8 hours compared with 9.3 hours (p = 0.03) for those who did.

Conclusions: In this retrospective study, INRs between 1.2 and 1.6 appeared to be acceptable

for a neurosurgeon to place an emergent ventriculostomy in a patient with traumatic brain injury.”
“Background The low, fluctuating levels of DNA characteristic of occult hepatitis B infection make its detection by nucleic acid testing (NAT) a challenge. Methods Four years routine use of the Ultrio and Ultrio Plus assays in blood donations in New Zealand was analysed. Results 0.09% of donations tested with Ultrio and Ultrio Plus assays showed reactivity in the multiplex assay, but non-reactivity in all three discriminatory assays and relevant mandatory serological assays (anti-HIV, anti-HCV, HBsAg). These donations were more likely to be anti-HBc reactive (Ultrio,

13%; Ultrio Plus, 57%; random donors, 6.8%). this website Thirty-four per cent of these anti-HBc-reactive donations were also reactive in either an alternate PRIMA-1MET NAT assay or on repeat multiplex testing. Thirteen per cent of the donors of the discriminatory-negative, anti-HBc-reactive donations who had given other Ultrio- or Ultrio Plus-tested donations had at least one other multiplex reactive donation. Conclusion These findings suggest that their HBV DNA levels are around the assays limit of detection, that false reactivity cannot be presumed when a donor fails to discriminate and that caution should be applied when deciding whether to continue accepting donations from such donors.”
“Hyperdry amniotic membrane, a novel preservable material derived from the human Baf-A1 amnion, has been introduced clinically

in ophthalmology and other fields. This membrane is available as a wound dressing material for surgical wounds of the tongue and buccal mucosa but has not been used on wounds of the alveolar mucosa. This paper reports 2 cases in which intraoral alveolar wounds with bone exposure were successfully treated with the use of hyperdry amniotic membrane: a 74-year-old woman with gingival leukoplakia of the edentulous mandible, and a 43-year-old man who underwent vestibuloplasty of the reconstructed mandible. The results indicate that the hyperdry amniotic membrane is a useful dressing material, not only for soft tissue wounds, but also for exposed bone in the oral cavity.”
“A best evidence topic was constructed according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether lung transplantation remained a beneficial treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients infected or colonized with Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) prior to lung transplantation (LTx). Of the 25 papers found using a report search, five presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question.