Ashraf H. Abbas

The clinical and cost effectiveness of bee honey dressing in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers

Honey is known, since antiquity, as an effective wound dressing. Emergence of resistant strains and the financial burden of modern dressings, have revived honey as cost-effective dressing particularly in developing countries. Its suitability for all stages of wound healing suggests its clinical effectiveness in diabetic foot wound infections. Thirty infected diabetic foot wounds were randomly selected from patients presenting to Surgery Department, Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt. Honey dressing was applied to wounds for 3 months till healing, grafting or failure of treatment. Changes in grade and stage of wounds, using University of Texas Diabetic Wound Classification, as well as surface area were recorded weekly. Bacterial load was determined before and after honey dressing. Complete healing was significantly achieved in 43.3% of ulcers. Decrease in size and healthy granulation was significantly observed in another 43.3% of patients. Bacterial load of all ulcers was significantly reduced after the first week of honey dressing. Failure of treatment was observed in 6.7% of ulcers. This study proves that commercial clover honey is a clinical and cost-effective dressing for diabetic wound in developing countries. It is omnipresence and concordance with cultural beliefs makes it a typical environmentally based method for treating these conditions.

Assessment of amniotic and polyurethane membrane dressings in the treatment of burns

As allograft and xenografts are not available in Islamic countries, amniotic membrane seems to be an effective alternative in the management of deep burns. Its proven bioactivities and modest price suggest that it might be superior to synthetic dressings. Forty-six patients were enrolled in this randomized, controlled clinical trial conducted in the Burn Unit at Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt. All age groups and both gender were included in the study. Only patients with less than 50% total body surface area burned were included, thus minimizing the dropouts in both groups. All were either second or third degree. These patients were randomly assigned either to group I: amniotic membrane (Biomembrane) dressing, or group II: polyurethane membrane (Tegaderm) dressing. Those in group I demonstrated a significantly lower rate of infection and required less frequent dressing changes than those in group II. They also sustained less electrolyte and albumin loss. The rate of healing in the amniotic membrane group was significantly faster than in the polyurethane group. Furthermore, pain was significantly less when Biomembrane was used. Based on these findings, we recommend the use of lyophilized gamma-irradiated amniotic membrane as an effective alternative for allograft and xenografts in Islamic countries and the Jewish population.

Assessment of the relation between prealbumin serum level and healing of skin-grafted burn wounds

Nutritional status is an important factor in graft healing. Prealbumin (transthyretin) is a better nutritional marker than the widely used albumin serum level. Prealbumin serum levels were estimated in an endeavour to correlate them to graft healing and to serve as a predictor of graft healing in burn wounds. Fifty burned patients undergoing graft in the Suez Canal University Hospital Burn Unit were subjected to this cross-sectional study. Prealbumin levels were assessed on preoperative day and on the fourth postoperative day. Graft healing was considered complete when the take was 90% or more of the grafted area. The most significantly correlated factor to graft healing was serum prealbumin. Serum albumin levels were not in significant correlation with graft healing or prealbumin levels. In addition, serum prealbumin levels were significantly higher in the younger age group and significantly lower in patients with chronic diseases. Serum prealbumin level is a sensitive tool in predicting graft take in burned patients when all local conditions are favourable and optimised. Nevertheless, it seems less sensitive in the prediction of graft healing in small raw areas less than 5% of total body surface area (TBSA).

Treatment of Children With Scalds by Xenografts: Report From a Swedish Burn Centre

Scalds are the most common type of burn in children, and one way to treat them is with xenografts with no topical antimicrobials in line with the recommendations of a recent review. However, this treatment has not been examined in detail. Our aim was to describe the treatment of such children when biological dressings (xenografts) were used without local antimicrobials. We reviewed the medical records of all children admitted to a Swedish National Burn Centre during the period 2010–2012 with scalds who were treated with xenografts. Percentage TBSA injured, age, length of hospital stay, number of operations, antibiotics given, duration of antibiotic treatment, and pain score during the first 3 days, application of xenografts, and clinical notes of wound infection were recorded. We studied 67 children, (43 of whom were boys), with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) age of 1 (1–2) year and median (IQR) TBSA% 6.2 (4–11). Twenty children (30%) required operation. Twelve (18%) developed a wound infection, 29 (43%) had other infections, and 26 (39%) were free from infection. The median (IQR) duration of systemic antibiotics was 10 (6–13) days. On the day that the xenografts were applied 10 of the children had a Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) score between 3 and 7, and during the following 2 days, only four children scored in this range. The remaining 57 children had scores < 3 on the day that xenografts were applied and on the following 2 days. Median (IQR) length of stay/TBSA% was 0.7 (0.4–1.0). Treatment with xenografts was associated with median length of stay/TBSA% <1 and low pain scores. Despite a high rate of prescription of systemic antibiotics, most were for reasons other than wound infection.

