Effect of Triclosan-Coated Suture and Antibiotic Prophylaxis on Infection and Recurrence after Karydakis Flap Repair for Pilonidal Disease: A Randomized Parallel-Arm Double-Blinded Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Pilonidal sinus disease was first described by Mayo in 1833 as "a cyst that contains hair." Although surgical treatment of the lesions can have successful outcomes, it also can be associated with relatively high rates of post-operative infectioins and recurrence. Many studies have demonstrated that triclosan-coated sutures (TCS) decrease surgical site infections. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this randomized parallel-arm double-blind clinical trial was to investigate the ability of antibiotic prophylaxis, and secondarily of antibiotic-coated sutures, to prevent post-operative infections in the surgical management of pilonidal sinus disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The initial trial protocol aimed to compare early infections in patients who did and did not undergo antibiotic prophylaxis (AP(+) vs. AP(-)). A secondary goal was to compare the effects of TCS and conventional sutures (CS) on early infectious complication rates in the two groups. The AP(-) arm had to be terminated prematurely because of an unacceptably high rate of infectious complications. RESULTS: A total of 80 micro-organisms were recovered from 74 patients (69.8%). Methicillin-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most common isolates (30%). The most frequently detected anaerobic micro-organism was Actinomyces israelii (7.5%). The TCS and CS groups had similar rates of micro-organism growth (65.8% vs. 75.0%). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of wound dehiscence. Over the six-month follow-up, there were two recurrences, both in the TCS group. The difference was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that antibiotic prophylaxis is necessary in patients scheduled for Karydakis flap repair. In our study, TCS tended to be associated with a lower rate of infection, but this trend did not achieve statistical significance. Anaerobic micro-organisms dominated the infective isolates.

Are Helicobacter Pylori and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Related, and If So, How?

PURPOSE: Although many virulence factors have been defined for Helicobacter pylori (HP), vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) is known to be associated with apoptosis, the cag pathogenicity island protein (Cag-PAI), and growth factors. Both apoptosis and growth factors are thought to be related to the etiology of benign prostatic hyperpla­sia (BPH). Additionally, the relation between atherosclerosis-BPH and atherosclerosis-HP has also been reported in a limited number of studies. The aim of this pioneering study was to investigate the presence of HP in BPH patients who had undergone transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) and to discuss the potential pathophysiologic effects of HP on BPH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 113 cases who underwent TURP due to infravesical obstruction due to BPH were included in the study. Preoperatively, parameters including, age, height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), prostate specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume (PVo), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), fasting plasma insu­lin, and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS)values were evaluated. The presence of HP was investigated in the prostate specimens with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Postoperatively, histo­pathological evidence of chronic prostatitis (hCP) was also analyzed. RESULTS: HP was detected in 1.8% (n = 2) of the participants. Additionally, hCP was observed in 58.4% (n = 66) of the 113 patients. The demographic and clinical parameters confirmed the presence of BPH disease. CONCLUSION: Although BPH is a common disease, its physiologic etiology mechanisms are not clear. Based on our pilot study, despite its gastric location, we believe that HP should be considered in cases with clinical BPH because HP induces apoptosis and alterations in the equilibrium between apoptosis and local growth factors in addition to its recently demonstrated extragastric effects mediated via the atherosclerotic pathway. Although our uncontrolled pioneer study was not designed to investigate the pathophysiologic mechanism, the isolation of HP from prostatic adenoma suggests the need for further well-designed studies on this topic.