Medical Specialties Commons^™

Adherence Mechanism Analysis: The Role Of Prsa Gene In Lactobacillus Acidophilus And Other Infectious Microorganisms, Nujuma Moussa

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Central Venous Catheter And Post-Operative Complications In Patients Undergoing Hepatic Resection, David C. O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

The Relationship Between Central Venous Catheter and Post-operative Complications in Patients Undergoing Hepatic Resection

David C. O’Connor, Ph.D., DNAP, CRNA

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018

Dissertation Chair: Clarence J. Biddle, Ph.D., CRNA

Hepatic resection is indicated for primary and secondary malignancies. Use of a low central venous pressure technique is associated with decreased blood loss in these cases. This technique has evolved; central venous catheters and high dose morphine are no longer used, and patients are extubated earlier. The purpose of …

Shared Genetic And Environmental Influences On Fear, Anxiety, Posttraumatic Stress, And Brain Morphometry, Chelsea Sawyers

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders (ADs) and stress-related disorders are some of the most common psychiatric disorders in the United States. Like other c0mplex psychiatric illness, genetics and neuroimaging research has focused on understanding their underlying neurobiology. Areas within the fear-network play important roles in threat perception, fear conditioning/learning, cognitive processing, and modulation of fear responses including contextual modulation and extinction and have been implicated in ADs as well as stress disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The primary gap in the current search for underlying biological mechanisms is in whether biomarkers associated with disorders share genetic influences with the disorders they …

Cataract Blindness: Socioeconomic Factors Associated With Treatment Barriers And High Blindness Rates For Women In Rural Regions Of Andhra Pradesh, Kiranpreet Kaur

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Despite efforts of Vision 2020 in India, the 2001 Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS) extrapolated that approximately 18.7 million blind people resided in India and projected an increase to 31.6 million blind people by 2020. Within the Andhra Pradesh state itself, the preventable blindness population had increased from approximately 1,143,150 people in 1990 to 1,402,264 people in 2001, against reformation attempts by the National Program for Control of Blindness. Of this, cataracts were consistently the leading cause of avoidable blindness. Numerous public health studies have been conducted to outline factors that preclude treatment of avoidable cataract blindness in the …

The Effect Of Dna Methylation On Tp73 Expression In Tumorgenesis, Nujuma A. Moussa

Undergraduate Research Posters

Abstract: The Effect of DNA Methylation on TP73 Expression in Tumorgenesis

Nujuma Moussa, Zhixing Yao, Zaki A. Sherif

Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Howard University College of Medicine

TP73 is a member of the TP53 family of proteins that acts as a transcription factor to help regulate cellular distress. This tumor protein may play a dual role as a tumor suppressor and tumor promoter. The TP73 gene is mapped to chromosome 1p36, a frequently deleted region in neuroblastoma and other types of tumors. While mutations in the TP53 gene are commonly known to cause noxious cancers, 30% of cancers …

Impaired Cardiorespiratory Fitness Following Thoracic Radiotherapy, Justin M. Canada

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer (CA) is the second leading cause of death in the United States preceded only by cardiovascular disease (CVD). Over the past 30 years, the 5-year survival rate for all cancers combined has increased by more than 20%. This improved survival rate is due to early diagnosis and advances in treatment involving a multimodality treatment approach that includes radiotherapy [RT] with about half of all CA patients receiving some type of RT sometime during the course of their treatment. Cardiotoxicity is one of the most important adverse reactions of RT and leads to a meaningful risk of CVD-related morbidity and …

Development Of Novel Models To Study Deep Brain Effects Of Cortical Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Farheen Syeda

Theses and Dissertations

Neurological disorders require varying types and degrees of treatments depending on the symptoms and underlying causes of the disease. Patients suffering from medication-refractory symptoms often undergo further treatment in the form of brain stimulation, e.g. electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). These treatments are popular and have been shown to relieve various symptoms for patients with neurological conditions. However, the underlying effects of the stimulation, and subsequently the causes of symptom-relief, are not very well understood. In particular, TMS is a non-invasive brain stimulation therapy which uses time-varying magnetic …

