New adhesive protocol improves shear bond strength of Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK).

OBJECTIVE: Inert surface of Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) jeopardizes resin bonding. This study aimed to present a new adhesive protocol to improve PEKK bonding. METHODS: A total of 360 PEKK blocks were milled, polished (maximum roughness of 0.20 µm), and randomly assigned to groups. The new protocol was applied (n = 36) and compared to conventional treatments (no treatment; sandblasting (110-µm Al2O3 and silica); no adhesive; Visiolink (Bredent); and PEKKbond (AnaxDent)) (n = 36). For the new protocol, the surface was blasted (110 µm Al2O3 and 96% isopropyl alcohol at 60 psi), followed by 96% isopropyl alcohol washing, and air drying. PEKKbond was applied (dried for 3 min at 77 °C), followed by Visiolink (dried for 3 min at 60 °C); both light-cured for 3 min (800 mW/cm2). Preopaque (GC Europe) and Opaque (AnaxDent) were applied and light-cured (5 min). Morphological topography was analyzed, and flowable gingiva-colored composite (AnaxGum, AnaxDent) was bonded. All specimens were aged for 24 h and thermocycled (5000 cycles, 5-55 °C). Shear bond strength (SBS) was measured (MPa) and data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA, Tukey, and Weibull moduli estimation (α = 0.05). RESULTS: The highest SBS values were found in the new protocol (p < 0.05), regardless of aging. Thermocycling reduced SBS (p < 0.05), while Al2O3 and PEKKbond produced higher SBS values than silica and Visiolink, respectively (p < 0.05). SIGNIFICANCE: The new protocol strongly improves PEKK adhesiveness, and this can reflect in the longevity of prostheses.

Saliva culture as a predictive indicator for current blood infections and antimicrobial resistance in the ICU setting.

Antimicrobial resistance is a worldwide health problem and patients in intensive care are more vulnerable, requiring strict control measures and early identification. Currently, clinical culture materials are used to identify the bacterial agent, but saliva culture is not validated, which has great clinical relevance because it participates in several pathophysiological processes. The aim of this study was to validate saliva culture in an intensive care unit environment, determining its diagnostic value for infection. For this purpose, the results of the 39-month surveillance cultures, from the database of a private hospital were evaluated. A total of 323 cultures were paired between saliva, tracheal secretions, blood and urine from patients who were hospitalized for more than 5 days. The search for correlations between the results was performed using the Spearman correlation test. Severity and evolution data were also correlated. It was possible to correlate the presence of Klebsiella spp. between blood culture and saliva culture in 25% of the results (r = 0.01) and the correlation between saliva and tracheal secretion was 33% (r = 0.33447) with p < 0.0001. In conclusion, saliva can be an excellent discriminator of systemic infections, and can be considered a useful culture in clinical practice.