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Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Surge Capacity for Healthcare Systems: A Conceptual Framework

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2006
Amy Kaji MD
This report reflects the proceedings of a breakout session, "Surge Capacity: Defining Concepts," at the 2006 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference, "Science of Surge Capacity." Although there are several general descriptions of surge capacity in the literature, there is no universally accepted standard definition specifying the various components. Thus, the objectives of this breakout session were to better delineate the components of surge capacity and to outline the key considerations when planning for surge capacity. Participants were from diverse backgrounds and included academic and community emergency physicians, economists, hospital administrators, and experts in mathematical modeling. Three essential components of surge capacity were identified: staff, stuff, and structure. The focus on enhancing surge capacity during a catastrophic event will be to increase patient-care capacity, rather than on increasing things, such as beds and medical supplies. Although there are similarities between daily surge and disaster surge, during a disaster, the goal shifts from the day-to-day operational focus on optimizing outcomes for the individual patient to optimizing those for a population. Other key considerations in defining surge capacity include psychosocial behavioral issues, convergent volunteerism, the need for special expertise and supplies, development of a standard of care appropriate for a specific situation, and standardization of a universal metric for surge capacity. [source]

Injecting 1000 Centistoke Liquid Silicone With Ease and Precision

DERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 3 2003
Anthony V. Benedetto DO, FACP
BACKGROUND Since the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the 1000 centistoke liquid silicone, Silikon 1000, for intraocular injection, the off-label use of this injectable silicone oil as a permanent soft-tissue filler for facial rejuvenation has increased in the United States. Injecting liquid silicone by the microdroplet technique is the most important preventive measure that one can use to avoid the adverse sequelae of silicone migration and granuloma formation, especially when injecting silicone to improve small facial defects resulting from acne scars, surgical procedures, or photoaging. OBJECTIVE To introduce an easy method for injecting a viscous silicone oil by the microdroplet technique, using an inexpensive syringe and needle that currently is available from distributors of medical supplies in the United States. METHOD We suggest the use of a Becton Dickinson 3/10 cc insulin U-100 syringe to inject Silikon 1000. This syringe contains up to 0.3 mL of fluid, and its barrel is clearly marked with an easy-to-read scale of large cross-hatches. Each cross-hatch marking represents either a unit value of 0.01 mL or a half-unit value of 0.005 mL of fluid, which is the approximate volume preferred when injecting liquid silicone into facial defects. Because not enough negative pressure can be generated in this needle and syringe to draw up the viscous silicone oil, we describe a convenient and easy method for filling this 3/10 cc diabetic syringe with Silikon 1000. RESULTS We have found that by using the Becton Dickinson 3/10 cc insulin U-100 syringe, our technique of injecting minute amounts of Silikon 1000 is facilitated because each widely spaced cross-hatch on the side of the syringe barrel is easy to read and measures exact amounts of the silicone oil. These lines of the scale on the syringe barrel are so large and clearly marked that it is virtually impossible to overinject the most minute amount of silicone. CONCLUSION Sequential microdroplets of 0.01 cc or less of Silikon 1000 can be measured and injected with the greatest ease and precision so that inadvertent overdosing and complications can be avoided. [source]

The Use of Cluster Sampling to Determine Aid Needs in Grozny, Chechnya in 1995

DISASTERS, Issue 3 2000
Sean Drysdale
War broke out in Chechnya in November 1994 following a three-year economic blockade. It caused widespread destruction in the capital Grozny. In April 1995 Medical Relief International - or Merlin, a British medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) - began a programme to provide medical supplies, support health centres, control communicable disease and promote preventive health-care in Grozny. In July 1995 the agency undertook a city-wide needs assessment using a modification of the cluster sampling technique developed by the Expanded Programme on Immunisation. This showed that most people had enough drinking-water, food and fuel but that provision of medical care was inadequate. The survey allowed Merlin to redirect resources earmarked for a clean water programme towards health education and improving primary health-care services. It also showed that rapid assessment by a statistically satisfactory method is both possible and useful in such a situation. [source]

Virus susceptibility of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and detection of viral contaminations by adventitious agent testing

BIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 4 2010
Andreas Berting
Abstract Biopharmaceuticals are of increasing importance in the treatment of a variety of diseases. A remaining concern associated with their production is the potential introduction of adventitious agents into their manufacturing process, which may compromise the pathogen safety of a product and potentially cause stock-out situations for important medical supplies. To ensure the safety of biological therapeutics, regulatory guidance requires adventitious agent testing (AAT) of the bulk harvest. AAT is a deliberately promiscuous assay procedure which has been developed to indicate, ideally, the presence of any viral contaminant. One of the most important cell lines used in the production of biopharmaceuticals is Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and while viral infections of CHO cells have occurred, a systematic screen of their virus susceptibility has never been published. We investigated the susceptibility of CHO cells to infection by 14 different viruses, including members of 12 families and representatives or the very species that were implicated in previously reported production cell infections. Based on our results, four different infection outcomes were distinguished, based on the possible combinations of the two factors (i) the induction, or not, of a cytopathic effect and (ii) the ability, or not, to replicate in CHO cells. Our results demonstrate that the current AAT is effective for the detection of viruses which are able to replicate in CHO cells. Due to the restricted virus susceptibility of CHO cells and the routine AAT of bulk harvests, our results provide re-assurance for the very high safety margins of CHO cell-derived biopharmaceuticals. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;106: 598,607. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]