The Evaluation Of Mefloquine Drug Repurposing On Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Jessica L. Phan, Bhavuk Garg, Hrishikesh Mehta, Seth Corey

Undergraduate Research Posters

The aim of this study is to observe cell proliferation, cell viability, apoptosis, and autophagy on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines, NB4 and U937, with the drug repurposing of mefloquine (MQ). Methods such as the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay and trypan blue staining have shown a decrease in live cells with high concentrations of mefloquine. Using their average perspective IC50 values of MQ concentration, Western blotting was applied by means of apoptosis and autophagy markers to determine if the induction of apoptosis and inhibition of autophagy was present in MQ-treated AML cells. The experiment will be continued with more …

Assessing Baseline And Post-Discharge Risk Factors In Subjects With And Without Sleep Apnea Undergoing Endoscopy With Deep Sedation, Mercedes E. Weir

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

ASSESSING BASELINE AND POST-DISCHARGE RISK FACTORS IN SUBJECTS WITH AND WITHOUT SLEEP APNEA UNDERGOING ENDOSCOPY WITH DEEP SEDATION

Background: Outpatient procedures encompass over 60% of all surgeries in the United States, and the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remains high among adult surgical ambulatory patients. Ambulatory surgery poses problems for patients with OSA because narcotics and anesthetics used during surgery can complicate the negative effects of OSA, leading to cardiac events, brain hypoxia, and even death. This study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of cardiopulmonary risk factors among post endoscopic patients with diagnosed and undiagnosed sleep apnea. …

Motion-Induced Artifact Mitigation And Image Enhancement Strategies For Four-Dimensional Fan-Beam And Cone-Beam Computed Tomography, Matthew J. Riblett

Theses and Dissertations

Four dimensional imaging has become part of the standard of care for diagnosing and treating non-small cell lung cancer. In radiotherapy applications 4D fan-beam computed tomography (4D-CT) and 4D cone-beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) are two advanced imaging modalities that afford clinical practitioners knowledge of the underlying kinematics and structural dynamics of diseased tissues and provide insight into the effects of regular organ motion and the nature of tissue deformation over time. While these imaging techniques can facilitate the use of more targeted radiotherapies, issues surrounding image quality and accuracy currently limit the utility of these images clinically.

The purpose of …

Economic Burden Of Renal Cell Carcinoma (Rcc) And Treatment Patterns, Overall Survival And Healthcare Costs Among Older Metastatic Rcc Patients, Hrishikesh P. Kale

Theses and Dissertations

Background

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer. Patients diagnosed with metastatic RCC (mRCC) have shorter overall survival compared to those diagnosed at earlier stages. Several targeted therapies, which cost from $7,000 - $16,000 per month have been approved since 2005 to treat mRCC. In addition, there is a growing interest in the use of cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) with targeted therapies among mRCC patients. However, little is known regarding the economic burden of RCC and role of CN and prescribing patterns of targeted therapies among older mRCC patients.

Objectives

1) To assess the economic burden …

Reducing Uncertainty In Head And Neck Radiotherapy With Plastic Robotics, Mark R. Ostyn

Theses and Dissertations

One of the greatest challenges in achieving accurate positioning in head and neck radiotherapy is that the anatomy at and above the cervical spine does not act as a single, mechanically rigid body. Current immobilization techniques contain residual uncertainties that are especially present in the lower neck that cannot be reduced by setting up to any single landmark. The work presented describes the development of a radiotherapy friendly mostly-plastic 6D robotic platform for positioning independent landmarks, (i.e., allowing remote, independent positioning of the skull relative to landmarks in the thorax), including analysis of kinematics, stress, radiographic compatibility, trajectory planning, physical …

Evaluation And Adaptation Of Live-Cell Interferometry For Applications In Basic, Translational, And Clinical Research, Kevin A. Leslie