Binocular single-refraction magnifying glasses for free flap surgery: a reliable method for developing countries

Although free flaps are gaining more popularity, the logistic reasons and slow training curve are still major obstacles, particularly in developing countries. Binocular magnification glasses seemed an appealing alternative to surgical microscopes and loupes. From May 2008 to December 2010, 16 gracilis free flaps were performed by five surgeons using binocular-magnifying eye glass in the Plastic Surgery Unit of Suez Canal University Hospital. Survival rate of the flaps was 100%. Only two patients (one smoker and one diabetic) had complications: partial flap loss with infection and hematoma. Both were treated conservatively. The main advantages of this magnification method were very low cost, availability, and short training period compared with a standard microsurgery training. Other advantages were the freedom of movement during operation, same orientation, wide field, adjustability of working distance, and permission of team work. The only inconvenience was the restriction of working distance, although longer or similar to that of loupes. We therefore recommend the use of this method in developing countries as well as relief and war field hospitals. Furthermore, these glasses seem to be of value in all surgeries needing magnification.

Repair of cleft palate by rotation–transposition of the two mucoperiosteal flaps: can this reduce the incidence of postoperative fistula?

Successful primary closure of cleft palate is the only prophylaxis against postoperative fistula. Many factors are accused of causing fistula, but the most important factor is the repair under tension. We tried in this work to rotate one of the mucoperiosteal flaps backward (90–180°) to fill the midline gap at the point of maximum tension. The other flap is then transposed medially to fill the anterior gap of the cleft. This work was conducted in the Plastic Surgery Unit in Suez Canal University Hospital from March 2007 to March 2010. Forty-eight patients were operated on using with the modified technique. Fistula occurred in one patient (2.1% of patients). With the simplicity of this procedure and its success rates we recommend this method as an alternative to the standard von Langenbeck cleft palate repair especially with wide cleft palate or when there is much tension when suturing the oral mucosa.

Microbial cellulose dressing compared with silver sulphadiazine for the treatment of partial thickness burns: A prospective, randomised, clinical trial

BACKGROUND The current treatment for partial thickness burns at the trial site is silver sulphadiazine, as it minimises bacterial colonisation of wounds. Its deleterious effect on wound healing, together with the need for repeated, often painful, procedures, has brought about the search for a better treatment. Microbial cellulose has shown promising results that avoid these disadvantages. The aim of this study was therefore to compare microbial cellulose with silver sulphadiazine as a dressing for partial thickness burns. METHOD All patients who presented with partial thickness (superficial and deep dermal) burns from October 2014 to October 2016 were screened for this randomised clinical trial. Twenty patients were included in each group: the cellulose group was treated with microbial cellulose sheets and the control group with silver sulphadiazine cream 10mg/g. The wound was evaluated every third day. Pain was assessed using the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) scale during and after each procedure. Other variables recorded were age, sex, percentage total body surface area burned (TBSA%), clinical signs of infection, time for epithelialisation and hospital stay. Linear multivariable regression was used to analyse the significance of differences between the treatment groups by adjusting for the size and depth of the burn, and the patients age. RESULTS Median TBSA% was 9% (IQR 5.5-12.5). The median number of dressing changes was 1 (IQR 1-2) in the cellulose group, which was lower than that in the control group (median 9.5, IQR 6-16) (p<0.001). Multivariable regression analysis showed that the group treated with microbial cellulose spent 6.3 (95% CI 0.2-12.5) fewer days in hospital (p=0.04), had a mean score that was 3.4 (95% CI 2.5-4.3) points lower during wound care (p<0.001), and 2.2 (95% CI 1.6-2.7) afterwards (p<0.001). Epithelialisation was quicker, but not significantly so. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the microbial cellulose dressing is a better first choice for treatment of partial thickness burns than silver sulphadiazine cream. Fewer dressings of the wound were done and, combined with the low pain scores, this is good for both the patients and the health care system. The differences in randomisation of the area of burns is, however, a concern that needs to be included in the interpretation of the results.