conclusion Single injections of PRP did not have a significant impact on median nerve regeneration following CTS surgery in patients with diabetes. The effectiveness of multiple PRP injections can be investigated in patients with diabetes in future studies.

Kaposi's sarcoma management from a plastic surgery perspective.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a low-grade angioproliferative tumor arising from endothelial cells and associated with Human Herpes Virus 8 infection. Although there are considerable number of patients referred for surgical excision, the plastic surgery literature on KS is exceptionally scarce. In this study, it was aimed to emphasize the differences in the management of Kaposi's Sarcoma and help to understand the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, accordingly the sake of choosing the ideal treatment method for each lesion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients who were operated with the diagnosis of KS between March 2015 and January 2020 were included. Preoperative HIV tests and detailed whole-body examinations of the patients were performed. As a surgical method, for lesions with sizes ranging from 0.5 * 1 cm to 2 * 3 cm, excisions were made over the deep skin fascia by placing a margin between 0.5-1 cm, considering the anatomical location and elasticity of the skin. RESULTS: Primary repair was performed in 23 patients (40 lesions) and 12 lesions of 8 patients were repaired with a skin graft. In four patients the repair was performed with local skin flaps. In a patient with a lesion on the finger, the defect that occurred after the excision of the lesion was repaired with a pedicled regional flap. CONCLUSIONS: One-stage surgical excision of the lesions provides remarkable advantages, compared to the therapies such as radiotherapy, laser, or chemotherapy which require several administrations.

Kaposi's sarcoma is a vascular tumor with five different clinical forms. The lesions in Kaposi's sarcoma are seen in the skin, oral mucosa, lymph nodes, and visceral organs. Most patients present with cutaneous lesions. In our study, surgical excision is performed for 57 cutaneous lesions of 30 patients. When we compared with literature data, higher upper extremity involvement, less systemic involvement and less pronounced male predominance were considerable differences. A multidisciplinary approach and the ideal treatment method for each lesion has remarkable importance in KS management.

Why 'one size fits all' is not enough when designing COVID-19 immunity certificates for domestic use: a UK-wide cross-sectional online survey.

OBJECTIVES: The present study explored public's willingness to use COVID-19 immunity certificates across six different domestic scenarios. DESIGN: Cross-sectional online survey. SETTING: UK representative survey conducted on 3 August 2021. PARTICIPANTS: 534 UK residents over 18 years old. INTERVENTIONS: Participants replied to the same set of questions. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was willingness to use immunity certificates across three different domestic settings: (1) visiting the general practitioner (GP) for a non-urgent health issue; (2) dining in a restaurant and (3) attending a performance in a theatre. For each setting two options, one prioritising convenience (option A) and the other privacy (option B), were offered. Our secondary outcome measures were computed indices from items adapted from the Health Belief Model; attitudes towards sharing immunity status with service providers; prior to COVID-19 lifestyle. In addition, we recorded data about respondents' sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Respondents were more willing to use immunity certificates that prioritised convenience (92%), rather than privacy (76%), when visiting their GP . However, privacy was more favourable in the other two settings (dining in a restaurant (84%) and going to a theatre (83%)) compared with convenience (38% and 39% respectively). Personal beliefs about COVID-19 and immunity certificates were associated with variations in willingness to use these across all scenarios. No variations were observed across sociodemographics and lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this survey suggest that there is not one-size-fits-all solution for designing immunity certificates. Immunity certificates are complex sociotechnical systems, any attempt to implement these for domestic use should be tailored to different settings and user needs. The design of certification services requires a more evidence-based approach and further research is needed to understand how different settings, design elements (like convenience or privacy) and personal beliefs about the pandemic should inform their design.

Are laboratory evaluations required in every case admitted to the pediatric emergency department with epistaxis?

