Manufacturer tolerance in slot height of 0.022-inch maxillary canine brackets

Orthodontic brackets manufacturer does not reveal their actual slot height. Tolerance if present in bracket slot can lead to poor three-dimensional control of teeth. This study was done to determine the manufacturer tolerance in slot height of maxillary canine brackets.Mesial and distal slots of one hundred and forty stainless steel maxillary canine brackets of seven commercial brands in 0.022-inch ["] slot were measured individually with leaf gauges of 0.01millime-ter [mm] thickness. Digital readout in inches of leaf gauges was attained by micrometer. Descriptive statistics were generated for bracket slot height and one sample T test was used to check whether significant tolerance exist in slot height. A p value < 0.05 was considered as significant.Smallest mean slot height of 0.0233+.0006 " was noted in mesial slot of Db orthodontics brackets while largest mean height of 0.0258+.0015 " were present in mesial slot of Mesal brackets. Maximum slot height of 0.028 " was noted in Precise and Sia brackets. Increase tolerance in brackets were noted in the range of 5.9 to 17.2%. A p value < 0.05 was found in all the slot heights under study showing significant difference from acceptable tolerance.All the bracket series have significant oversized slot height on both mesial and distal aspect. Eu-ropean orthodontic brackets were closer to standards than brackets manufactured in USA

Prevalence and patterns of impacted maxillary canines: a cbct based retrospective study

Maxillary canines are considered as the cornerstone of the mouth. This study aims to estimate the prevalence and unfold various patterns present in maxillary canine impactions using cone beam computed tomography [CBCT].Digital records of 3469 patient were collected from two different radiological units. Sorting of CBCT data was done for identification of maxillary impacted canine's cases. Data were analyzed statistically, and descriptive statics were generated for age, gender, quadrant, and position of impacted canines. Chi-square test was used to check the difference in the distribution of impacted canines regarding gender, quadrant and position of impacted teeth. A p-value of <0.05 was taken as significant.One hundred and eighty-seven patients were identified with impacted maxillary canines making a prevalence of 5%, with a mean age of 17.9 +2.65 years. 117 impacted canine cases were located in females while 70 impacted canine cases were in males. Female to male ratio was1.67:1. Statistically, a significant difference was noted between genders [p-value =0.00]. No difference was noted between genders regarding quadrant and position of impacted canines.Higher prevalence of impacted canine was noted in females, while left side predominance was found in both genders. Palatal impactions were most common while a higher prevalence of buccal impaction, than previously reported was noted in the present study

Development and bioevaluation of [99m] Tc[CO][3]-labeled [1-azido-1- deoxy-beta -D-glucopyranoside] complex as a potential tumor-seeking agent

The 1,2,3-triazole-containing [1-azido-1-deoxy-beta -D-glucopyranoside] complex was synthesized using click chemistry approach and evaluated its potential as a tumor-seeking agent. In the present study, [99m] Tc-tricarbonyl labeled [1-azido-1-deoxy-beta -D-glucopyranoside] radiotracer [[99m] Tc[CO][3]-BM], [where BM stands for biomolecule, e.g., [1- azido-1-deoxy-beta -D- glucopyranoside]] was synthesized via click chemistry approach and then labeled with technetium- 99m through isolink kit. Radio labeled drug was tested for radiochemical purity and in vitro stability by chromatographic techniques. Normal distribution and tumoral uptake were studied in Swiss Webster mice. Radiochemical purity results show 97.9 +/- 1.5% labeling and its in vitro stability were studied at room temperature up to 5h. The radio labeled drug exhibited 73.6 +/- 1.1% binding with blood proteins. Normal distribution of drug shows prominent uptake in brain while in case of tumor-bearing mice, the uptake was maximum in tumor tissue and negligible amount was shown in brain. The biodistribution was further compared with 2-fluoro-2-deoxy glucose [[18]F-FDG], which was used as a positive control. The data indicate that [99m] Tc-tricarbonyl labeled [1-azido-1-deoxy-beta -D- glucopyranoside] radiotracer might be a feasible candidate with reasonable potential for tumor diagnosis

Arthroscopies; review in clinically suspected knee injuries but normal MRI [42 CASES]

