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Management of Open Wounds
Categories Medical news

Management of Open Wounds

Author krishna kumar 48 Comments on Management of Open Wounds Posted on

The physician has a vital role in the wound assessment and also to delineate treatment objective at any point of time.  The main objective of wound healing is to remove the non-viable tissue material by various methods for the exposure of healthy well-perfused tissue for proliferation and migration in the wound bed. Below mentioned are the recent management strategies for open wound.

Hydrogel Dressings

Hydrogels are generally made up of complex hydrophilic polymers with maximum water content (90%) and semiocclusive in nature (Weller and Team, 2019). A recent clinical trial showed that nano fibrillar cellulose hydrogel dressing in patients undergoing skin graft donor displayed significant improvement in Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale, viscoelasticity and elastic modulus post-operatively as compared to copolymer dressing (Koivuniemi et al., 2020).

Hydrocolloids

Hydrocolloids are the dressing materials that retain moisture and contain gel-forming agents such as pectin and gelatin. A recent meta-analysis shows that patients treated with hydrocolloid dressing displayed a significant decrease in pressure ulcers caused by non-invasive ventilation. Further, in this study, the incidence of pressure ulcers was lower in hydrocolloid dressing treated patients as compared to the guaze

Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT)

NPWT is a reliable adjunct strategy for wound management where surgery is not possible. Once the wound is in a well-vascularized condition, NPWT elicits the healing by secondary intention, inhibition of cytokines, angiogenesis, remodelling of extracellular matrix and deposition of granulation tissue (Anghel and Kim, 2016).

In a study done by Kucharzewski et al. patients with chronic venous leg ulceration with an ulceration surface area was 62.6 cm2were treated with NPWT. Among, the 15 patients, 10 were subjected to NPWT (50 to 200 mmHg) and ulcer healing was observed in 6 weeks whereas in the remaining 5 patients the healing was observed in 20 weeks (Kucharzewski et al., 2014). A meta-analysis evidence shows that NPWT was associated with a significant reduction in wound infection (relative risk (RR) 0·54, 95 per cent CI 0·33 to 0·89) and seroma formation (RR 0·48, 0·27 to 0·84) compared with the conservative management (Hyldig et al., 2016).

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)

HBOT is a procedure in which 100% oxygen at greater than 1 atmosphere of absolute pressure is administered to the wound area, through a specialized designed chamber (Lam et al., 2017). A previous Cochrane reviewed the efficacy HBOT for chronic wounds based on the 8 published RCTS in diabetic ulcer patients. The outcome of the analysis showed that HBOT enhances the short-term wound healing up to 6 weeks and also decreases the amputation rates

References

Weller C., Team V. (2019). “Interactive dressings and their role in moist wound management,” in Advanced Textiles for Wound Care, 2nd ed. Ed. Rajendran S. (United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing Limited; ), 105–134

Koivuniemi R, Hakkarainen T, Kiiskinen J, Kosonen M, Vuola J, Valtonen J, Luukko K, Kavola H, Yliperttula M. Clinical study of nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogel dressing for skin graft donor site treatment. Advances in wound care. 2020 Apr 1;9(4):199-210

Cai JY, Zha ML, Chen HL. Use of a Hydrocolloid Dressing in the Prevention of Device-related Pressure Ulcers DuringNoninvasive Ventilation: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Wound Manag Prev. 2019 Feb;65(2):30-38.

Anghel EL, Kim PJ. Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy: A Comprehensive Review of the Evidence. PlastReconstr Surg. 2016 Sep;138(3 Suppl):129S-137S

Kucharzewski M, Mieszczański P, Wilemska-Kucharzewska K, Taradaj J, Kuropatnicki A, Sliwiński Z. The application of negative pressure wound therapy in the treatment of chronic venous leg ulceration: authors experience. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:297230.

Hyldig N, Birke-Sorensen H, Kruse M, Vinter C, Joergensen JS, Sorensen JA, Mogensen O, Lamont RF, Bille C. Meta-analysis of negative-pressure wound therapy for closed surgical incisions. Br J Surg. 2016 Apr;103(5):477-86.

