Reducing the pathogen burden and promoting healing with polyhexanide in non-healing wounds: a prospective study

Objective: Polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) is a novel wound antiseptic solution that has a broad antimicrobial spectrum and wound healing promoting effect, with minimal side effects. The aim of present study was to demonstrate the efficacy of the PHMB on the bacterial burden of non-healing wounds, the reduction in wound size or closure of the wound in comparison to Ringer's lactate solution (RLS) after 21 days of wound dressing. A second objective was to investigate the differences in the C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and white blood cell (WBC) counts between the two groups

Post-infarction ventricular septal defect: triggered by Valsalva manoeuvre?

Post-infarction ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a fatal mechanical complication of myocardial infarction. Although the incidence has decreased to less than 1% after the extensive use of reperfusion strategies, post-infarction VSD still carries a high mortality risk. Management is controversial, whether to wait for surgery after a stabilisation period or to perform emergency surgery when diagnosed. We report on a case of post-infarction VSD that was detected with severe haemodynamic instability, beginning immediately after the patient's Valsalva manoeuvre on the sixth day of a non-reperfused inferior myocardial infarction. In the early period, the post-infarction VSD was repaired via a trans-aneurysmal approach

Constrictive pericarditis due to hepatopericardial fistulas of hepatic echinococcosis

Hydatidosis is a parasitic infestation which is endemic to sheepherding regions of the world. Constrictive pericarditis secondary to pericardial hydatid disease is a very rare dentity. In our case, the cyst was not a primary cardiac hydatid cyst. In this article, we report a 72-year-old male case of constrictive pericarditis due to fistulization of a hepatic hydatic cyst to the pericardium. Partial pericardiectomy and drainage of the hepatic cyst were performed successfully, followed by medical treatment

Phosphorylcholine-coated extracoporeal circulation systems affect coagulation factors during cardiopulmonary bypass insufficiently: a preliminary report

Background: This study aims to investigate the efficacy of the phosphorylcholine (PC)-coated extracorporeal circulation (ECC) circuits compared to the non-coated ECC circuits in patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)