Knee pain due to injury is a common presentation in orthopedic outpatient department. X-rays, MRI and arthroscopy are the basic investigation tools when meniscoligametous injury is suspected. If MRI is normal usually arthroscopy is withheld. In this study we analyzed the arthroscopic findings of such cases in which X rays and MRI were normal or near normal. 1- To find out knee injuries in patients with painful knees. 2- To find out any other pathology of knee joint. It's a retrospective study in which 42 such cases were analyzed who underwent arthroscopy with a normal or near normal MRI. This study includes cases done at CMH Rawalpindi, Muzaffarabad, Kharian and Malir. Period includes May 2005 to August 2014. A total number of 209 arthroscopies were done by the same orthopedic surgeon. Out of 42 cases 31 were males while 11 were females. Mean age was 31.4 years [range 18-54 years].In all cases arthroscopy was done by the same orthopedic surgeon within 6 weeks of MRI. MRI films were reported by a qualified radiologist. In all cases there was a strong clinical suspicion of menisco-ligamentous injury while X-rays and MRI were near normal or normal. Out of 42 cases in 36 [85.7%] cases, one or more findings were detected on arthroscopy which were not picked by MRI. It is concluded that if a menisco-ligamentous injury is strongly suspected in a knee on clinical examination, arthroscopic evaluation should not be denied to a patient even if X-rays and MRI are normal

Are gastrointestinal tract malignancies, diseases of old age? In south western region of Pakistan too

Purpose/Background: the majority of cancers affect older persons because aging is a high risk factor for this disease. Gastrointestinal tract malignancies are also considered disease that affects older patients, with a peak incidence in the sixth and seventh decades. Close to 60% of all newly diagnosed malignant tumors and 71% of all cancer deaths occur in persons in this age group according to the NCI surveillance, epidemiology and end results [SEER] program data. Aging population is more vulnerable to develop cancer caused by a lifetime exposure to carcinogen such as pollution, radiation, tobacco and harmful sunrays etc

Objective: the objective of this research was to study the gastrointestinal tract [GIT] malignancies in different age groups in our set up

Design: retrospective study

Duration: from January 2001 to December 2010

Method: this 10 year review of patients with GIT cancers in different age groups was carried out at the Centre for Nuclear medicine and Radiotherapy [CENAR], Quetta south western region of Pakistan. Information extracted from the files of patients in record

Results: out of 2269 patients, the most common age group was above 60 year with a total of 752[33%] patients. Among1178 patients of carcinoma [Ca] esophagus, 30% belong to above 60year age group, Whereas above 60 year age group is commonest age group for CaColorectum, Stomach, Liver, Gall bladder, Pancreas, Small intestine and Anal canal accounting for 35%, 37%, 40%, 37%, 36%, 40% and 33% respectively

Conclusion: malignancy is associated with old age. Various GIT malignancies studied in our study showed that above 60 year age group being commonest

Comparison of site of bond failure between two different pliers

Debonding of orthodontic brackets is the last step of orthodontic treatment. This step should be performed carefully and with the best available method. The purpose of this study was to compare the site of bond failure after debonding brackets by debonding plier and crown remover. One hundred sixty newly extracted premolars were bonded with metal brackets and randomly assigned to two study groups [n = 80].In one group brackets were debonded with debonding plier[DR] using base method while in other group brackets were debonded with crown remover[CR]. Enamel surface after debonding was subsequently assessed visually for any adhesive remnant and adhesive remnant index [ARI] scoring based on 4 scores from 0 to 3 was applied. The ARI scorings of these two pliers were cross tabulated. The site of bond failure was mostly within the adhesive after debonding with crown remover while it was at enamel adhesive interference after debonding with debonding plier. It was concluded that crown remover is safer in terms of enamel integrity than debonding plier

Comparison of debonding time and pain between three different debonding techniques for stainless steel brackets

The aim of this study was to compare the debonding time and pain or discomfort between conventional mechanical debonding with sonic and ultrasonic debonding of stainless steel brackets. One hundred fifty brackets were debonded at the end of 2 years of comprehensive orthodontic treatment from 12 patients of both sexes of age range between 15-25 years using non probability sampling technique. Mechanical debonding of brackets was done with debonding plier using wing method. Ultrasonic and sonic scalers were used to debond the brackets engaging the bracket from incisal side. Debonding time in seconds and patient perception of pain on a scale of 0-4 was noted. One way ANOVA was used to compare these three techniques in terms of time efficiency and pain or discomfort at time of debonding. Mechanical debonding was successful in all the cases while ultrasonic and sonic debonding failed to debond the brackets in 16% and 36% of the cases respectively. Mechanical wing method debonds brackets in 1.28 +/- 0.49 seconds, ultrasonic debonding in 42.53 +/- 20.25 while sonic method debonds brackets in 70.18 +/- 22.28 seconds. More pain was felt by mechanical debonding followed by sonic and ultrasonic debonding respectively. Difference in debonding time and pain were found statistically significant between these three different techniques. It was concluded that that no single method is time efficient and at the same time least painful for the patient. Mechanical debonding was most time efficient while ultrasonic debonding was least painful