Theses and Dissertations

Cell mass is an important indicator of cell health and status. A diverse set of techniques have been developed to precisely measure the masses of single cells, with varying degrees of technical complexity and throughput. Here, the development of a non-invasive, label-free optical technique, termed Live-Cell Interferometry (LCI), is described. Several applications are presented, including an evaluation of LCI’s utility for assessing drug response heterogeneity in patient-derived melanoma lines and the measurement of CD3+ T cell kinetics during hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The characterization of mast cells during degranulation, the measurement of viral reactivation kinetics in Kaposi’s Sarcoma, and drug …

Predicting Arterial Oxygen Desaturation Events Via Patient Journal And Pulse Oximetry Data In Postoperative Ambulatory Surgery Patients, Charles R. Elam Iv

Theses and Dissertations

Associations between patient and procedural factors on the nature and quality of the immediate in-home recovery from anesthesia following ambulatory orthopedic surgery are unknown. Further, there is a paucity of outcomes research quantitatively categorizing in-home

patient recovery and safety following discharge from same-day orthopedic procedures. Tools are available, however, to shed light on outcomes in this population, and integration of such available measures is critical.

Ambulatory orthopedic surgery is a burgeoning specialty, with growth expected over the foreseeable future. The expected increased patient caseload subsequent to implementation of the Affordable Care Act and aging Baby Boom generation suggests greater morbidity …

Influence Of Muscle Strength On Mobility In Critically Ill Adult Patients On Mechanical Ventilation, Audrey R. Roberson

Theses and Dissertations

Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting are prone to develop muscle weakness and the causes are multi-factorial. Muscle strength in adult, critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation decreases with immobility. The influence of muscle strength on different muscle groups and its influence on progressive mobility in the adult, critically ill patient on mechanical ventilation has not been examined. Identifying muscle strength in this patient population can benefit overall muscle health and minimize muscle deconditioning through a progressive mobility plan. The objective of this dissertation was to describe muscle strength in different muscle groups and to describe the influence …

Relationship Between Patient-Health Coach Interactions And Changes In Markers Of Glucose Homeostasis, Jason P. Nagy

Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes and insulin resistance are on the rise in the United States. Early detection and deployment of therapies has allowed for the reversal of pancreatic beta cell damage. Unfortunately, not all providers can offer the support to facilitating the required life style modifications. The introduction of clinical health consultants (CHC) as supplemental care has improved patient health for a variety of chronic diseases. Missing in the literature are studies investigating the correlation between the number of CHC interactions and improvement in biomarkers.

The study utilized a non-experimental, retrospective study design to evaluate the relationship between the use between the use …

"To Conceive With Child Is The Earnest Desire If Not Of All, Yet Of Most Women": The Advancement Of Prenatal Care And Childbirth In Early Modern England: 1500-1770, Victoria E.C. Glover

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes medical manuals published in England between 1500 and 1770 to trace developing medical understandings and prescriptive approaches to conception, pregnancy, and childbirth. While there have been plenty of books written regarding social and religious changes in the reproductive process during the early modern era, there is a dearth of scholarly work focusing on the medical changes which took place in obstetrics over this period. Early modern England was a time of great change in the field of obstetrics as physicians incorporated newly-discovered knowledge about the male and female body, new fields and tools, and new or revived …

Estimating The Respiratory Lung Motion Model Using Tensor Decomposition On Displacement Vector Field, Kingston Kang

Theses and Dissertations

Modern big data often emerge as tensors. Standard statistical methods are inadequate to deal with datasets of large volume, high dimensionality, and complex structure. Therefore, it is important to develop algorithms such as low-rank tensor decomposition for data compression, dimensionality reduction, and approximation.

With the advancement in technology, high-dimensional images are becoming ubiquitous in the medical field. In lung radiation therapy, the respiratory motion of the lung introduces variabilities during treatment as the tumor inside the lung is moving, which brings challenges to the precise delivery of radiation to the tumor. Several approaches to quantifying this uncertainty propose using a …

Effects Of The Na-Cl Co-Transporter (Ncc) In Western Diet Induced Metabolic And Cardiac Dysfunction, Zachary S. Cutter