BACKGROUND: Epistaxis is a mostly self-limiting condition common among children and is rarely severe. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the incidence, demographic characteristics, causes of bleeding and treatment methods of patients who presented to the pediatric emergency department (PED) with epistaxis, and to determine in which cases a laboratory test should be used. METHOD: Admitted to Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, PED which provides trauma care and is a tertiary hospital, from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019, 452 patients aged 0-18 years who presented with epistaxis for any reason or secondary to systemic disease were analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: The annual incidence was found at 1.23%. The median age was 5.25 years, 258 of the cases (57.1%) were male. It was found that the cases most frequently applied to the hospital in the autumn months (37.6%). Sixty of the patients (13.3%) had a chronic disease and 54 (11.9%) had a history of drug use. Bleeding time was less than 5 minutes in 75.2% and 84.4% of the bleeding was unilateral. Nasal bleeding is local in 73.4%; 4.7% of them developed because of systemic reasons. The most common cause of epistaxis; while they were trauma at the first 10 years of age, they were idiopathic causes after the age of 10 years. In 434 (96%) of the patients, epistaxis spontaneously stopped and there was no need for additional treatment. CONCLUSION: As a result of this study, it was concluded that laboratory tests should be performed in cases with chronic disease history, bilateral bleeding, active bleeding and nontraumatic epistaxis. The situation that causes epistaxis in the childhood age group should be determined with a good history and physical examination, laboratory tests should not be used in every patient.

Autologous Biological Vitamin-C-added (ABC) Filler for Facial Volume Restoration.

PURPOSE: Face rejuvenation procedures with injectable agents continue to gain popularity. Nowadays, a variety of commercial products are available as filler material. Ideal fillers should be inexpensive, easily obtainable, nontoxic, and biocompatible. The aim of this study is to report a clinical perspective for an appropriate, feasible, and inexpensive protocol of a stable, autologous biological filler for facial volume restoring without any commercial kits. METHODS: Eight patients were investigated who underwent facial injection with ABC filler. Eleven ml of whole blood was placed in standard tubes containing anticoagulant and for each patient, 8 tubes were prepared. After the centrifugation at 1630 xg for 5 minutes, the upper plasma was taken, calcium was added and cooled. After the addition of vitamin C, the syringes were incubated at 85 °C for 10 minutes. The autologous biological material obtained was used as filling material. For comparison, FACE-Q satisfaction questionnaires were used before and after the procedure. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for a minimum of 4 months. No major complications were recorded. The patient-reported FACE-Q satisfaction and FACE-Q quality of life pre- and post-procedure results showed statistically significant improvement (p  <  0.05). Overall satisfaction with the outcome was 89.12 ± 16.73 (range 55-100). CONCLUSIONS: ABC filler can be seen as a reliable, inexpensive, and easily obtainable material to restore facial volume with increased patient satisfaction and quality of life scores. We believe that our study will be encouraging to the application of autologous biological fillers for further clinical and scientific studies. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Synthesis, molecular modeling studies, ADME prediction of arachidonic acid carbamate derivatives, and evaluation of their acetylcholinesterase activity.

In this work, a series of novel anandamide units containing carbamate were designed and synthesized. All the derivatives were evaluated in vitro for their inhibitory potential against the electric eel acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE) and showed reversible inhibitions. The compounds 7a, 7d, 7e, and 7f are mixed inhibitors of AChE, while the compounds 7b, 7c, and 7g are uncompetitive (Ki in the range 0.93-8.86 µM). The kinetic studies revealed that compounds 7b, 7c, 7f, and 7g inhibit considerably AChE activity. Molecular docking analyses were made to evaluate the binding type and interactions of the synthesized compounds to the ligand-binding site of hAChE. It was observed that the docking results were in parallel with the in vitro results. The adsorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion properties were computed for the compounds, and were found within the acceptable range. This study suggests the compounds 7b, 7c, 7f, and 7g identified as novel reversible AChE inhibitors may be useful lead compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Leucocyte- and platelet-rich fibrin as a rescue therapy for small-to-medium-sized complex wounds of the lower extremities.

