Solvent extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometric determination of probable carcinogen 1,4-dioxane in cosmetic products.

In the present work, a method based on solvent extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been validated for the determination of 1,4-dioxane in cosmetics. Various solvents including ethyl acetate, hexane, methanol, dichloromethane and acetone have been used for the extraction of 1,4-dioxane, among them the ethyl acetate was found to be the most efficient extracting solvent. This method has offered excellent quality parameters for instance linearity (R2 > 0.9991), limit of detection (LOD, 0.00065-0.00091 µg/mL), limit of quantification (LOQ, 0.00217-0.00304 µg/mL) and, precision intra-day (1.65-2.60%, n = 5) and inter-day (0.16-0.32%, n = 5) in terms of relative standard deviation (RSD%). A total of thirty-nine cosmetic samples of different brands and origin have been studied. Among them, the 1,4-dioxane was found in twenty-three samples (FB1-FB7, MC1-MC4, MC6-MC8, HS3, HS5, BL1-BL3, BL5 and PLD1-PLD3) at the levels between 0.15 µg/mL and 9.92 µg/mL, whereas in sixteen samples (MC5, HS1, HS2, SG1-SG5, BL4 and HP1- HP6) was found to be not detected. The recovery values were achieved between 93% and 99% in both low and high level of spiked samples. In comparison to the traditional analytical techniques, the proposed method was found to be very sensitive and cost-effective for the routine analysis of 1,4-dioxane at low concentration in cosmetics.

Comparison of the effectiveness of the treatment using standard methods and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in patients treated with open abdomen technique.

UNLABELLED: Open abdomen technique is a surgical treatment in which the fascia and skin are left open in order to reduce the value of the intra-abdominal pressure. According to the World Society of the Abdominal Compartment Syndrome (WSACS) normal values of the intra-abdominal pressure are between 5 and 7 mm Hg. Intra-abdominal hypertension occurs when the pressure value is equal to or exceeds 12 mm Hg. The aim of the study was to compare the results of the open abdomen treatment using standard methods and negative pressure wound therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was in the form of a retrospective analysis of the documentation of the patients treated with open abdomen technique. The study included 37 patients treated in the Department of General and Endocrine Surgery and Gastroenterological Oncology and in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care of the Medical Sciences since 2009-2012. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1 (n = 20) was treated with standard surgical procedures (laparostomy, repeated peritoneal cavity lavage) and group 2 (n =17) was treated using negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). The analysed clinical data included the period of hospitalization and clinical outcome (survival vs death), the occurrence of enteroatmospheric fistulae, cyclical determination of the quantitative C-reactive protein levels. RESULTS: The number of deaths during hospitalization in the group treated with NPWT was lower than in the group treated with standard methods (3 vs 9). The number of fistulae during hospitalization in the group treated with NPWT dropped as compared to the group treated using standard procedures (18% vs 70%). The decrease in the CRP levels was recorded in the group treated with NPWT and its increase - in the group treated with standard methods. CONCLUSIONS: The use of NPWT in patients requiring open abdomen treatment is reasonable due to the positive results with respect to survival rates and the decrease in the number of gastrointestinal fistulae. It is necessary to train the physicians in using this type of therapy in the form of workshops and in the clinical setting.