Comparing the effect between oral and injection form of carnitine on skin flap survival in rats.

BACKGROUND: Carnitine is an endogenous cofactor, having a regulatory action on the energy flow from different oxidative sources. Carnitine has been used for ischemic conditions such as coronary heart diseases, peripheral vascular diseases with satisfactory results. So ischemic skin flaps should obtain benefit from carnitine. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of oral and injection form of carnitine on skin flap survival in a rat model. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Twenty-one Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups, each group had 7 rats; a control group and two carnitine-treated groups. Random skin flap was elevated on the backs of the rats. The control group was not given any pharmacologic agent. Two treated groups, group 1 received carnitine orally (150 mg/kg/day) for 3 days before flap elevation and continuing to 1 week after the procedure, Group 2 received carnitine intraperitoneally (100 mg/kg/day) for 1 week after flap elevation. The surface area of flap survival was measured in each group. RESULTS: The median areas of flap survival of the control groups and two carnitine treated groups were 65.89%, 69.03%, 77.47%, respectively. There was significant improvement of flaps survival in carnitine-treated groups, especially carnitine injected group was found to be significantly higher than the control group and carnitine-oral group (p < 0.05). The carnitine-oral group could slightly increase flap survival compared to the control group but was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Effect of carnitine has increased flap survival in random skin flap. Carnitine injection form is more effective than the oral one.

Prevalence of disease and non-battle injury, anxiety and depression in the Royal Thai Armed Forces during the operation of the United Nations in Burundi.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and impact of common disease and non-battle injuries (DNBI) among the military personnel deployed to the operations of the United Nations (UN) in Burundi from June to December 2005. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 175 Thai military personnel. A pre- and post deployment questionnaire assessing demographic data, general health, dental problems, underlying disease and health risk behaviors was performed. The information of DNBI was collected weekly. Data on initial visits for 27 DNBI categories were complied at the unit and event data on morbidity measures for each DNBI category were aggregated for all reporting units on a weekly basis. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. RESULTS: The majority of the troops was in good health at pre- and post deployment. The total weekly initial visit DNBI rate was 337.6 visits per 1,000 persons, which was rather high compared to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reference rate. The most common DNBI categories were respiratory illnesses (21.9%), medical/surgical injuries (19.8%) and recreational injuries (15.5%). CONCLUSION: The present data indicated that despite modern preventive medicine measures, illnesses and non-battle injuries were still common, which had a significant impact on military readiness and operational efficiency.