Peri-operative SARS-CoV-2 infection increases postoperative mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal duration of planned delay before surgery in patients who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection. This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study included patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery during October 2020. Surgical patients with pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared with those without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality. Logistic regression models were used to calculate adjusted 30-day mortality rates stratified by time from diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection to surgery. Among 140,231 patients (116 countries), 3127 patients (2.2%) had a pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. Adjusted 30-day mortality in patients without SARS-CoV-2 infection was 1.5% (95%CI 1.4-1.5). In patients with a pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, mortality was increased in patients having surgery within 0-2 weeks, 3-4 weeks and 5-6 weeks of the diagnosis (odds ratio (95%CI) 4.1 (3.3-4.8), 3.9 (2.6-5.1) and 3.6 (2.0-5.2), respectively). Surgery performed ≥ 7 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis was associated with a similar mortality risk to baseline (odds ratio (95%CI) 1.5 (0.9-2.1)). After a ≥ 7 week delay in undertaking surgery following SARS-CoV-2 infection, patients with ongoing symptoms had a higher mortality than patients whose symptoms had resolved or who had been asymptomatic (6.0% (95%CI 3.2-8.7) vs. 2.4% (95%CI 1.4-3.4) vs. 1.3% (95%CI 0.6-2.0), respectively). Where possible, surgery should be delayed for at least 7 weeks following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients with ongoing symptoms ≥ 7 weeks from diagnosis may benefit from further delay.

Initial bacterial adhesion to differently textured titanium surfaces is primarily influenced by R(a), whereas the influence of SFE seems to be of only minor importance. Therefore, the micro-structured parts of an implant that are exposed to the oral cavity should be highly polished to prevent plaque accumulation. Both tested fluorometric techniques proved to be highly sensitive and reproducible in the quantification of biofilm formation on titanium implant surfaces.

Wound repair is a quiescent mechanism to restore barriers in multicellular organisms upon injury. In chronic wounds, however, this program prematurely stalls. It is known that patterns of extracellular signals within the wound fluid are crucial to healing. Extracellular pH (pHe) is precisely regulated and potentially important in signaling within wounds due to its diverse cellular effects. Additionally, sufficient oxygenation is a prerequisite for cell proliferation and protein synthesis during tissue repair. It was, however, impossible to study these parameters in vivo due to the lack of imaging tools. Here, we present luminescent biocompatible sensor foils for dual imaging of pHe and oxygenation in vivo. To visualize pHe and oxygen, we used time-domain dual lifetime referencing (tdDLR) and luminescence lifetime imaging (LLI), respectively. With these dual sensors, we discovered centripetally increasing pHe-gradients on human chronic wound surfaces. In a therapeutic approach, we identify pHe-gradients as pivotal governors of cell proliferation and migration, and show that these pHe-gradients disrupt epidermal barrier repair, thus wound closure. Parallel oxygen imaging also revealed marked hypoxia, albeit with no correlating oxygen partial pressure (pO2)-gradient. This highlights the distinct role of pHe-gradients in perturbed healing. We also found that pHe-gradients on chronic wounds of humans are predominantly generated via centrifugally increasing pHe-regulatory Na+/H+-exchanger-1 (NHE1)-expression. We show that the modification of pHe on chronic wound surfaces poses a promising strategy to improve healing. The study has broad implications for cell science where spatial pHe-variations play key roles, e.g. in tumor growth. Furthermore, the novel dual sensors presented herein can be used to visualize pHe and oxygenation in various biomedical fields.

All tested antiseptics seem to be able to reduce the total amount of microorganisms accumulating on titanium surfaces. Furthermore, sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, chlorhexidine, and Listerine showed a significant bactericidal effect against adhering bacteria.

This retrospective study aimed at investigating indications, surgical approaches, and the materials used for orbital floor reconstructions, as well as the clinical follow-up, particularly with regard to postoperative complications. This study comprised 189 patients who underwent surgery for fractures of the orbital floor between 2003 and 2007. Diagnosis and treatment were based on both physical examination and computed tomography scan of the orbit. Patients were retrospectively analyzed for data, such as mechanism of injury, classification of fracture, and complications. The most common cause of injury was physical assault followed by traffic accidents. Surgery was conducted with a mean delay of 2.9 days after the incident. Mid lower eyelid incision was the most common surgical approach to the orbital floor. For orbital floor reconstruction, polydioxanone sheets (70.5%) were mainly used, followed by Ethisorb Dura (23.3%) and titanium mesh (6.2%). There were 19.0% of patients who showed postoperative complications: 5.8% suffered from persisting motility impairment, 3.7% from enophthalmos, 3.2% from consistent diplopia, 2.6% from ectropion, and 0.5% from orbital infection. Intraorbital hematoma (3.2%) represented the most severe complications, one patient suffered lasting impairment of sight and another one, complete blindness of the affected eye. If postoperative impairment of vision becomes evident, immediate surgical intervention is mandatory. Retrobulbar hematoma is more likely to occur in heavily traumatized patients with comminuted fractures and also in patients taking anticoagulative medication. The subciliary approach to the orbit and repeated operations by the same approach are associated with a higher risk of developing ectropion.