Efficacy Of Prophylactic Treatment Research Articles

Osteomyelitis prevention in rabbits using antimicrobial peptide hLF1-11- or gentamicin-containing calcium phosphate cement.

The efficacy of prophylactic treatment with human lactoferrin 1-11 (hLF1-11), a broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide, was studied in a rabbit model of femur infection. Calcium phosphate cement with 50 mg/g hLF1-11 or gentamicin was injected into the femoral canal, after inoculation with Staphylococcus aureus. Three weeks later, slices of the proximal femora were sawn for quantitative bacterial culture and histology. Treatment with hLF1-11 (P<0.038) or gentamicin (P<0.008) caused a reduction of cfu compared with the untreated control rabbits. The number of sterile cultures was higher in hLF1-11- (3/7) and gentamicin- (5/6) treated animals than in controls (1/7). Radiological and histological analysis showed early bone ingrowth into the cement cracks, and only moderate pathological changes in rabbits with positive cultures. Local prophylaxis with hLF1-11 effectively reduced development of osteomyelitis in a rabbit model, but gentamicin resulted in a larger number of sterile femora.

Antibiotic treatment and post-handling survival of reindeer calves in Alaska.

Free ranging reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) are driven into corral systems and handled each summer on the Seward Peninsula (Alaska, USA). During June and July of 1995-96 reindeer calves were inspected for injury, handled, weighed, and randomly treated with long-acting oxytetracycline. Calves that returned to subsequent handlings within the same year, received treatment only if they had been treated during their first handling. The effects of prophylactic antibiotic treatment and other factors, including weight, handling related injury, and sex on post-handling survival in reindeer calves were evaluated. Return rates of yearlings in 1996 and 1997 were analyzed using logistic regression. Weight change of calves between handlings was examined using a general linear model. Calf weight and handling injury were the only factors that significantly affected calf survival. No factor had a significant effect on calf weight change between handlings. Apparently, long-acting oxytetracycline was not an effective prophylactic treatment for this capture operation. The benefits of prophylactic antibiotic treatment have not been quantified and further studies of the effects and efficacy of prophylactic treatments are recommended. Ineffective treatments should be avoided because they may add additional stress to the captured animal. Managers should evaluate the potential effectiveness of a prophylactic treatment before indiscriminately applying one. Preventing calf injuries was the most effective method of reducing post-handling mortality in this study and should be given a high priority in the design of capture operations.

1-17-07 The efficacy of prophylactic treatment in preventing post traumatic epilepsy in severe brain-injured patients: A retrospective clinical and electroencephalografic study

1-17-07 The efficacy of prophylactic treatment in preventing post traumatic epilepsy in severe brain-injured patients: A retrospective clinical and electroencephalografic study

Is Pulmonary Embolism a Suitable Evaluation Criterion of the Efficacy of Prophylactic Treatment in Surgery?

Is Pulmonary Embolism a Suitable Evaluation Criterion of the Efficacy of Prophylactic Treatment in Surgery?

Prophylaxis of Posttraumatic Seizures

The issue of routine anticonvulsant prophylaxis for early and late posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) has received much attention in the medical literature. Such problems as lack of standard definitions for early and late PTE, the retrospective design of most studies, the wide variability of inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the varied duration of follow-up make this body of literature extremely difficult to evaluate. Severe head trauma appears to cause injured neurons to become hyperexcitable; this in turn brings about the formation of an epileptogenic focus during the time between trauma and seizure occurrence. Both military and civilian head injury populations have been used to evaluate the incidence of PTE. Early seizures (i.e., less than 7 days) occur in approximately 3-5 percent of the head injury patients in both the military and civilian groups. Factors increasing this incidence include intracranial hematoma, focal neurologic deficits, posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) lasting greater than 24 hours, depressed skull fracture, and age less than 5 years. The incidence of late seizures is directly related to the extent of brain damage. The military population, composed primarily of cases with penetrating head injury, is associated with a late PTE incidence of approximately 30-50 percent. Closed head injuries in the military population involve a 5-15 percent seizure incidence. Late PTE incidence after head injuries in the civilian population is less than 5 percent. Risk factors associated with late PTE include loss of consciousness or PTA lasting greater than 24 hours, dural lacerations, depressed skull fractures, and various computerized tomography deficits. These factors vary slightly between the military and civilian populations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Screening for cystic fibrosis.

<h2>Abstract</h2> A review of the evidence on screening for the early detection and treatment of cystic fibrosis leads to the conclusion that further research is required. The efficacy of prophylactic treatment in altering the natural history of the disease has not been demonstrated, and, although a number of possible screening tests are being evaluated, none is yet sufficiently developed for service use.