Polydioxanone Versus Polypropylene Closure For Midline Abdominal Incisions.

BACKGROUND: Midline laparotomy is the most common technique of abdominal incisions because it is simple, provides adequate exposure to all four quadrants, and is rapid to open. A major problem after midline laparotomy remains the adequate technique of abdominal fascia closure. This study was conducted to see the role of Polydioxanone and Prolene for midline abdominal closure in terms of postoperative wound infection and wound pain. METHODS: This study was carried out at surgical unit II, Federal Government Services Hospital Islamabad. Patients were equally divided in two groups, i.e., A and B. Groups A and B patients undergone midline abdominal closure with Polydioxanone number 1 and Polypropylene number 1 sutures respectively. RESULTS: Total 620 patients were included in this study. Post-operative wound pain score according to Visual analogue scale (VAS) was compared in terms of no pain (0), mild pain (1-3), moderate pain (4-6), severe pain (7-9). In group A (Polydioxanone), the frequency and percentages of no, mild, moderate and severe pain were 101 (32.6%), 95 (30.6%), 81 (26.1%) and 33 (10.6%) respectively, where as in group B (polypropylene) it was 82 (26.5%), 43 (13.9%), 59 (19%) and 126 (40.6%) respectively. Similarly, the frequency and percentages of post-operative wound infection in group A (Polydioxanone) and group B (polypropylene) was 105 (33.9%) and 208 (67.1%) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Polydioxanone results in less wound pain and wound infection when compared to Polypropylene.

Protective effects of Ephedra pachyclada extract on mouse models of carbon tetrachloride- induced chronic and acute liver failure.

Inflammation and oxidation are two important factors in the pathogenesis of liver. Ephedra pachyclada (EP) is a traditional medical herb that has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities. During this study, anti-oxidant activities of the EP extract was measured in vitro by 2,2'- diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ß-Carotene bleaching assays. Then, we examined possible in vivo hepatoprotective effects of EP extract on mouse models of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced chronic and acute liver failure. To produce mouse models of chronic and acute liver injuries, male SW1 mice were interaperitoneally injected with 1ml/kg body weight (bw) CCl4 biweekly for 42 days and a single dose of 2ml/kg bw, respectively. In the experimental groups, mouse models were treated with low (140mg/kg bw) and high (1400mg/kg bw) doses of the EP extract. Olive oil and water treated mice were considered as controls during model derivation and EP extract treatment respectively. The results showed the antioxidant activity of EP extract and a significant reduction of all parameters of CCl4-induced liver injury such as relative liver weight, necrosis, fibrosis, inflammation, and serum aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in mouse models of acute and chronic liver injury treated with EP extract. Therefore, EP induces its hepatoprotective effects probably by suppressing oxidative stress and inhibit inflammation in the liver and is able to protect the liver against CCl4-induced acute and chronic injuries.