Theses and Dissertations

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine known to be involved in maintaining metabolic homeostasis; however, also capable of inducing cardiac dysfunction. Additionally, IL-18, has been shown to bind to a novel receptor, the Na-Cl Co-transporter (NCC). We hypothesized that NCC mediates IL-18 metabolic and cardiac signaling in mice. Using male C57BL/6J mice, we compared the metabolic and cardiac function changes after at least 8 weeks of high-saturated fat high sugar diet (Western Diet) in NCC knockout (NCCKO), IL-18 knockout (IL-18KO), and wild-type mice. We show that NCCKO mice have significantly increased body weight gain from baseline, no difference in fasting …

Advances In Dual-Energy Computed Tomography Imaging Of Radiological Properties, Dong Han

Theses and Dissertations

Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) has shown great potential in the reduction of uncertainties of proton ranges and low energy photon cross section estimation used in radiation therapy planning. The work presented herein investigated three contributions for advancing DECT applications. 1) A linear and separable two-parameter DECT, the basis vector model (BVM) was used to estimate proton stopping power. Compared to other nonlinear two-parameter models in the literature, the BVM model shows a comparable accuracy achieved for typical human tissues. This model outperforms other nonlinear models in estimations of linear attenuation coefficients. This is the first study to clearly illustrate the …

Understanding The Role Of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase And Its Function As A Driving Force Behind The Er Stress Response In Fibrostenotic Crohn’S Disease-Affected Ileal Smooth Muscle Cells, Prashant Yadav

Theses and Dissertations

Crohn’s disease (CD) affects about 780,000 people in the United States alone, and it is estimated that 6-15 per 100,000 persons will receive a diagnosis of this disease each year. There currently is no cure for Crohn’s disease, and available medical therapies simply serve to alleviate the inflammation. This does not help treat fibrostenosis that Crohn’s disease patients may develop, which can only be treated surgically. Finding alternatives to treat CD requires an understanding of mechanisms at the biochemical level. In this thesis, we attempted to gain a better understanding of certain pathways found to be active in Crohn’s disease-affected …

Use Of Management Pathways Or Algorithms In Children With Chronic Cough Chest Guideline And Expert Panel Report, Anne B. Chang, John J. Oppenheimer, Miles M. Weinberger, Bruce K. Rubin, Kelly Weir, Cameron C. Grant, Richard S. Irwin, Chest Expert Cough Panel

Pediatrics Publications

BACKGROUND: Using management algorithms or pathways potentially improves clinical outcomes. We undertook systematic reviews to examine various aspects in the generic approach (use of cough algorithms and tests) to the management of chronic cough in children (aged ≤ 14 years) based on key questions (KQs) using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome format.

METHODS: We used the CHEST Expert Cough Panel's protocol for the systematic reviews and the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) methodological guidelines and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework. Data from the systematic reviews in conjunction with patients' values and preferences and the clinical context …

Dynamical System Modeling To Simulate Donor T Cell Response To Whole Exome Sequencing-Derived Recipient Peptides: Understanding Randomness In Alloreactivity Incidence Following Stem Cell Transplantation, Vishal Koparde, Badar Abdul Razzaq, Tara Suntum, Roy Sabo, Allison Scalora, Myrna Serrano, Max Jameson-Lee, Charles Hall, David Kobulnicky, Nihar Sheth, Juliana Feltz, Daniel Contaifer, Dayanjan Wijesinghe, Jason Reed, Catherine Roberts, Rehan Qayyum, Gregory Buck, Michael Neale, Amir Toor

Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Data

Quantitative relationship between the magnitude of variation in minor histocompatibility antigens (mHA) and graft versus host disease (GVHD) pathophysiology in stem cell transplant (SCT) donor-recipient pairs (DRP) is not established. In order to elucidate this relationship, whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on 27 HLA matched related (MRD), & 50 unrelated donors (URD), to identify nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). An average 2,463 SNPs were identified in MRD, and 4,287 in URD DRP (p

Safety And Effectiveness Of Propranolol In Severely Burned Patients: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Ramiro Manzano-Nunez, Herney Andrés García-Perdomo, Paula Ferrada, Carlos Alberto Ordoñez Delgado, Diego Andrés Gomez, Jorge Esteban Foianini

Surgery Publications

Background

The objective of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness and safety of propranolol compared to placebo or usual care for improving clinical relevant outcomes in severely burned patients (TBSA >20%).

