Pressure ulcers (PUs), their cause and prevention have been discussed in the literature for many decades. Their prevention and management has been the core of a tissue viability nurse's daily clinical and strategic workload. The important point to acknowledge is that not all PUs can be prevented but it is believed most of them can and all preventative measures must be implemented and evaluated....

The advancements in material science and technology have made polyurethane (PU) one of the most important renewable polymers. Enhancing the physio-chemical and mechanical properties of PU has become the theme of this and many other studies. One of these enhancements was carried out by adding starch to PU to form new renewable materials called polyurethane-starch composites (PUS). In this study,...

The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors that predispose patients who are hospitalized with pressure ulcers (PUs) colonized by Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) to develop bacteremia. In addition, we also detected main phenotypes of resistance in infected and uninfected PUs. A prospective cohort study was conducted at the Clinical Hospital of the Federal University of Uberlândia inc...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the frequency and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Acinetobacter species isolated from pus and pus swab specimens at a tertiary care setting. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, from July 2008 to July 2012. METHODOLOGY Data regarding positive ...

Polyurethanes (PUs) have been considered good candidates to be used in biomedical temporary devices that require mechanical properties comparable to soft tissues. However, toxicity of some PUs is still a concern, since these polyurethanes can contain potential toxic components and residual organic solvents derived from their synthesis. In this work, in vitro tests to measure viability and proli...

In 2013, Downie et al reported on results obtained from five acute UK Trusts (April 2012-March 2013) for all hospital-acquired category III–IV pressure ulcers (PUs) developed within these organisations. They described the reporting and validation methodology used by all five organisations to determine the avoidable or unavoidable status of their hospital-acquired category III–IV PUs. Prior to t...

Spinal Hematoma The actual incidence of neurologic dysfunction resulting from hemorrhagic complications associated with neuraxial blockade is unknown; however, the incidence cited in the literature is estimated to be less than 1 in 150,000 epidural and less than 1 in 220,000 spinal anesthetics (Tryba 1993). In a review of the literature between 1906 and 1994, Vandermeulen et al. (Vandermeulen 1...