Elective surgery cancellations in pediatric surgery: rate and reasons

Abstract Introduction Canceling pediatric elective surgery leads to multiple disturbances regarding the inefficient operating room (OR) management, the financial repercussions, and the psychological impact on the patient and his family. This study aims to identify the reasons for cancellations among the pediatric population in our setting and suggest some convenient solutions. Methods We carried out a prospective and descriptive study over 12 months in the pediatric surgery department of Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital. Results One thousand four hundred twenty-six patients were scheduled for surgery at the pediatric surgery department, of whom 131 (9.2%) were canceled. Medical and anesthesia-related reasons accounted for 62.5% of all cancellations, followed by surgical reasons at 16%, organizational or administrative issues at 11.5%, and patient-related reasons at 10%. The most significant causes were upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in 36.6%, abnormal blood test results in 16%, and non-adherence to preoperative fasting in 9.2%. Conclusions The rate of pediatric elective surgery cancellations at Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital was higher than the accepted average rate (5%). Therefore, to prevent these cancellations as much as possible, efforts should be made to promote children’s medical care, operation scheduling, and efficient institution resource utilization

Characterization of polysaccharides from Prunus amygdalus peels: Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities

International audiencePrunus amygdalus is used in the folk medicine that proved the interest of this plant which cures many diseases. Many researchers are interested to valorize almond waste (hull and shell) and to evaluate their biological and pharmacological activities. In this work, polysaccharides from Prunus amygdalus shell were extracted sequentially by water, ammonium oxalate and hydrochloric acid. The monosaccharide composition of polysaccharides fractions was performed by GC–MS. Water-soluble polysaccharide was found to be the most effective extracting agent with an extracted yield of 9%. The acid Soluble Polysaccharides (ASP) exhibited the highest galacturonic acid content (31.95%), the highest polysaccharides extractability (88.57%) and the lowest degree of esterification (31.76%). The different polysaccharides fractions were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR and SEC/MALS/VD/DRI. The antioxidant tests (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP) indicated that ASP showed even better antioxidant activities. Moreover, the result of the antiproliferative activity against Caco-2 and B-16 cells showed that ASP exhibited strong cytotoxicity ability which confirmed that the Prunus amygdalus peels may comprise the natural raw materials for new drug and functional food