BACKGROUND: Generally, advanced wound care resources are applied for complex wounds that pose a challenge to the medical and nursing teams. In this report, the use of leukocyte- and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) is emphasized for complex wounds as an alternative, simple, inexpensive, time-saving process that does not require hospitalization and has a healing potential over that of bare soft tissue, including bone, tendon, and ligaments. The aim of this study is to extend the use of L-PRF in small-to-moderate-sized complex wounds of lower extremities in which L-PRF maintains the sensitive structures viable. METHODS: Between January 2016 and December 2017, 17 small-to-moderate-sized complex wounds of lower extremities treated with L-PRF were recruited from the plastic and reconstructive surgery clinic in Aydin State Hospital, Turkey. The treatment was administered twice per week in the outpatient clinic. Depending on the size and extension of the complex wound, two to five blood samples were collected into 8.5 ml dry, glass vacuum tubes with no anticoagulant, and samples were immediately centrifuged at 1630×g for 5 min to obtain L-PRF. Complete healing was defined as the day of complete wound epithelialization. RESULTS: The median values of the initial wound size and wound duration were 12 cm2 (interquartile range, 6 to 23 cm2) and 8 months before first admission (interquartile range, 4 to 18 months), respectively. All wounds showed significant improvements after L-PRF therapy and full closure after a median of 18 months, with an interquartile range of 11 to 34 months of L-PRF applications. There were recurrences of wounds during the first 6 months after therapy. No adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our results add to the growing evidence that L-PRF treatments protect and maintain bare soft tissue structures viable, facilitate the formation of granulation tissue and epithelization, and remarkably reduce the need for additional soft tissue surgeries in small-to-medium-sized complex wounds.

The Impact of Duration and Force of Centrifugation on Platelet Content and Mass in the Preparation of Platelet-Rich Plasma.

PURPOSE: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous prepared plasma enriched with platelets and obtained after a centrifugal separation and aggregation procedure. However, the optimized preparation protocol for PRP is still controversial and there are no standardized preparation protocols. The aim of this study is to show the effect of time and force of the centrifugation on the concentrations of platelets and to optimize the effective PRP preparation protocol. METHODS: For the study, whole blood was drawn into 24 different 6-ml standard tubes containing 0.6 ml anticoagulant citrate dextrose solution-formula A. The samples were centrifuged separately at forces of 45×g, 180×g, 400×g, 725×g, 1130×g and 1630×g for 5, 10, 15 and 20 min. Every sample was analyzed, and a comparison was made between all groups. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in terms of platelet concentration, mean platelet volume or platelet mass between all groups (p > 0.05). The mean ± SD of platelet mass in baseline is 1890 ± 134 × 103 fL/µL. The mean ± SD of platelet mass in the high centrifugal force of 1630×g was 3395 ± 564 × 103 fL/µL, 2638 ± 425 × 103 fL/µL, 2355 ± 449 × 103 fL/µL and 2109 ± 41 × 103 fL/µL over times of 5, 10, 15 and 20 min, respectively. The mean ± SD of platelet mass in the low centrifugal force of 45×g was 2002 ± 1623 × 103 fL/µL, 2491 ± 1591 × 103 fL/µL, 2611 ± 876 × 103 fL/µL and 3003 ± 511 × 103/µL over times of 5, 10, 15 and 20 min, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Platelets should be evaluated with platelet mass not including platelet concentrations alone, but also with mean platelet volume, which symbolizes the size of platelets while comparing platelet-rich plasma preparation protocols and kits. This could be a new starting point for comparison of PRP for all applications in the literature. All centrifugation forces and times could produce biologically reactive PRP. It may be only suggested that if high acceleration force is used, low durations should be selected, or if low acceleration force is used, long time of centrifugation should be selected. NO LEVEL ASSIGNED: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Barbed sutures versus conventional tenorrhaphy in flexor tendon repair: An ex vivo biomechanical analysis.