Methods

Relevant articles from randomized controlled trials were identified by a literature search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL. We included trials involving patients with a severe burn (>20% of total body surface area affected). Trials were eligible if they evaluated propranolol and compared to usual care or placebo. Two investigators independently assessed articles for inclusion and exclusion criteria and selected studies for the final analysis. We …

Pelvic Trauma: Wses Classification And Guidelines, Federico Coccolini, Philip F. Stahel, Giulia Montori, Walter Biffl, Tal M. Horer, Fausto Catena, Yoram Kluger, Ernest E. Moore, Andrew B. Peitzman, Rao Ivatury, Raul Coimbra, Gustavo Pereira Fraga, Bruno Pereira, Sandro Rizoli, Andrew Kirkpatrick, Ari Leppaniemi, Roberto Manfredi, Stefano Magnone, Osvaldo Chiara, Leonardo Solaini, Marco Ceresoli, Niccolò Allievi, Catherine Arvieux, George Velmahos, Zsolt Balogh, Noel Naidoo, Dieter Weber, Fikri Abu-Zidan, Massimo Sartelli, Luca Ansaloni

Surgery Publications

Complex pelvic injuries are among the most dangerous and deadly trauma related lesions. Different classification systems exist, some are based on the mechanism of injury, some on anatomic patterns and some are focusing on the resulting instability requiring operative fixation. The optimal treatment strategy, however, should keep into consideration the hemodynamic status, the anatomic impairment of pelvic ring function and the associated injuries. The management of pelvic trauma patients aims definitively to restore the homeostasis and the normal physiopathology associated to the mechanical stability of the pelvic ring. Thus the management of pelvic trauma must be multidisciplinary and should be …

Scedosporium Prolificans Septic Arthritis, Collier S. Pace, Jessica A. Frankenhoff, Jonathan E. Isaacs

Surgery Publications

Scedosporium prolificans is an emerging fungal pathogen that can cause significant morbidity, and even mortality, in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. Approximately 10% of patients affected by this rare fungal pathogen present with septic osteomyelitis or arthritis. Overall, the rate of mortality is close to 50%, and several patients with orthopedic infections have required amputations.1 Our patient is a 59-year-old woman, with a history of rheumatoid arthritis requiring immunosuppressants, who presented with a 5-month history of right wrist pain and swelling. She described an oscillating course of swelling, erythema, and pain involving the dorsal aspect of her wrist that did …

Panamerican Trauma Society: The First Three Decades, Rao R. Ivatury, Michel Aboutanos

Surgery Publications

Panamerican Trauma Society was born 30 years ago with the mission of improving trauma care in the Americas by exchange of ideas and concepts and expanding knowledge of trauma and acute illness. The authors, immediate-past leaders of the organization, review the evolution of this assembly of diverse cultures and nationalities.

