Journal of long-term effects of medical implants
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The World Health Organization was committed to eliminating neonatal tetanus by 1995. Three years after this date, the infection killed over 400,000 babies a year, even though a safe, effective vaccine had been available for most of this century. The frequency of tetanus in the developing world epitomizes the healthcare disparity between the developed and the developing world. ⋯ The diagnosis of tetanus is most frequently made on clinical manifestations, rather than on bacteriologic findings. The three objectives of management of tetanus are: (1) to provide supportive care until the tetanospasmin that is fixed in tissue has been metabolized; (2) to neutralize circulating toxin; and (3) to remove the source of tetanospasmin. Because there is essentially no immunity to tetanus toxoid, the only effective way to control tetanus is by prophylactic immunization.
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Minimally invasive surgery techniques have revolutionized surgery. Robotic surgery may be the next revolution in surgical technology. ⋯ We explore robotic history, the present surgical technology, the current clinical cases and research, and the future of robotics. We will look specifically at the birth and progress of our own problem.
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J Long Term Eff Med Implants · Jan 2003
Reliability and performance of innovative surgical double-glove hole puncture indication systems.
During operative procedures, operating room personnel wear sterile surgical gloves designed to protect them and their patients against transmissible infections. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set compliance policy guides for manufacturers of gloves. The FDA allows surgeons' gloves whose leakage defect rates do not exceed 1.5 acceptable quality level (AQL) to be used in operating rooms. ⋯ Within two minutes, both the non-latex and latex hole puncture indication systems accurately detected needle punctures in all of the surgical gloves, regardless of the dimensions of the surgical needles. In addition, the size of the color change visualized through the translucent outer glove did not correlate with needle diameter. On the basis of this extensive experimental evaluation, both the non-latex and latex double-glove hole puncture indication systems should be used in all operative procedures by all operating room personnel.
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Extensive clinical investigations have demonstrated that double-gloves and blunt-tipped surgical needles dramatically reduced the risk of accidental injuries during surgery. During the last decade, double-glove hole puncture indication systems have been developed that reduce the clinical risk of accidental needlestick injuries as well as detect the presence of glove hole puncture in the presence of fluids. When the outer glove is punctured, the colored underglove becomes apparent through the translucent outer glove, necessitating glove removal, hand washing, and donning of another double-glove hole puncture Indicator system. ⋯ The taper point needle encountered the lowest puncture resistance forces in the five single gloves and the three double-glove systems. Blunting the sharp end of the taper point needle markedly increased its resistance to glove puncture in the five single gloves and five double-glove systems. The blunt-point surgical needle elicited the greatest needle penetration force in all of the single and double-glove systems.