Lam G, Fontaine R, Ross FL, Chiu ES. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Exploring the Clinical Evidence. Adv Skin Wound Care. 2017 Apr;30(4):181-190

Kranke P, Bennett MH, Martyn-St James M, Schnabel A, Debus SE, Weibel S. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for chronic wounds. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015;6:CD004123

Journals Offering Fee Waivers for Articles Related to COVID-19
Categories Medical news

Journals Offering Fee Waivers for Articles Related to COVID-19

Author krishna kumar 92 Comments on Journals Offering Fee Waivers for Articles Related to COVID-19 Posted on

Introduction

The virus spreading COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus. Not much has been known about the virus. Any accurate and authentic information about coronavirus and the related disease is of vital importance to the researchers. This information will help the researchers to tackle this pandemic more effectively. Articles published in journals are a great source of information on this new pandemic. Many journals have either reduced or have completely waived off the publication charges.

Journals Offering a Fee-Waiver for COVID-19 Articles

Many publishing houses that are into publishing the journals have waived off the article processing charges and set up a rapid review process for researches related to COVID-19. Some of these journals are:

1) PEERJ

PeerJ is one of the leading publishers of various research articles. The editorial board of PeerJ includes 5 Nobel Laureates. Started in the year 2011, it has 70000 researchers that have subscribed to PeerJ article alerts. It publishes research across 228 subjects.  PeerJ has 37.5 million views and downloads. Because of the immediate need for dissemination of information on COVID-19, PeerJ has decided to waive the article processing charges on articles related to COVID-19. For more information visit https://peerj.com/blog/post/115284882180/covid-19-full-fee-waivers-fast-track-peer-review/

2) AIJR PUBLISHERS

AIJR is the publisher of open access refereed journals and books. It publishes articles related to all areas of research and technology. AIJR is involved in publishing abstract books, peer-reviewed journals, thesis, dissertation, books, conference proceedings, open access, and academic journals. The articles published through AIJR must go through the peer-review process. To distribute high-quality information through a research article on COVID-19, AIJR is inviting submissions on COVID-19. The paper would be accepted and published for free as for invited submission, the article submission fee has been waived. For more information visit https://www.aijr.in/call-for-publications-on-covid19-impact-of-coronavirus-outbreak/

3) HINDAWI JOURNAL

Hindawi is a large publishing house that publishes 230 peer-reviewed journals. With headquarters in London, the publishing house publishes approximately 20,000 articles per year. It was founded in 1997 and is the founder member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association. The article processing charges of Hindawi varies according to the journal. Hindawi has been offering a fast-track review process for the articles related to COVID-19 pandemic and have the fees waived if the article is suitable for publication. For more information, please visit https://www.hindawi.com/post/sharing-findings-related-covid-19-these-extraordinary-times/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=owned+referral&utm_campaign=HDW_COMR_GBL_AWA_TWTR_OWN_OSOC_BLOG_X_10113

4) FRONTIERS

Frontiers is a publishing house, publishing research articles in 600 different academic disciplines. The journals are peer-reviewed before publication, and the house has more than 1,00,000 researchers for peer-reviewing. It has an open science technology platform that also includes Artificial Intelligence Review Assistant. There are more than 500 million views, and downloads, and the articles published have more than 1 million citations. The publisher has waived the Article processing charges for the manuscript in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information visit https://coronavirus.frontiersin.org/

5) FACETS

Facets are Canada’s first multidisciplinary open access journals. Being a multi-disciplinary publishing house, it has various subject specialists to review the submitted articles. It has a partnership with various research organizations and helps them to disseminate the information. It publishes 20 technical and scientific journals. It publishes review articles, editorials, notes, perspectives, and science application forum papers. For the manuscript related to human epidemiology (COVID-19), the article processing charges have been waived by Facets journal. For more information, please visit https://medium.com/facets/waived-fees-for-human-epidemiology-manuscripts-5ab9283c0767

6) SAGE PUBLISHING

Sage publishing is the publisher of books and journals. The publisher is also into library products and suites including data, case studies, archives, and videos. It publishes more than 1000 journals, and 900 new books every year. It was founded in the year 1965. To provide accurate information related to COVID-19 at a faster rate, the research papers are reviewed on a fast track basis. The Sage publishing also announces to waive of article processing charges for research papers related to COVID-19. For more information please visit https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/press/sage-waives-article-processing-charges-for-research-related-to-covid-19

7) AOSIS

Aosis publishers publish various journals. The house has a peer-review process. Aosis has various services such as online publication engagement, plagiarism detection management, strategic development, and indexing services management. For the articles submitted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Aosis publications have announced to waive off the article processing charges. The publisher has also established a rapid review process to quickly publish the article for the immediate dissemination of information. For more information, please visit https://aosis.co.za/covid-19-apc-statement/.

