ABSTRACT
Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem encountered by physicians. It is a considerable cause of morbidity and socioeconomic loss and is one of the most expensive musculoskeletal disorders. Conventional treatments include bed rest, analgesics, therapeutic exercises, lumbar or caudal epidural corticosteroids, and surgery. Several new biological therapies are being investigated for use in LBP and one of these is platelet-rich plasma (PRP). In this article, we summarize the current literature published on PRP concerning its composition, classification, and application in LBP. We believe our review will prove useful to clinicians and academics alike, interested in new developing therapies for LBP.
ABSTRACT
Pressure ulcer [PU] remains a common problem in all health care settings. Despite the PU preventive nursing measures and different relieving support surfaces, advocated for PU prevention, some patients developed it. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of mattress type as an adjunct modality to other nursing interventions on reducing incidence of pressure ulcers development. The research design was a quasi-experimental comparative study. Data were collected from the orthopedic departments at El Demerdash Hospital and Ain Shams Specialized Hospital. The study subjects consisted of 180 immobilized adult patients with expected a minimum 14 days of hospitalization, without PU on ad- mission [purposive sample]. According to the available types of mattresses, the selected sample were randomized into either a hospital foam mattress. [HFM] GI, a static pressure air overlay [SPA- MO] G2, or an alternating pressure air mattress overlay [APAMO] [G3], [60 patients in each group]. Patients in all groups received PU preventive nursing interventions. Four different tools were used for data collection: Interview questionnaire sheet, Braden Scale for Predicting PU Risk, Skin assessment tool/ PU grading scale and Opinionative sheet. In addition, instruction about PU preventive nursing guidelines was rendered to nurses and patients / patients' family. Main outcome measures; incidence, severity of new PUS developed and opinions of patients and nurses about the various used mattresses. Findings of this study revealed that there were highly statistical significant differences between 3 groups nursed on different types of mattresses regarding incidence rate of PUS at 2nd week of study period [36.7% patients on HFMs, 20% patients on SPAMOs, 3.3% patients on APAMOs [X2= 20.83 at P< 0.001]; most of which were grade 1 and 2 and located on sacrum with statistical insignificant differences between the 3 groups [X2= 5.91 and 0.35 respectively at P>0.05]. Moreover, the patients and nurses' opinions regarding the various used mattresses elaborate that APAMO is significantly better than HFM and SPA- MO [at P < 0.01]. In conclusion, APAMOs alongside other nursing intervention are significantly more effective on reducing incidence of Pus among orthopedic patients than other types of mattresses; SOAMO or HFM