The Global Alliance For Infections In Surgery: Defining A Model For Antimicrobial Stewardship—Results From An International Cross-Sectional Survey, Massimo Sartelli, Francesco M. Labricciosa, Pamela Barbadoro, Leonardo Pagani, Luca Ansaloni, Adrian J. Brink, Jean Carlet, Ashish Khanna, Alain Chichom-Mefire, Federico Coccolini, Salomone Di Saverio, Addison K. May, Pierluigi Viale, Richard R. Watkins, Luigia Scudeller, Lilian M. Abbo, Fikri M. Abu-Zidan, Abdulrashid K. Adesunkanmi, Sara Al-Dahir, Majdi N. Al-Hasan, Halil Alis, Carlos Alves, André R. Araujo Da Silva, Goran Augustin, Miklosh Bala, Philip S. Barie, Marcelo A. Beltrán, Aneel Bhangu, Belefquih Bouchra, Stephen M. Brecher, Miguel A. Caínzos, Adrian Camacho-Ortiz, Marco Catani, Sujith J. Chandy, Asri Che Jusoh, Jill R. Cherry-Bukowiec, Osvaldo Chiara, Elif Colak, Oliver A. Cornely, Yunfeng Cui, Zaza Demetrashvili, Belinda De Simone, Jan J. De Waele, Sameer Dhingra, Francesco Di Marzo, Agron Dogjani, Gereltuya Dorj, Laurent Dortet, Therese M. Duane, Mutasim M. Elmangory, Mushira A. Enani, Paula Ferrada, J. Esteban Foianini, Mahir Gachabayov, Chinmay Gandhi, Wagih Mommtaz Ghnnam, Helen Giamarellou, Georgios Gkiokas, Harumi Gomi, Tatjana Goranovic, Ewen A. Griffiths, Rosio I. Guerra Gronerth, Julio C. Haidamus Monteiro, Timothy C. Hardcastle, Andreas Hecker, Adrien M. Hodonou, Orestis Ioannidis, Arda Isik, Katia A. Iskandar, Hossein S. Kafil, Souha S. Kanj, Lewis J. Kaplan, Garima Kapoor, Aleksandar R. Karamarkovic, Jakub Kenig, Ivan Kerschaever, Faryal Khamis, Vladimir Khokha, Ronald Kiguba, Hong B. Kim, Wen-Chien Ko, Kaoru Koike, Iryna Kozlovska, Anand Kumar, Leonel Lagunes, Rifat Latifi, Jae G. Lee, Young R. Lee, Ari Leppäniemi, Yousheng Li, Stephen Y. Liang, Warren Lowman, Gustavo M. Machain, Marc Maegele, Piotr Major, Sydney Malama, Ramiro Manzano-Nunez, Athanasios Marinis, Isidro Martinez Casas, Sanjay Marwah, Emilio Maseda, Michael E. Mcfarlane, Ziad Memish, Dominik Mertz, Cristian Mesina, Shyam K. Mishra, Ernest E. Moore, Akutu Munyika, Eleftherios Mylonakis, Lena Napolitano, Ionut Negoi, Milica D. Nestorovic, David P. Nicolau, Abdelkarim H. Omari, Carlos A. Ordonez, José-Artur Paiva, Narayan D. Pant, Jose G. Parreira, Michal Pędziwiatr, Bruno M. Pereira, Alfredo Ponce-De-Leon, Garyphallia Poulakou, Jacobus Preller, Céline Pulcini, Guntars Pupelis, Martha Quiodettis, Timothy M. Rawson, Tarcisio Reis, Miran Rems, Sandro Rizoli, Jason Roberts, Nuno Rocha Pereira, Jesús Rodríguez-Baño, Boris Sakakushev, James Sanders, Natalia Santos, Norio Sato, Robert G. Sawyer, Sandro Scarpelini, Loredana Scoccia, Nusrat Shafiq, Vishalkumar Shelat, Costi D. Sifri, Boonying Siribumrungwong, Kjetil Søreide, Rodolfo Soto, Hamilton P. De Souza, Peep Talving, Ngo Tat Trung, Jeffrey M. Tessier, Mario Tumbarello, Jan Ulrych, Selman Uranues, Harry Van Goor, Andras Vereczkei, Florian Wagenlehner, Yonghong Xiao, Kuo-Ching Yuan, Agnes Wechsler-Fördös, Jean-Ralph Zahar, Tanya L. Zakrison, Brian Zuckerbraun, Wietse P. Zuidema, Fausto Catena

Surgery Publications

Background

Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) have been promoted to optimize antimicrobial usage and patient outcomes, and to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms. However, the best strategies for an ASP are not definitively established and are likely to vary based on local culture, policy, and routine clinical practice, and probably limited resources in middle-income countries. The aim of this study is to evaluate structures and resources of antimicrobial stewardship teams (ASTs) in surgical departments from different regions of the world.