8) BRITISH JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY

British Journal of Radiology is one of the oldest scientific journals in the field of radiology. The journal has a long history dating back to 1896 and is known for publishing various landmark researches in the field of radiology. The journal publishes multidisciplinary articles related to radiotherapy, medical physics, and imaging techniques. To disseminate the information about COVID-19, the journal has announced to waive of all open access article processing charges and for rapidly reviewing the articles related to COVID-19. For more information, please visit https://www.birpublications.org/covid-19

9) BLOOD AND BLOOD ADVANCES

Blood is the journal published by The American Society of Hematology. The journal is published weekly with 52 journals a year. In the year 2018, the impact factor of the journal was 16.601. The journal is published every Thursday except in the last week of the year. The submission and publication fees for the research papers related to COVID-19 published in Blood and Blood Journals are waived. For more information, please visit https://ashpublications.org/journals/pages/covid_19

Safety and Preventive Measures during the Covid-19
Categories Medical news

Safety and Preventive Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

Safety and Preventive Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Posted by Siva Raman

Introduction

The healthcare system of the whole world seems to collapse because of the highly contagious SARS-CoV-2. Unfortunately, there is no treatment of the disease and vaccines are under development. In such a scenario, to follow the preventive measures to reduce the spread of infection looks prudent. There are various ways to stay away from the risk of exposure. These include isolation and quarantine, Personal Protective Equipments, social distancing, sanitization, and hand hygiene.

COVID-19: Highly Contagious Disease

COVID-19 pandemic has shattered the healthcare system, economy, and health of the people throughout the world. The initial cases of COVID-19 infection came in late 2019. In January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the disease as a health emergency of international concern. In March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. In February 2020, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses named the disease as SARS-CoV-2.

Studies have indicated that the virus has 79.5% similarity with SARS-CoV while its similarity to bat coronavirus is 96.2%. However, its highly contagious nature and the significant ability for human to human transmission is because of the high affinity of its spike glycoprotein towards ACE2 receptors as compared to SARS-CoV. Fortunately, the mortality rate of SARS-CoV-2 is less (3.4%) as compared to MERS (35%) and SARS (9.6%).

The infection is highly contagious and spread through person-to-person transmission. The infected person when sneezes or coughs, it results in the formation of liquid droplets containing the virus. Depending upon the distance of another person, these droplets either stick on to mouth or nose or maybe inhaled directly into the lungs. The spread may also occur when the person touches the places infected with the virus. The virus may also enter through contaminated aerosols and fomites.

Measures for Safety and Prevention of COVID -19

Currently, there is no proven effective treatment for COVID-19. Various pharmaceutical companies have directed their resources to come up with the treatment for this pandemic. Till the time the medicine gets available, it is important to implement safety and protective measures to prevent transmission of this infection. Screening may help in reducing the number of cases. Following are some of the safety and protective measures for COVID-19:

Hand hygiene: One of the most effective measures for contracting and preventing the spread of COVID-19 is enhanced hand hygiene. However, washing hands properly is also an art. Some people wash their hands without water while some use soap but wash hands for a few seconds. For washing hands, you should remove the accessories such as hand bands or watches. Wet the hands and apply soap on them. Rub the hands with each other for 20 seconds.

Sanitizing surroundings: The surroundings should be sanitized effectively and frequently. Lift, railings, and doorknobs have the potential to spread infections if they have been used by a COVID-19 patient. Sanitize yourself with as quality sanitizer if you have touched any surface which is accessible to the general public.

Social distancing:  Social distancing is an effective way to reduce the risk of transmission of infection. The droplets from the infectious person travel to some distance when the person talks, coughs, or sneezes. Maintaining social distancing may include the closing of schools and colleges and the suspension of occasions requiring public gatherings.

Avoid gatherings: People should avoid visiting the crowded areas as these areas are the hotspot for high transmission of disease. These include going to malls, theatres, or any public or private functions.

Personal protective equipment: Personal protective equipment, if worn properly, is an effective tool in controlling the transmission of COVID-19. People should wear masks properly according to the WHO, as the improper wearing of masks increases the risk of infection. Further, PPEs should be removed and disposed of as per the protocol.

Workplace measures: Effective measures should be implemented at the workplace to reduce transmission of COVID-19 infection. Social distancing should always be maintained, and employees should be advised to wear the mask. Sanitization should be done at the office.

