Single-dose paravertebral blockade versus epidural blockade for pain relief after open renal surgery: a prospective randomized study

Paravertebral block [PVB] has been an established technique for providing analgesia to the chest and abdomen. We conducted the current study to compare single-dose PVB versus single-dose epidural blockade [EP] for pain relief after renal surgery. Eighty patients scheduled for renal surgery were randomly assigned into two groups according to the analgesic technique, PVB group or EP group. General anesthesia was induced for all patients. Postoperative pain was assessed over 24 h using 10-cm visual analog scale [VAS]. Postoperative total pethidine consumption was recorded. Any postoperative events, such as nausea, vomiting, shivering, or respiratory complications, were recorded. Hemodynamics and blood gasometry were also recorded. EP group showed significant decrease of both heart rate and mean blood pressure at most of the operative periods when compared with PVB group. There was no difference in total rescue analgesic consumption. Postoperative VAS showed no significant difference between the studied groups. Postoperative events were comparable in both the groups. Single injection PVB resulted in similar analgesia but greater hemodynamic stability than epidural analgesia in patients undergoing renal surgery, therefore this technique may be recommended for patients with coexisting circulatory disease

Comparative efficacies of macrolide antibiotics [erythromycin and roxithromycin] and cefadroxil in management of skin infections caused by staphylococcus aureus

The efficacy and safety of two macrolides [erythromycin and roxithromycin] and a B-lactam antibiotic [cefadroxil] were compared in management of skin and soft tissue infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. A total of 55 cases were chosen including chronic recurrent cellulitis, furunculosis, ecthyma, pustular eruption infected burn, chronic leg ulcer and carbuncels. The mean duration of treatment was 7 days for roxithromycin therapy, 8.5 days for erythromycin therapy and 10.5 days for cefadroxil therapy. The clinical response rates were comparable for the three-treatment regimens

Prevalence of skin diseases among school students in Mansoura, Egypt

This study was carried out to determined the prevalence of skin disease among school students [6-18 years] in Mansoura Egypt. The sample of population for this survey was 2586 students representing 1.4% of the total number of students in Mansoura schools 723[27.69%] of the studied group had one or more skin diseases. Infective skin diseases were present in 18.17% and non infective skin diseases in 17.22% of students. The most prevalent infective skin diseases were pediculosis capitis [11.71%], scabies [2.59%] and fungal infection [1.89%].The prevalence of these common infective skin diseases was studied in relation to residence, age, sex, overcrowding and socioeconomic standard. The most prevalent non infective skin diseases were acne vulgaris [6.41%], pityriasis alba [3.05%] and dandruff [2.82%].The prevalence of these non infective skin diseases was studied in relation to sex and age of student