POP boot traction; its efficacy in pre-op management of acute fractures of upper end of femur

Introduction: Fractures of upper end of femur are generally applied some traction pre- peratively. Traditionally either skin or skeletal traction is applied. In this study we applied traction via POP Boot with a T behind ankle in 354 cases of fracture upper end of femur during pre-operative management and the results were compared with those of skin and skeletal traction

Objectives: to see whether effective pre-op traction can be applied via POP Boot in upper femur fractures and what are the complications and cost effectiveness as compared to skin and skeletal traction

Study: in 354 patients POP Boot was applied and 3 kg tration applied to the injured limb with fracture femur while in 50 cases skin traction and in another 50 cases skeletal traction was applied

Design: it's a randomized prospective double blind study

Settings: study was carried out in tertiary care hospitals including combined military hospitals of Rawalpindi, Muzaffarabad and Kharian

Period: study was conducted between the periods of 10 Sep 2003 to 20 Sep 2012 [9 years and 10 days]

Methods: all patients have either simple or communited fracture of upper end of femur. All patients were adults and received same amount of analgaesia. 3 kg traction was applied as standard in all cases. All patients were operated for their fracture femur within 2 to 10 days of applying traction

Results: results were compared in terms of pain control, reduction achieved, rotational control, and discomfort during application of tration, complications, and cost effectiveness and compared with standard skin and skeletal tractions

Conclusion: POP Boot traction is an easily applied, effective and cost effective way of traction which has very low rate of complications and should be used for pre-op traction in all adult cases with upper femur fracture

Cephalometric features for maxillary incisors sagital position / inclination in class II DIV 1

One of the chief concerns of patients reporting for orthodontic treatment is unacceptable Maxillary Incisor position in sagital plane on underlying Skeletal Class II 1, 2. The purpose of the this study was. To find cephalometric features for Maxillary Incisor Sagital Position / Inclination in Class II div 1 cases on Skeletal Class II basis and to establish correlation among various parameters used to assess the Maxillary Incisor Sagital Position / Inclination. Study was conducted on 50 patients and following conclusions were drawn: 1] Statistically significant increased Maxillary Incisor sagital inclination and position as assessed by

Effect of carvedilol on portal pressure estimated by hepatic vein doppler ultrasound waveform and damping index in cirrhotic patients

To assess the effect of Carvedilol in reducing portal pressure estimated non-invasively by studying Doppler ultrasound waveforms [DUS] and hepatic vein Damping Index [DI]. Quasi-experimental study. Department of Medical ICU in collaboration with Department of Radiology, JPMC, over a period of 6 months [June 1st to 30th November, 2008]. Of the enrolled 65 patients, 47 patients [33 males and 14 females] completed the study. The mean age was 47.4 years. Cirrhotic patients of Hepatitis B, C, D [delta], B and C combined, B and D combined with varying degrees of portal hypertension were included in the study. Cirrhotic patients with bronchial asthma, congestive heart failure, Insulin dependent Diabetes, portal vein thrombosis and hepatorenal syndrome were excluded from the study. The patients were examined by color flow Doppler of the right hepatic vein before and after administration of Carvedilol. Their waveforms and Damping Index [Dl] were recorded and compared by Wilcoxon signed ranks test through SPSS version 12.0. Responders were described as those showing a positive change in wave forms or a decrese of 0.10 or more in Dl. Of the 47 patients, 30 [63%] showed a positive response and 10 [21%] showed no favorable response to Carvedilol, while 7 [14%] patients showed deterioration. The mean Dl on DUS dropped from 0.62 to 0.41 in responders after treatment, while in the non-responders it ranged between 0.42 and 0.57. Ultrasonography Carvedilol reduced portal pressure of cirrhotic patients, as measured indirectly by the damping index of hepatic waveform by Doppler

Soft tissue profile of a Pakistani sample with class I occlusion

Comprehensive soft tissue analysis is an important component of cephalometric analysis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate soft tissue profile of Pakistani adults with Class I occlusion. It was a prospective cross-sectional study, carried out at the Department of Orthodontics, de,Montmorency Institute of Dental Sciences/Punjab Dental Hospital, Lahore. Standardized lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken of 50 selected Pakistanis [25 males and 25 females] within age range 18 through 23 years having normal occlusion. The database were developed in SPSS 10.0 for Windows. The results showed that the Pakistani sample had proclined lower incisors, a convex profile with lesser value of Z-angle. It was concluded that soft tissue profile of an individual depends on age, gender and ethnic group of that individual

