Efficacy of new filter suction to decrease the rate of occlusion and total suction time in a simulated total hip replacement operation

Varah Yuenyongviwat, Khanin Iamthanaporn, Theerawit Hongnaparak, Boonsin TangtrakulwanichDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, ThailandBackground: During orthopedic operations, such as total hip replacement or total knee replacement, there is a lot of bone debris from bone cutting and reaming that commonly causes surgical suction devices to occlude many times, which can prolong the operative time and increase the amount of bleeding for the patient.Materials and methods: We developed a surgical filter suction system that we call the VY suction tube. The suction tube assembly consists of a tube filter within a housing assembly. The filter pore size was designed to prevent tissue or bone debris from passing through the filter, though it allows fluid to pass through. A simulated total hip replacement operation was performed to test the efficacy of this new suction device when compared with two other types of tube suction devices.Results: The VY suction tube showed that the mean duration to remove all fluid from a simulated field was significantly shorter than the Pool suction tube (P=0.0009) and Frazier suction tube (P=0.0012). The study also showed that the VY suction tube has a lower rate of occlusion when compared with the Pool suction tube (P≤0.0001) and Frazier suction tube (P≤0.0001).Conclusion: Our new suction tube design shows good efficacy when removing fluid and debris from a simulated operative field. However, further studies in real clinical settings are needed.Keywords: total hip replacement, filter suction, occlusio

Integrating participatory ergonomic management in non-weight-bearing exercise and progressive resistance exercise on self-care and functional ability in aged farmers with knee osteoarthritis: a clustered randomized controlled trial

Sang-arun Isaramalai,1 Kanokwan Hounsri,1 Chanon Kongkamol,2 Pornnit Wattanapisitkul,3 Napaporn Tangadulrat,3 Tippawan Kaewmanee,3 Varah Yuenyongviwat4 1Research Center for Caring System of Thai Elderly, Faculty of Nursing, 2Research Unit of Holistic Health and Safety Management in Community, Faculty of Medicine, 3Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, 4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Physical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand Background: Ergonomic hazards are the most important cause of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in aged para rubber farmers. Ergonomic management comprising improvement of working conditions and muscle-strengthening exercise has been well documented in terms of workers’ health benefit. However, those interventions were not adequate to sustain the advantage. Few studies have demonstrated the effect of integrating participatory ergonomic management (PEM) in non-weight-bearing exercise (NWE) and progressive resistance exercise (PRE), and none has focused on aged para rubber farmers with knee OA.Purpose: This study investigated the effect of PEM-NWE, PEM-PRE, and standard treatment (ST) on self-care and functional ability in the aged population.Materials and methods: A single-blinded, clustered randomized controlled trial was carried out. Participants (n=75) from three different communities in southern Thailand were randomly assigned to PEM-NWE, PEM-PRE, and ST. Self-care and functional ability (pain, stiffness, and physical function) were examined at baseline (B), during the intervention at Week 5 (W5), and after its completion at Week 9 (W9). Mean comparison of those outcomes over time was made using Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs).Results: Compared to the standard treatment, the means of both groups, PEM-NWE and PEM-PRE, were significantly increased in self-care and functional ability. However, no significant difference between PEM-NWE and PEM-PRE was found.Conclusion: Either or both interventions should be incorporated into nursing practice in order to promote occupational health and enhance quality of work life for Thai aged farmers. Further study on their cost-effectiveness is highly recommended. Keywords: farmer, osteoarthritis, ergonomic, self-care, functional abilit