Accelerating Topical Anaesthesia Using Microneedles.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Topical anaesthetics reduce pain during venous access procedures in children. However, clinical use is hindered by a significant anaesthetic onset time. Restricted diffusion of the topical anaesthetic through the stratum corneum barrier is the principal reason for the delayed onset. Microneedles can painlessly pierce the skin. This study evaluated microneedle pre-treatment of ex vivo human skin as a means to increase the rate of tetracaine permeation, in order to accelerate the onset of anaesthesia. METHODS: Franz-type diffusion cells were used to determine permeation of a commercial tetracaine formulation, Ametop gel, through human skin epidermis. Microneedle-assisted permeation was compared to untreated epidermis. Upon completion of the permeation studies, the epidermal membranes were visually characterised. RESULTS: At 30 min, 5.43 µg/cm2 of tetracaine had permeated through the untreated membrane compared to 12.13 µg/cm2 through the microneedle-treated membrane. Insertion of a hypodermic needle created a large single channel in the epidermis (approx. 4,250 µm2) whilst the punctured surface area following microneedle treatments was estimated to be 75,000 µm2. CONCLUSION: Pre-treatment of skin with microneedles significantly enhances the permeation of tetracaine. Microneedles have the potential to more than halve the onset time for anaesthesia when applying Ametop gel.

A comparison of the minimum data sets for primary shoulder arthroplasty between national shoulder arthroplasty registries. Is international harmonization feasible?

The aims of this study were to identify the common components of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) of current national shoulder arthroplasty registries that could be pooled for analysis; and to determine whether further harmonisation of data collection across these registries would be feasible. Copies of primary shoulder arthroplasty MDS forms, annual reports, and other publications from national shoulder arthroplasty registries were identified using internet search engines up to November 2016. Data relating to local or regional registries was excluded. There were nine national shoulder arthroplasty registries reporting a total of 97,388 primary shoulder replacements. All minimum data sets included patient identifiers, date of surgery, implant identification, laterality of surgery, indication and mode of implant fixation. At least 6 registries had common options within the categories of indication, implant fixation and previous operations. Most discrepancies were seen in categories for additional interventions, outcome measures, and intra-operative complications. As numbers within individual registries are relatively small, international collaboration would harness the global strength of knowledge and experience in shoulder replacement. Several similarities were identified between the current national registries that could become unified with only minor changes by a few registries, highlighting the potential feasibility of MDS harmonisat.

Evaluation of the quality and accuracy of information regarding aromatase inhibitors available on the internet.

The internet is commonly used by patients to access medical information, particularly where new treatments become available and are highlighted in the press. There is however, no regulation of the quality or accuracy of the information presented on web sites. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality and accuracy of the information concerning the aromatase inhibitors (AIs). The three most popular search engines: Google, Yahoo, and MSN were utilized. The top ten "hits" for the generic and proprietary names of each AIs: anastrozole (Arimidex), exemestane (Aromasin), and letrozole (Femara) were evaluated using a 12-point score by a single assessor. The accuracy of the information provided was compared with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. The mean score for the 180 web sites was only 6.13 out of 12 (0-11). If we consider a score of 9 or more out of 12 (> or =75%) for a web site to represent good quality information, then 51 (28%) of pages scored well. Google was slightly better than Yahoo and MSN; with the highest percentage of web sites scoring well. In evaluating hits according to type of web sites, 50 (28%) were charity web sites and 30 (17%) were drug company web sites and both groups scored significantly higher than the overall mean (charity p = 0.014, drug company p = 0.001). Only 2 of 180 hits gave accurate statistical evidence regarding the benefits of AIs over tamoxifen. We have found that the quality and accuracy of information concerning AIs provided on the Internet is poor and patients using it are unlikely to find accurate information. It is therefore our duty as healthcare providers to guide patients, so as to avoid them from being overwhelmed by irrelevant and conflicting information.