ABSTRACT
Background: The complications associated with Meckel's diverticulum (MD) are well-known. However, blunt injuries regarding MD have not been widely described in the literature. This was the reason for undertaking research on MD lesions. Materials and Methods: The materials consisted of 28 cases of damage to MD after blunt trauma published during the years 1921-2022. The collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: The following MD injuries have been identified, starting with the most common isolated perforation of MD, bleeding from the area of MD, perforation of MD with concomitant tearing of the mesentery intestines and bleeding, intussusception of MD, and intramural hematoma of MD with adjacent mesenteric hematoma. Most injuries were caused by a traffic accident, followed by sports, accidents at work, and then violence. Almost all the cases (27) involved men. Several possible mechanisms may contribute to post-traumatic damage to MD. First of all, they are associated with abdominal compression and a secondary increase in intra-abdominal pressure as well as with the action of shearing forces during deceleration. Conclusions: Traumatic MD injuries are differentiated and very rare. They can coexist with other serious injuries to the abdominal organs.
ABSTRACT
Hydrogels have the properties of solid substances and are useful for medicine, e.g., in systems for the controlled release of drugs or as wound dressings. They isolate the wound from the external environment and constitute a barrier to microorganisms while still being permeable to oxygen. In the current study, hydrogels were formed from concentrated aqueous solutions of carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) via electron beam irradiation, with the presence of a crosslinking agent: poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate. The aim of the study was to compare the properties and action of biopolymer CMCS hydrogels with commercial ones and to select the best compositions for future research towards wound-dressing applications. The elasticity of the gel depended on the component concentrations and the irradiation dose employed to form the hydrogel. Young's modulus for the tested hydrogels was higher than for the control material. The Live/Dead test performed on human fibroblasts confirmed that the analyzed hydrogels are not cytotoxic, and for some concentrations, they cause a slight increase in the number of cells compared to the control. The biocompatibility studies carried out on laboratory rats showed no adverse effect of hydrogels on animal tissues, confirming their biocompatibility and suggesting that CMCS hydrogels could be considered as wound-healing dressings in the future. Ionizing radiation was proven to be a suitable tool for CMCS hydrogel synthesis and could be of use in wound-healing therapy, as it may simultaneously sterilize the product.