Methods

A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted in 2016 on 173 physicians who participated in the AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global …

The Role Of Open Abdomen In Non-Trauma Patient: Wses Consensus Paper, Federico Coccolini, Giulia Montori, Marco Ceresoli, Fausto Catena, Ernest E. Moore, Rao Ivatury, Walter Biffl, Andrew Peitzman, Raul Coimbra, Sandro Rizoli, Yoram Kluger, Fikri M. Abu-Zidan, Massimo Sartelli, Marc De Moya, George Velmahos, Gustavo Pereira Fraga, Bruno M. Pereira, Ari Leppaniemi, Marja A. Boermeester, Andrew W. Kirkpatrick, Ron Maier, Miklosh Bala, Boris Sakakushev, Vladimir Khokha, Manu Malbrain, Vanni Agnoletti, Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Michael Sugrue, Salomone Di Saverio, Ewen Griffiths, Kjetil Soreide, John E. Mazuski, Addison K. May, Philippe Montravers, Rita Maria Melotti, Michele Pisano, Francesco Salvetti, Gianmariano Marchesi, Tino M. Valetti, Thomas Scalea, Osvaldo Chiara, Jeffry L. Kashuk, Luca Ansaloni

Surgery Publications

The open abdomen (OA) is defined as intentional decision to leave the fascial edges of the abdomen un-approximated after laparotomy (laparostomy). The abdominal contents are potentially exposed and therefore must be protected with a temporary coverage, which is referred to as temporal abdominal closure (TAC). OA use remains widely debated with many specific details deserving detailed assessment and clarification. To date, in patients with intra-abdominal emergencies, the OA has not been formally endorsed for routine utilization; although, utilization is seemingly increasing. Therefore, the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), Abdominal Compartment Society (WSACS) and the Donegal Research Academy united a …

The Management Of Intra-Abdominal Infections From A Global Perspective: 2017 Wses Guidelines For Management Of Intra-Abdominal Infections, Massimo Sartelli, Alain Chichom-Mefire, Francesco M. Labricciosa, Timothy Hardcastle, Fikri M. Abu-Zidan, Abdulrashid K. Adesunkanmi, Luca Ansaloni, Miklosh Bala, Zsolt J. Balogh, Marcelo A. Beltrán, Offir Ben-Ishay, Walter L. Biffl, Arianna Birindelli, Miguel A. Cainzos, Gianbattista Catalini, Marco Ceresoli, Asri Che Jusoh, Osvaldo Chiara, Federico Coccolini, Raul Coimbra, Francesco Cortese, Zaza Demetrashvili, Salomone Di Saverio, Jose J. Diaz, Valery N. Egiev, Paula Ferrada, Gustavo P. Fraga, Wagih M. Ghnnam, Jae Gil Lee, Carlos A. Gomes, Andreas Hecker, Torsten Herzog, Jae Il Kim, Kenji Inaba, Arda Isik, Aleksandar Karamarkovic, Jeffry Kashuk, Vladimir Khokha, Andrew W. Kirkpatrick, Yoram Kluger, Kaoru Koike, Victor Y. Kong, Ari Leppaniemi, Gustavo M. Machain, Ronald V. Maier, Sanjay Marwah, Michael E. Mcfarlane, Giulia Montori, Ernest E. Moore, Ionut Negoi, Iyiade Olaoye, Abdelkarim H. Omari, Carlos A. Ordonez, Bruno M. Pereira, Gerson A. Pereira Júnior, Guntars Pupelis, Tarcisio Reis, Boris Sakakushev, Norio Sato, Helmut Ovia Lohse A. Segovia Lohse, Vishal G. Shelat, Kjetil Søreide, Waldemar Uhl, Jan Ulrych, Harry Van Goor, George C. Velmahos, Kuo-Ching Yuan, Imtiaz Wani, Dieter G. Weber, Sanoop K. Zachariah, Fausto Catena

Surgery Publications

Intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) are common surgical emergencies and have been reported as major contributors to non-trauma deaths in the emergency departments worldwide.

The cornerstones of effective treatment of IAIs are early recognition, adequate source control, and appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Prompt resuscitation of patients with ongoing sepsis is of utmost important.

In hospitals worldwide, non-acceptance of, or lack of access to, accessible evidence-based practices and guidelines result in overall poorer outcome of patients suffering IAIs.

The aim of this paper is to promote global standards of care in IAIs and update the 2013 WSES guidelines for management of intra-abdominal infections.