Smoking and tooth discolouration: findings from a national cross-sectional study

Background: Smoking is a risk factor of a number of oral diseases; the extent to which tobacco products influence dental aesthetics has not been widely investigated. The aim of this study was to determine satisfaction with own tooth colour of smokers and non-smokers and to investigate whether smokers have higher levels of self-assessed tooth discolouration compared to nonsmokersMethods: A cross sectional national study was conducted on sample of 6,000 UK adults. A total of 3,384 adults was interviewed. Smoking behaviour was recorded together with satisfaction with own tooth colour. Prevalence of perceived discolouration was measured by asking respondents to match their own tooth colour to one of a set of seven photographs of differing severities of discolouration.Results: Twenty eight percent of smokers reported having moderate and severe levels of tooth discolouration compared to 15% in non-smokers. As well as more often perceiving discolouration smokers were also more likely to be dissatisfied with their own tooth colour compared to nonsmokers.Conclusion: The study provides further evidence of the negative impact of tobacco smoking on dental aesthetics in the general public. The evidence provided by the study may be of value in short interventions for smoking cessation in the dental setting

Special needs dentistry within the dental curriculum

Abstract no. 1682published_or_final_versio

Cost comparisons of five leading brands of the antihypertensive drug, Telmisartan, available in an Indian city

Background: Antihypertensive drugs have to be taken lifelong, after initiation of the treatment. Price variation can lead to huge economic burden on the patients of hypertension, especially when cost considerations are not undertaken by the prescribing physician . This study was undertaken to compare the annual cost , to the patient , of five different most commonly prescribed brands of Telmisartan 40 mg, in Kolhapur city.Methods: Authors purchased a strip of 10 tablets each of the five leading brands in one city, Kolhapur, India, of Telmisartan 40 milligram. The prices of the strip of 10 tablets of each of the five selected brands were compared.  In turn the annual cost of each of these five, was compared directly as well as using percentages. The data was collected, analysed and presented.Results: The data of the cost of the preparations of five different brands of a single antihypertensive drug, Temisartan 40 milligram shows that the annual cost of the costliest among the three brands of this drug is almost three times , that of the cheapest brand, or in other words almost 300 percent that of the cheapest brand.Conclusions: the cost variation amongst the five brands was considerable. India being a country with a major chunk of the population being very price sensitive, the prescribing physician must select the brand carefully. The most costly preparation of Temisartan can significantly add to the burden on the patient’s annual budget. Thus, Pharmacoeconomics must take an important place while prescribing medicines, especially in a country like India

Quasi-Duo Skew Polynomial Rings

A characterization of right (left) quasi-duo skew polynomial rings of endomorphism type and skew Laurent polynomial rings are given. In particular, it is shown that (1) the polynomial ring R[x] is right quasi-duo iff R[x] is commutative modulo its Jacobson radical iff R[x] is left quasi-duo, (2) the skew Laurent polynomial ring is right quasi-duo iff it is left quasi-duo. These extend some known results concerning a description of quasi-duo polynomial rings and give a partial answer to the question posed by Lam and Dugas whether right quasi-duo rings are left quasi-duo

Evaluation of problem-solving skills: what we really do

Abstract no. 1394published_or_final_versio

Risk factors for 30-day soft tissue complications after pelvic sarcoma surgery:A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program study

Introduction: Soft tissue (ST) complications after resection of bone and ST sarcomas of the pelvis occur more frequently than in appendicular tumors. We sought to identify risk factors for complications within 30 days of surgery. Methods: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was used for this study. Patients with sarcomas of bone and ST of the pelvis were retrieved using Current Procedural Terminology and International Classification of Diseases codes. Outcomes assessed were ST complications, overall complication rates, 30-day reoperation, and mortality. Results: A total of 770 patients with pelvic bone and ST sarcoma were included. The ST complication rate was 12.6%, including 4.9% superficial and 4.7% deep surgical site infections. Higher ST complication rates were seen in patients &gt;30 years, with partially dependent health status, hematocrit &lt;30%, bone tumors, tumor &gt;5 cm, amputation procedures, and longer operative times. ST complication rates were 1.5 and 3 times higher in pelvic sarcoma surgeries than in the lower and upper extremities, respectively. Age &gt;30 years (odds ratio [OR] = 5.07), hematocrit &lt;30% (OR = 1.84), operative time 1–3 h (OR = 2.97), and &gt;3 h (OR = 4.89) were risk factors for ST complications. Conclusion: One in nine patients with pelvic sarcoma surgery will develop ST complications within 30 days. Risk factors for ST complications were age &gt;30, hematocrit &lt;30%, and longer operative time.</p

Serratia marcescens prosthetic joint infection: two case reports and a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Despite some studies on Gram-negative bacteria as difficult to treat pathogens in periprosthetic joint infections, there are no detailed analyses on Serratia periprosthetic joint infections. As such, we present two cases of Serratia periprosthetic joint infections and summarize all known cases to date in the course of a PRISMA criteria-based systematic review. CASE PRESENTATION: Case 1: a 72-year-old Caucasian female with Parkinson's disease and treated breast cancer developed periprosthetic joint infection caused by Serratia marcescens and Bacillus cereus, following multiple prior revisions for recurrent dislocations of her total hip arthroplasty. Two-stage exchange was performed, and the patient remained free of Serratia periprosthetic joint infection recurrence at 3 years. Case 2: an 82-year-old Caucasian female with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presented with a chronic parapatellar knee fistula after undergoing multiple failed infection treatments at external clinics. After performing two-stage exchange and gastrocnemius flap plastic for combined Serratia marcescens and Proteus mirabilis periprosthetic joint infection, the patient was released without any signs of infection, but was subsequently lost to follow-up. REVIEW: a total of 12 additional Serratia periprosthetic joint infections were identified. Merged with our two cases, the mean age of 14 patients was 66 years and 75% were males. Mean length of antibiotic therapy was 10 weeks with ciprofloxacin most commonly used (50%). Mean follow-up was 23 months. There was a total of four reinfections (29%), including one case of Serratia reinfection (7%). CONCLUSIONS: Serratia is a rare cause of periprosthetic joint infection affecting elderly with secondary diseases. While the overall reinfection rate was high, the risk of Serratia periprosthetic joint infection persistence was low. Treatment failure in patients may be attributable to the host, rather than the Serratia periprosthetic joint infection itself, thus challenging current concepts on Gram-negatives as a uniform class of difficult-to-treat pathogens. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic level IV