Spectrophotometric determination of certain drugs using ammonium cerium [IV] sulfate and p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde

A spectrophotometric method for the determination of acetylcysteine, captopril carbimazole propylthiouracel and thiopental sodium is described. The method was based on the oxidation of the studied drugs with excess ammonium cerium [IV] sulfate. Followed by measuring the excess unreacted ammonium cerium [IV] sulfate, through reaction with p-DMAB into the corresponding p-dimethylaminobenzoquinone, which has a red colour can be measured at 464 nm. The decrease in the absorption intensity at 464 nm caused by the presence of the investigated drugs is directly proportional to their concentration. Investigations were carried out to study all variables and a validation study for the proposed procedure according to USP 2002 was also performed. Beer's law was obeyed in the range of 1-40 micro.g/ml. The detection limit ranged from 0.22-1.22 micro g/ml, while the quantitation limit ranged from 0.73-4.06 micro g/ml. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of the studied drugs in pharmaceutical preparations with good recoveries in the range of 98.12-100.02%. Results were compared with those obtained from the pharmacopoeial or reported methods

effect of cervical plating on multiple - level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

The study was conducted on 20 patients who had cervical plates and 20 had fusion without plates. There were no significant differences preoperatively among patients treated with or without plates. At the final follow-up ranged from 18 to 48 months [average 22 months], the pseudo-arthrosis rates were 5% in patients with plating and 15% in patients without plating. There was no correlation between pseudo- arthrosis and age, sex or level of surgery. The average loss of the gained intraoperative correction of cervical lordosis was 0.5 in the instrumented group compared with 1.3 in the patients without plates. The amount of graft collapse in the patients with plates was 0.8 mm compared with 1.6 mm in the patients without plates, the difference was significant. Accelerated degenerative changes at levels adjacent to fusion were seen in 20% of patients with plating compared with 15% in patients without plating. The overall result was excellent to good in 90% of the patients with plating compared with 80% in the group without plating based on Odom's criteria

Management of malunited Colles' fracture

Twenty malunited Colles' fractures [nineteen patients] were treated by corrective osteotomy bone grafting and K-wire fixation. The indications for surgery were based on the degree of the deformity radiologically, the functional limitation, the appearance of the wrist and the age of the patients. Excision of the lower end of ulna was performed in six patients. Average follow up period was 20 months. The procedure gave excellent and good results in eighteen wrists and fair in two wrists with no poor results

Replating femoral shaft fracture

Replating of the femoral shaft fracture was used in 18 patients. 16 cases were studied and 2 cases were excluded because the follow-up period was less than one year. The study comprises 7 cases with broken plate and 7 cases with pulling out of the screws and 2 cases with nonunion not associated with mechanical failure. Mild infection was found in 4 cases- In all cases revision surgery was done by replating and in 14 cases we applied autogenous cancellous iliac bone graft. Preoperative, operative and follow-up data were discussed. However we didn't study the causes of failure of previous operations. All cases showed union within an average period of 5 months after the revision surgery. Persistent mild infection was observed in the cases that were previously infected. Metal removal after bony union was performed and infection subsided. We concluded that mechanical failure or nonunion after plating of the femoral shaft fracture can by treated successfully by replating with the addition of bone graft