Absorbable vs. non-absorbable suture: which one gives better results?

BACKGROUND: There is no ideal suture material or ideal sewing technique. The type of suture material affects the quality of the scars. Patient and surgeon satisfaction with the quality and comfort of the scar is one of the main goals of modern surgery. AIMS: This study aims to compare the quality of scars and patient satisfaction after using two different types of sutures. METHODS: This research was conducted as a prospective study that included 64 patients whose surgical wounds were closed with intradermal suture using different suturing materials according to which the patients were divided into two groups: absorbable - Monocryle (32) and non-absorbable - DemeLENE suture (32). POSAS scale and an ultrasound machine were used to assess the scars. The doctor and the patient evaluated seven parameters on two occasions, after 2 and 6 weeks after the surgery. RESULTS: The statistically significant advantage was found after 2 weeks in scars sewn with non-resorptive suture in terms of elasticity, doctor's general impression, pain, itching, color, stiffness, thickness, irregularity, and patient's general impression. After 6 weeks, statistically significantly better results were shown on scars sewn with non-resorptive thread for the parameters doctor's general impression, itching, irregularity, and patient's general impression. CONCLUSIONS: Non-resorptive sutures show statistically significantly better results, especially after 2 weeks from the patient's point of view so we consider them more comfortable and convenient to use.

Comorbidity among depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in naturalistic clinical samples: A cross-cultural network analysis.

Comorbidity between depression and anxiety is well-established across various settings and cultures. We approached comorbidity from the network psychopathology perspective and examined the depression, anxiety/autonomic arousal and stress/tension symptoms in naturalistic clinical samples from Serbia, Italy and Croatia. This was a multisite study in which regularized partial correlation networks of the symptoms, obtained via self-reports on the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) in three cross-cultural, clinical samples (total N = 874), were compared with respect to centrality, edge weights, community structure and bridge centrality. A moderate degree of similarity in a number of network indices across the three networks was observed. While negative mood emerged to be the most central node, stress/tension nodes were the most likely bridge symptoms between depressive and anxiety/autonomic arousal symptoms. We demonstrated that the network structure and features in mixed clinical samples were similar across three different languages and cultures. The symptoms such as agitation, restlessness and inability to relax functioned as bridges across the three symptom communities explored in this study. Important theoretical and clinical implications were derived.

The Dimensions of Ruminative Thinking: One for All or All for One.

The Ruminative Thought Scale (RTS) was developed to measure the ruminative thinking style, presumably common to various psychopathological disorders. However, prior factor-analytic research was inconclusive regarding unidimensionality versus multidimensionality of the RTS. The present study was conducted on a large, heterogeneous Serbian sample ( N = 838). A subsample was retested 6 months later providing information about symptoms of depression and various anxiety symptoms. Results showed that a bifactor model of the RTS (representing one general and four group factors) had a better fit than the second-order and one-factor models. The subscale scores were not prospective predictors of symptoms of depression and anxiety, over and above the contribution of the total score. The RTS is a reliable transdiagnostic measure of repetitive thinking. Although there is some clustering of more homogeneous items, there is not enough evidence to support interpretation of the subscales.