Biomedical subjects

Miny Samuel

Publications and source records attributed to Miny Samuel.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

A systematic review of the function and complications of colonic pouches.

PURPOSE: This is a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials to compare the function and complications of a straight coloanal anastomosis to a colonic J-pouch after rectal excision at 1 year postoperatively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A search for articles from 1980 to 2005 was conducted on Medline, PubMed, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register using the keywords "colonic pouches, J-pouch, straight and coloanal anastomosis, rectal cancer, function and complications," either singularly or in combination. Reference lists from short-listed articles were also manually searched for relevant articles, journals, and conference proceedings. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in English publications comparing colonic J-pouches to straight coloanal anastomosis were selected. Trials with similar patient characteristics, duration of follow-up, and outcome measures were pooled for analysis. Stool frequency and fecal continence at 1 year postoperatively were used as measures of functional outcome. Complication rates in terms of anastomotic leak and stricture formation were analysed. RESULTS: Ten RCTs with satisfactory methodology were identified. One trial reported the results at 2 years, while another reported results at 5 years only and were excluded from the meta-analysis, leaving only eight studies for further analysis. Overall, a colonic J-pouch appeared more favorable in terms of stool frequency (weighted mean difference of -1.21, 95% CI: -1.92 to -0.49) and continence (Odds ratio 0.23, 95% CI: 0.08-0.69), with a slightly lower risk of anastomotic dehiscence compared to a straight coloanal anastomosis (relative risk, RR 0.36; 95% CI: 0.12-1.08). Anastomotic stricture was reported in only two trials. They seemed more likely to occur after a pouch-anal anastomosis (RR 2.45, 95% CI: 0.79-7.57). However, the small numbers available for pooled analysis cannot allow these conclusions to be drawn with confidence. CONCLUSIONS: A straight coloanal anastomosis resulted in poorer function due to loss of a rectal reservoir, while colonic J-pouches have improved frequency and continence up to a year. Although retrospective reports seem to favor the use of a pouch, there are limited longer term randomized trial data to suggest that the function and complications of a coloanal J-pouch is better than a straight coloanal anastomosis. Larger randomized studies are required to further verify the longer-term benefits of a coloanal pouch.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗

PubMed2006

Meta-analysis of early excision of burns.

AIMS: This meta-analysis sought to establish if early excision and grafting is better or equivalent to the conservative treatment of burns in both children and adults with minor or major burns. The outcomes of interest are mortality, wound healing time, duration of sepsis, operating hours, complications of surgery, length of hospital stay, blood transfusion requirements and long term morbidity like joint contractures and hypertrophic scarring. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE (1966-July 2004), EMBASE (1980-August 2004) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) with the keywords 'early excision' and 'burns'. This yielded 441 articles of which 15 were randomized controlled trials. Only six trials met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in mortality with early excision of burns when compared with traditional treatment only in patients without inhalational injury (RR 0.36, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.65). The blood transfusion requirement is significantly higher in the early excision group but the length of hospital stay was significantly shorter (WMD -8.89, 95% CI -14.28 to -3.50). There was no conclusive evidence on the difference between the two groups in terms of duration of sepsis, wound healing time and skin graft take. CONCLUSION: Early excision of burns is beneficial in reducing mortality (in patients without inhalational injury), length of hospital stay. The only drawback is the greater volume of blood loss.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Capsular contracture in subglandular breast augmentation with textured versus smooth breast implants: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: There are conflicting recommendations in the literature regarding the use of textured implants to reduce capsular contracture in subglandular breast augmentation. The authors reviewed the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of surface texturization in reducing capsular contracture. METHODS: The electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for randomized controlled trials comparing textured with smooth implants for subglandular breast augmentation. Study quality was evaluated, and data were extracted from the relevant studies by two reviewers. Outcome measures were reduction in capsular contracture as defined by Baker grade, applanation tonometry, and patient self-assessment. Overall, the treatment effects were expressed as relative risk for dichotomous data and as weighted mean differences for continuous data. RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials were identified with a total of 235 patients (470 breasts). Textured implants were associated with less capsular contracture as evaluated by Baker grade at 1 year (relative risk, 4.16; 95% CI, 1.58 to 10.96), 3 years (relative risk, 7.25; 95% CI, 2.42 to 21.69), and 7 years (relative risk, 2.98; 95% CI, 0.86 to 10.37) of follow-up. Applanation tonometry used as an objective measure of firmness, however, was not sensitive enough to detect any significant difference in contractures in the two groups (weighted mean differences, -1.54; 95% CI, -6.83 to -3.75). Interestingly, the self-assessment questionnaire revealed that capsular contracture or firmness is one (albeit a very important factor) of many facets in patient overall satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review suggests that implant texturization reduces the incidence of early capsular contracture in subglandular breast augmentation. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term effect of texturization and confirm the long-term benefits noted in this study.

Breast Implants↗

PubMed2005

Effects of preemptive epidural analgesia on post-thoracotomy pain.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether preemptive thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) initiated before surgical incision would reduce the severity of acute post-thoracotomy pain and the incidence of chronic post-thoracotomy pain. METHOD: Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). SEARCH STRATEGY: MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and EMBASE were searched from 1966 to December 2004 for prospective RCTs published in all languages using the following MeSH terms: post-thoracotomy pain, epidural analgesia, chronic pain, and preemptive analgesia. SELECTION CRITERIA: All RCTs that compared thoracic epidural analgesia initiated before surgical incision (preemptive group) versus thoracic epidural analgesia initiated after completion of surgery (control group) in adult patients undergoing unilateral thoracotomy. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Three authors reviewed all citations and simultaneously extracted data on sample size, patient characteristics, surgical and analgesic interventions, methods of pain assessment, and pain scores at 24 hours, 48 hours, and 6 months postoperatively. Six studies were included with a total of 458 patients. Pooled analyses indicated that preemptive TEA was associated with a statistically significant reduction in the severity of acute pain on coughing at 24 and 48 hours (weighted mean difference -1.17 [95% confidence interval (CI) -1.50 to -0.83] and -1.08 [95% CI -1.17 to -0.99]), respectively. Acute pain was a good predictor of chronic pain. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the overall incidence of chronic pain at 6 months between the preemptive TEA group (39.6%) and the control group (48.6%). CONCLUSION: Preemptive TEA appeared to reduce the severity of acute pain but had no effect on the incidence of chronic pain.

Analgesia, Epidural↗

PubMed2005