Effects of anterior maxillary expansion: a postero-anterior cephalometric evaluation

The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the effects of anterior maxillary expansion screw [RAGNO] on anteriorly narrow maxilla cases. [V-shaped arches]. The study involved 11 patients with average age 17.5 years. All patients had permanent dentition with anteriorly constricted maxilla; normal intermolar width and no cross bite in the posterior region with mild to moderate crowding in the anterior region of the maxillary arch. The angular and linear changes related to maxilla were analyzed by Welcoxon signed rank test. Postro anterior [PA] cephalometric radiograph [T1] were taken before, [T2] immediately after and [T3] 3 months after expansion. Intercanine distant [ICD] showed significant increase. The comparison of the differences between the retention and the total periods showed significant difference. MIMD did not show any significant change in the different stages of expansion but there is slight increase in distance. There was significant expansion in the intercanine and intermolar width

Postmenopausal women; atherosclerotic risk factors

Postmenopausal women are more prone to develop cardiac morbidity due to exhaustive production of estrogens. Postmenopausal women may have 3-4 fold greater risk of atherosclerosis after a natural menopause. To find correlation between biochemical and physical parameters after the onset of menopause and their effects on disease process in the postmenopausal women. Prospective Study. PGMI Lahore. Period: From Jan 2000 to Oct 2000. 75 subjects were enrolled in this study and divided into three groups i.e. premenopausal [control], early postmenopausal and late postmenopausal groups. Their physical parameters like weight, waist to hip ratio [WHR] and blood pressure were taken. Biochemical parameters, like cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C] and low density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C] were estimated by commercial scientific kits. Biochemical parameters were mostly non-significant changed [P > 0.05] while physical parameters were deviated significantly [P < 0.001] when comparisons were made between mean values of various study groups. Even at normal values of lipid profile, the postmenopausal women are at risk of developing atherosclerotic lesions because of hypertension, obesity, exhaustive production of estrogen and android type of body fat distribution

Ultrasound as a reliable guidance system for percutaneous nephrostomy

To determine the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound as a reliable guidance system for percutaneous nephrostomy [PCN]. Quasi-experimental. Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, Pakistan, from January 1997 to July 2005. One hundred and fifty-three PCN were performed in 140 patients, referred from the Department of Urology and Transplantation, JPMC. Out of 140 patients, 137 had obstructive uropathy [>1 cm dilated pelvicalyceal system] of different etiologies. Three patients with ureteral rupture [non dilated pelvicalyceal system] underwent PCN for urinary diversion in the surgical ICU. The technique involved a pre procedural scan, initial renal puncture, placement of a guide wire, tract dilation and placement of 8-12 F Nephrostomy tube, entirely under ultrasound guidance. The machine used was "Just vision" or "Eccocee" with 3.5 MHz variable frequency convex transducer. Effectiveness in terms of successful tube placement and safety in terms of complications were observed. Out of 153 patients there were 78 males and 62 females. The minimum age of patient was 13 years while maximum age was 68 years, all [100%] patients had successful placement of PCN. Minor complications like transient gross hematuria and small perinephric collection occurred in 13 cases [8.5%] but was dealt with effectively by conservative measures. No major complications like hemorrhage, sepsis or periorgan damage were encountered in any of the patients. Ultrasound was found to be a rapid, effective, radiation-free, portable and safe imaging modality with minimum rate of complications that could be used as a reliable guidance system for critical interventions like percutaneous nephrostomies without using fluoroscopic units

Ultrasound guided percutaneous drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts using P.O. catheter

Objective: The purpose of the study is to report the drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts by percutaneous insertion of P.O. catheter under US guidance

Patients and Methods: Between January 1999 and December 2003, 44 patients [28 male, 16 female] with abdominal fluid collection from complicated acute pancreatitis underwent percutaneous ultrasound guided drainage using adult [12 F] or pediatric [10 F] peritoneal drainage catheter

Results: Simple cysts found in 07 patients, haemorrhagic in 20 and infected in 17 patients. Etiology varied from trauma in 09 patients, gallstone in 19 patients, post ERCP 05 patients, biliary ascariasis in 03 and alcohol consumption in 01 patient to idiopathic 07 patients. The tube was kept for drainage from 2 weeks to 11 weeks. The success rate was 84% whereas 12% patients did not improve and required open drainage and lavage. No major complications occurred

Conclusion: The study shows that complicated peripancreatic fluid collections can be safely and effectively treated in most patients with percutaneous P.D. catheter insertion under real time US guidance