Measures at hospitals for non-COVID patients: Proper safety measures should be implemented at hospitals for the patients who visit for getting treatment of the diseases other than COVID-19. All the areas and surfaces should be regularly sanitized, and the number of people at a time should be limited.

Stay at home: Staying home is the best method to avoid any risk of infection. You must go outside of your house only when it is necessary. Wear mask before going out and wash your hand and sanitize them properly after returning.

Avoid unnecessary touching: Avoid unnecessary touching of objects and surfaces at public places. These include railings, lift buttons, counter surfaces, and doorknobs. Always sanitize your hands after touching such surfaces.

Isolation and Quarantine: Isolation of the confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients is an effective method to control community spread of infection. Quarantine is different from isolation in a way that quarantined a person may or may not be infected but is believed to encounter an infected person.

Upgrading testing capacity: Increase in the testing capacity will help in isolating the confirmed cases of COVID-19. It will help in the reduction in the rate of transmission.

REFERENCE

Güner R, Hasanoğlu I, Aktaş F. COVID-19: Prevention and control measures in the community. Turk J Med Sci. 2020;50(SI-1):571-577. Published 2020 Apr 21. doi:10.3906/sag-2004-146

New Spray Drying Technique Enhance The Solubility of Therapeutic Drugs
Categories Medical news

New Spray Drying Technique Enhance The Solubility of Therapeutic Drugs

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

Fraunhofer  researchers adapted the technique of spray drying, one used for producing instant coffee and powdered milk, for incorporating insoluble substances in core-shell particles and refining the encapsulation process of therapeutic drugs.

Encapsulation is a technique used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals to protect the active ingredients of the drug from the influence of gastric acid and to control their release into the body. Thus, the medication is delivered gradually rather than all at once.

The process involves dissolving the active ingredient of the drug in a liquid medium and mixing it with the shell material. The solution is then piped whose orifice is surrounded by an annular channel injecting compressed air at high speed. The air pressure disperses the solution into an aerosol of fine droplets, which is then sprayed into a drying cylinder to obtain a fine powder of core-shell particles.

But the difficulty of mixing insoluble substances with the shell material limits their choice. To overcome this problem, the three-way nozzle was implemented for spraying by Fraunhofer researchers. “Its advantage is the ability to feed two substances separately to the nozzle. The shear forces mix the substances together at the orifice of the nozzle, creating an aerosol containing both materials,” explains Michael Walz, who developed and optimized this technique with his colleague Dr Achim Weber at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart.

“The technique modifies the encapsulation process and efficiency by permitting endless combinations of materials, enabling the controlled release of active ingredients, and developing solutions tailored to individual customer needs” says Weber.

This new process could benefit fertilizer manufacturers, food processing companies as well as the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Digital Sensors for Digestive Tract monitoring
Categories Medical news

Rhythmic Contractions of the Digestive Tract Can Now Be Measured with Flexible Sensors

Author krishna kumar 0 Comments Posted on

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have built a flexible sensor that adheres to the lining of the stomach or intestine and measures the rhythmic contractions of the digestive tract.

Such sensors can help doctors to diagnose digestive disorders that impair the motility of the digestive tract. Further, they can be used to measure the food intake in patients treated for obesity.

These flexible sensors are based on piezoelectric materials, which generate a current and voltage on mechanical deformation. Polymers with elasticity similar to that of human skin are also incorporated in the sensors so that they can conform to the skin and stretch when the skin stretches.

“Having flexibility makes it easier for a sensor to transit the human digestive tract and imparts significantly improved safety over rigid ingestible sensors,” says Giovanni Traverso, a research affiliate at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, a gastroenterologist and biomedical engineer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Traverso teamed with Canan Dagdeviren, an assistant professor in MIT’s Media Lab and the director of the Conformable Decoders research group to develop this flexible sensor that can be can be rolled up and placed in a capsule. The capsule gets dissolved after being swallowed.

The effectiveness of the sensors was tested in pigs, where they successfully adhered to the stomach lining after being delivered through an endoscope. These sensors transmitted information about how much voltage was generated that helped researchers to calculate the movements of the stomach wall. They could also distinguish when food or liquid was ingested.

“For the first time, we showed that a flexible, piezoelectric device can stay in the stomach up to two days without any electrical or mechanical degradation,” says Dagdeviren.

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