The Perception of Skills for Maximizing Patient Comfort During Non-Invasive Ventilation Among Respiratory Therapists at KFSH&RC

Background: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is a modality that supports patient breathing through different types of face ‏interfaces, such as a full-face mask and nasal mask. Noninvasive Ventilation modalities have proven to improve morbidity and mortality rates for patients suffering from respiratory failure in the hospital setting and Outpatient. It also helped prevent escalating the treatment to more advanced methods such as invasive ventilation. However, several elements are required for optimizing the therapy, including Health care providers\u27 training in operating the different brands of NIV, equipment availability, cost, and appropriate adjustment to the settings according to patient response. Purpose: This study aims to assess the level of perception of maximizing patient comfort during non-invasive ventilation devices among respiratory therapists at KFSH&RC by utilizing specific features of NIV. For instance, ramp, Flex, humidification, and auto-adjusting pressure. In addition, how RTs perceive mask selection and other contributing factors that contribute to maximizing patients\u27 comfort. Methods: The study used an online, cross-sectional survey with 20 questions were sent to Respiratory therapists at KFSH&RC. In this survey, data collected from targeted population regarding their perceptions of skills for maximizing patient comfort during non-invasive ventilation will be analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Result: The findings indicated that respiratory therapists at KFSH&RC generally hold a positive view about utilizing various aspects of NIV, such as auto-adjusting pressure, noise reduction, humidification, and specific NIV settings, to maximize patient comfort. They also recognized the importance of effective communication, patient encouragement, and addressing patient comfort before and after initiating NIV therapy. The study found that demographic factors like gender, country of graduation, years of experience, and age did not significantly impact the therapists\u27 attitudes, except for therapists working in respiratory care community services (RCCS), who placed greater emphasis on maximizing patient comfort during NIV (P=.019). Conclusion: This research conducted at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC) concluded that respiratory therapists demonstrated positive perception about utilizing different elements of NIV to maximize patient comfort during therapy. Majority of therapists believed that features such as auto-adjusting pressure, noise reduction, humidification, and the utilization of certain NIV settings such as the FLEX and RAMP have significance for enhancing patient comfort

The effect of selected commercially available mouth-rinses vs. curcumin photosensitizers in an artificial mouth model mimicking their use before meals on early colonizers single species biofilm

Abstract. – OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the bacterial-adherence to the experimental pellicle pretreated with commer- cially available oral-rinse/photosensitizer (mim- icking use of oral-rinse/photosensitizer beforemeals). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An artificial mouth (NAM) system was used for the devel- opment of single-species biofilm (Actinomyces viscosus, Sreptococcus mitis and Streptococ- cus sanguinis respectively). Two commercially available oral-rinses containing active ingredi- ents [Essential oils (EO) and Chlorhexidine glu-conate (CHX) were used. Curcumin photosensi-tizer (PS) was used as a photosensitizer against the microbes. For the adherence study, the ex-perimental pellicle on the beads (in the capillary tubes of the NAM system) was pretreated with the oral-rinse and photosensitizer before the in-oculation of bacteria; this would resemble the use of rinse/photosensitizer before meal. The bacterial population of the biofilm was determined using serial dilution assay and expressed as colony forming unit per ml. Deionized distilled water was used in place of oral-rinse/ photosensitizer and served as a negative-control. For the qualitative study, bacterial population viewing was carried out using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). RESULTS: It was observed that on treatment with the oral-rinses the bacterial population of S.mitis, S.sanguinis and A.viscosus (adherence) was significantly reduced where the reduction was less for EO-based oral-rinse compared with that of CHX and curcumin PS in the following se- quence EO<CHX<PS (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: From the results, it appears that curcumin photosensitizer and oral-rinses contain CHX to be preferably used before-meal and EO after-meal

Antifungal Efficacy of Sodium Perborate and Microwave Irradiation for Surface Disinfection of Polymethyl Methacrylate Polymer

Various disinfecting agents showing variable success in disinfecting polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) are available. The aim of our study was to evaluate the antifungal efficacy of sodium perborate (denture cleaning tablet-DC), microwave irradiation, and their combination for eradicating candida albicans (C. albicans) from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) denture base polymer. One hundred and sixty-eight PMMA resin specimens (30 × 30 × 15 mm) were divided into four groups, including control (no disinfection), microwave disinfection in distilled water (MW-DW), sodium perborate with distilled water (DC-DW), and a combination of MW-DC-DW (n = 10). Biofilms of C. albicans were cultured on the PMMA resin denture base specimens for 96 h. The samples were exposed to three different antifungal regimes, i.e., MW, denture cleaning agent-sodium perborate (DC) and DW, and a combination of MW-DC-DW for 1 to 5 min. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to evaluate colony formation. The colony-forming units (CFU) among the experimental groups were assessed using ANOVA, a Kruskal–Wallis test, and a Mann–Whitney test. The mean CFU values were compared with the control for each disinfecting regime at 96 h growth time. For MW-DC-DW, the CFU were significantly low at 2 and 3 min of exposure when compared with the control (DW) (p p p C. albicans than that of microwave disinfection and sodium perborate alone

Influence of Conventional Polymer, Hybrid Polymer and Zinc Phosphate Luting Agents on the Bond Strength of Customized Zirconia Post in Premolars&mdash;An In-Vitro Evaluation

The aim was to identify the influence of conventional polymeric resin based cement (RC), hybrid polymer modified glass ionomer (RMGIC) and Zinc phosphate cement (ZPC) on the pull out strength of the customized zirconia post in premolars. Access cavity and root canals were performed in sixty premolar teeth with the standardized crown down technique (ProTaper Universal, Dentsply). Post space impressions were scanned, and the pre-sintered Zenostar Zr Translucent blanks (Weiland Dental, Pforzheim) were milled with the Opera-system to form the post. All prepared specimens were divided equally in three groups based on the cement type employed for luting as follows: group A: ZPC; group B (GC Fuji PLUS Capsule): RMGIC; group C (and RC (3M RelyX ARC). Ten specimens in each group were thermocycled (TC) at 5 and 55 &deg;C in distilled water baths (40,000 cycles). Pull out bond strength was assessed using a universal testing machine at 0.5 mm/min. The means and standard deviations were compared using ANOVA and Tukey Kramer multiple comparisons tests. A significant difference among the cement groups as well as between TC and non-thermocycled (NTC) groups (p &lt; 0.05) was observed. The highest tensile stress was demonstrated among group C (Resin, 69.89 &plusmn; 4.81 (NTC), 64.06 &plusmn; 4.36 (TC)) with the least in group A, (zinc phosphate, 43.66 &plusmn; 5.02 (NTC), 37.70 &plusmn; 5.10 (TC)) for both groups. Group A presented with 100% adhesive bond failures, followed by 80% in group C and 70% in group B, respectively. A similar outcome was observed in the TC group for the cement; however, unlike the NTC group, the TC group showed more cohesive failures compared to the NTC mixed failure. Dual cure polymer based cement demonstrated higher bond strength and efficient adhesive bonding of the customized Zr post with root dentine compared to zinc phosphate (non-polymeric) and RMGIC (hybrid polymer). Thermocycling compromised Zr post adhesive bonding to root dentin