Bone cements produced by different manufacturers vary in their mechanical properties and antibiotic elution characteristics. Small changes in the formulation of a bone cement, which may not be apparent to surgeons, can also affect these properties. The supplier of Palacos bone cement with added gentamicin changed in 2005. We carried out a study to examine the mechanical characteristics and antibiotic elution of Schering-Plough Palacos, Heraeus Palacos and Depuy CMW Smartset bone cements. Both Heraeus Palacos and Smartset bone cements performed significantly better than Schering-Plough Palacos in terms of mechanical characteristics, with and without additional vancomycin (p < 0.001). All cements show a deterioration in flexural strength with increasing addition of vancomycin, albeit staying above ISO minimum levels. Both Heraeus Palacos and Smartset elute significantly more gentamicin cumulatively than Schering-Plough Palacos. Smartset elutes significantly more vancomycin cumulatively than Heraeus Palacos. The improved antibiotic elution characteristics of Smartset and Heraeus Palacos are not associated with a deterioration in mechanical properties. Although marketed as the 'original' Palacos, Heraeus Palacos has significantly altered mechanical and antibiotic elution characteristics compared with the most commonly-used previous version.
The control of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) relies on the rapid and sensitive detection of carriage. The roles of an enrichment broth, duration of incubation, and Baird-Parker medium containing ciprofloxacin (BPC) were evaluated in comparison with standard media in a centre where the prevalence of ciprofloxacin resistance among MRSA is over 98%. Screening swabs from 402 sites were plated onto BPC, mannitol salt agar (MSA), and MSA with methicillin (MMSA the predominant strain is epidemic MRSA (EMRSA) 15 which, along with some other strains we encounter, is highly resistant to ciprofloxacin.' In 1995 and 1996 more than 98% of MRSA strains from our centre had high level resistance to ciprofloxacin. We also aimed to evaluate an enrichment procedure using Tryptone-T salt broth. Tryptone-T is a low iron content peptone which partially inhibits S epidermidis but allows growth of S aureus (Sheffield Public Health Laboratory, unpublished). MethodsAll screening swabs submitted for detection of MRSA during 12 working days in May and June 1996 were examined in the comparative study. Cotton tipped swabs were received in Amies transport medium and were inoculated onto half agar plates of mannitol salt agar (MSA; Unipath, Basingstoke, England) with 4 mg/l methicillin (MMSA) and Baird-Parker medium (Unipath) with 8 mg/l ciprofloxacin (BPC). The swabs were broken off into 2 ml of 1% Tryptone-T broth (Unipath) with 60 g/l sodium chloride (TBS)
The aims of this study were to evaluate the performance of a new medium, desferrioxamine oxacillin tellurite egg-yolk mannitol salt agar (DOTEMSA) in detecting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and then to compare this medium against the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) recommendation of mannitol salt agar (Oxoid) with oxacillin (OMSA) and Baird-Parker medium with cipro¯oxacin (BPC) for the isolation of MRSA. The individual selective agents contained in DOTEMSA were tested against isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) and the medium with all constituents was challenged with various bacteria. Routine screening specimens were plated out on OMSA, BPC and DOTEMSA and the plates were incubated and examined at 24 and 48 h. Tellurite, desferrioxamine and oxacillin each inhibited the majority of CNS isolates; only three (of 103) grew in the presence of all three agents. Sixty-two of 63 isolates of MRSA grew on DOTEMSA and 59 produced lipase. Most other bacteria were inhibited. In all, 184 MRSA isolates were isolated from 540 screening specimens. The sensitivity of OMSA, BPC and DOTEMSA was 42%, 81% and 51% at 24 h, and 60%, 89% and 89% at 48 h. At 48 h, the combination of BPC and DOTEMSA detected 99% of MRSA isolates. Seventy, 49 and one non-MRSA isolates needed investigation for each of the three media respectively. A proposed strategy for MRSA screening would use BPC and DOTEMSA, examining BPC at 24 h and both media at 48 h. Provisional reports could then be issued at 24 h on the basis of rapid agglutination tests to con®rm isolates as S. aureus from BPC and at 48 h on the basis of typical colonies from DOTEMSA.
This investigation was designed to determine whether minimally invasive radiofrequency or laser ablation of the saphenous vein corrects the hemodynamic impact and clinical symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in CEAP clinical class 3-6 patients with superficial venous reflux. Patients with CEAP clinical class 3-6 CVI were evaluated with duplex ultrasound and air plethysmography (APG) to determine anatomic and hemodynamic venous abnormalities. Patients with an abnormal (>2 mL/second) venous filling index (VFI) and superficial venous reflux were included in this study. Saphenous ablation was performed utilizing radiofrequency (RF) or endovenous laser treatment (EVLT). Patients were reexamined within 3 months of ablation with duplex to determine anatomic success of the procedure, and with repeat APG to determine the degree of hemodynamic improvement. Venous clinical severity scores (VCSS) were determined before and after saphenous ablation. Eighty-nine limbs in 80 patients were treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) (n = 58), or EVLT (n = 31). The average age of patients was 55 years and 66% were women. There were no significant differences in preoperative characteristics between the groups treated with RFA or EVLT. Postoperatively, 86% of limbs demonstrated near total closure of the saphenous vein to within 5 cm of the saphenofemoral junction. Eight percent remained open for 5-10 cm from the junction, and 6% demonstrated minimal or no saphenous ablation. The VFI improved significantly after ablation in both the RF and EVLT groups. Postablation, 78% of the 89 limbs were normal, with a VFI<2 mL/second, and 17% were moderately abnormal, between 2 and 4 mL/second. VCSS scores (11.5 +/-4.5 preablation) decreased significantly after ablation to 4.4 +/-2.3. Minimally invasive saphenous ablation, using either RFA or EVLT, corrects or significantly improved the hemodynamic abnormality and clinical symptoms associated with superficial venous reflux in more than 90% of cases. These techniques are useful for treatment of patients with more severe clinical classes of superficial CVI.
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