BACKGROUND: The management of flexor tendon injuries has evolved in recent years through industrial improvements in suture materials, refinements of repair methods, and early rehabilitation protocols. However, there is no consensus on the ideal suture material and technique. This study was conducted to compare the tensile strength, repair time, and characteristics of 4-strand cruciate, modified Kessler, and 4-strand horizontal intrafiber barbed sutures for flexor tenorrhaphy with a 12-mm suture purchase length in an animal model. METHODS: The right third deep flexors of 60 adult Leghorn chicken feet were isolated and repaired with a 12-mm suture purchase length. The tendons were randomly assigned to three groups of equal number (n=20 each). Groups 1 and 2 received 4-strand cruciate and modified Kessler repair with conventional suture materials, respectively. A 4-strand horizontal intrafiber barbed suture technique was used in group 3. The repaired tendons were biomechanically tested for tensile strength, 2-mm gap resistance, and mode of failure. Repair times were also recorded. RESULTS: The maximum tensile strength until failure was 44.6±4.3 N in group 1, 35.7±5.2 N in group 2, and 56.7±17.3 N in group 3. The barbed sutures were superior to the other sutures in terms of the load needed for 2-mm gap formation (P<0.05). Furthermore, the barbed sutures showed the shortest repair time (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that 4-strand horizontal intrafiber barbed suture repair with a 12-mm purchase length in a chicken flexor tendon injury model showed promising biomechanical properties and took less time to perform than other options.

Micro-Autologous Fat Transplantation Combined With Platelet-Rich Plasma for Facial Filling and Regeneration: A Clinical Perspective in the Shadow of Evidence-Based Medicine.

Despite the popularity of lipofilling procedures in recent years, the presence of older habits still in fat graft harvesting and processing seems to be the biggest obstacle to the final better outcome of fat grafting. Our study is aimed to highlight some strategies what should be done in fat grafting in the shadow of evidence-based medicine and patient-reported outcomes which might be of interest to the clinicians. Between 2015 and 2017, 14 patients were included who underwent facial micro-autologous fat transplantation with platelet-rich plasma injection. The outcome was determined by the difference in presurgery and postsurgery FACE-Q modules, which were designed as patient-reported outcome instrument to evaluate the unique outcomes of patients undergoing facial cosmetic procedures. Surveys conducted were modules of satisfaction with facial appearance, satisfaction with cheeks, satisfaction with skin, psychological function, social function, aging appearance appraisal, and satisfaction with the outcome. All patients were followed up minimum 9 months. No major complications were recorded. The patient-reported FACE-Q satisfaction and FACE-Q quality-of-life presurgery and postsurgery results showed statistically significant improvement (<0.001). Overall satisfaction with the outcome was 87.6 ±â€Š16.8 (range 55-100). A combination of platelet-rich plasma and micro-fat grafting with soft harvesting and processing could be seen a good surgical technique to restore volume and enhance skin quality in facial soft tissue augmentation. The authors believe that with minimum detrimental effect on fat grafting while harvesting, processing, and with the addition of platelet-rich plasma while applying may increase the surgeon's and patient's satisfaction with the outcome.

An important and overlooked parameter in platelet rich plasma preparation: The mean platelet volume.

BACKGROUND: The platelets are the most heterogeneous cellular elements of the blood in size whereas larger platelets have more granules that make them more reactive rather than their smaller counterparts. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to report the distribution of platelets in the plasma after centrifugation steps. METHODS: Twelve healthy male subjects were enrolled.5.4 mL of whole blood samples were collected for each tube containing 0.6 mL of acid citrate dextrose. Four samples were centrifuged at the force of 180 × g for 15 minutes. Then, 0.6 mL buffy coat was drawn from one of the four centrifuged tubes and 1/3 of the lower layer of the plasma (1.0 mL) from the second centrifuged tube; 1/3 of the middle(1.0 mL) and 1/3 of the upper layer (1.0 mL) of the plasma from third and fourth ones were drawn for blood analysis. RESULTS: Blood analysis including MPV and platelet concentrations were significantly different between the layers (P < .05). Together buffy coat and lower third of plasma layers contain 87% of the entire platelet mass. CONCLUSIONS: Platelets should not be argued only with their concentration, but it would be appropriate to evaluate with their yielded concentration and volume with MPV together while comparing PRP preparation protocols and kits.