Wounds
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Occupational and chemical assault injuries were the two most common factors associated with chemical burns. These two types of injuries were identified and analyzed covering a 20-year period. ⋯ Chemical assault burns might cause more damage and suffering than occupational burn injuries. The promotion of occupational injury protection, public empowerment, and public security in recent years has markedly decreased the occurrence and severity of occupational and chemical-related burns. Modern advances in burn care and surgical procedures contribute greatly to decreasing the length of hospital stays for patients who have sustained an occupational or chemical assault injury. .
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Background. A study was designed to compare the efficacy of anesthesia between transthecal digit block (TDB) and single injection volar subcutaneous block. ⋯ These results confirm the efficacy of the transthecal block and the single injection volar subcutaneous digit block for achieving anesthesia of the finger, but the author prefers single injection volar digit block since it causes less pain during injection and the anesthesia lasts longer. .
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Objective. To compare the predictive power of serum lactic acid (LA) and physiological score (Tobiasen's Abbreviated Burn Severity Index [ABSI]) after major burn. This prospective, analytical study was conducted at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Burn Unit (Jamshoro, Pakistan) from June 2007 to May 2008. ⋯ This study has once again shown the clinical usefulness of ABSI. Measurement of serum LA has emerged as a new promising approach and a predictive tool for early death after major burn.
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While wound contraction plays an important role in healing, it may lead to excessive scar formation and pathological wound contracture in extreme conditions. To date, the key regulator of wound contraction and keloid formation is transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-b1). Decorin has been reported to bind TGF-b1 and neutralize some of its activities. ⋯ These data indicate that recombinant human decorin can suppress TGF-b1-induced contraction of collagen gel by keloid fibroblasts. Moreover, decorin can inhibit basal contraction of collagen gel by keloid fibroblasts. These results suggest that decorin may have therapeutic potential for excessive skin contraction as observed in a keloid. .