2 research outputs found

    Assessment of complications following use of pneumatic tourniquet for elective orthopedic procedures at National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu

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    Background: A pneumatic tourniquet is a constricting or compressing device with an inflatable cuff used to control venous or arterial circulation to an extremity for a period of time. Tourniquet safety is related to the cuff pressure and duration of application. The objective of this study was to determine the common complications that follow the use of pneumatic tourniquet in elective orthopaedic surgical procedures at National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu.Methods: This was a prospective study over 18 month period (June 2014 – November 2015) at National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu. Following ethical approval and written informed consent, patients who met the inclusion criteria were consecutively recruited. The study was conducted using the ‘intelligent pneumatic tourniquet’ with single bladder reusable cylindrical cuff. The cuff pressure was determined in each case by addition of 100mmHg to the baseline systolic BP for the upper limbs and 150 mmHg to the baseline systolic BP for the lower limbs. The data collected included patients’ demographics, cuff pressure, cuff location, tourniquet duration and complication encountered among other parameters.Results: A total of 160 procedures in 152 patients were included and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. The prevalence rate of 1.9% for nerve palsy, 1.3% for tourniquet pain, 1.9% for surgical site infection and 5.6% for pressure sore were found in the study. No other complication was encountered.Conclusions: From the results of this study, it is concluded that the use of pneumatic tourniquet under the prescribed conditions is associated with low prevalence of complications

    Natural History of Aerosol Induced Lassa Fever in Non-Human Primates

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    Lassa virus (LASV), an arenavirus causing Lassa fever, is endemic to West Africa with up to 300,000 cases and between 5000 and 10,000 deaths per year. Rarely seen in the United States, Lassa virus is a CDC category A biological agent inasmuch deliberate aerosol exposure can have high mortality rates compared to naturally acquired infection. With the need for an animal model, specific countermeasures remain elusive as there is no FDA-approved vaccine. This natural history of aerosolized Lassa virus exposure in Macaca fascicularis was studied under continuous telemetric surveillance. The macaque response to challenge was largely analogous to severe human disease with fever, tachycardia, hypotension, and tachypnea. During initial observations, an increase trend of activated monocytes positive for viral glycoprotein was accompanied by lymphocytopenia. Disease uniformly progressed to high viremia followed by low anion gap, alkalosis, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Hypoproteinemia occurred late in infection followed by increased levels of white blood cells, cytokines, chemokines, and biochemical markers of liver injury. Viral nucleic acids were detected in tissues of three non-survivors at endpoint, but not in the lone survivor. This study provides useful details to benchmark a pivotal model of Lassa fever in support of medical countermeasure development for both endemic disease and traditional biodefense purposes
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