PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 2017 and December 2018, a total of 120 patients (101 males, 19 females; mean age: 35.1±3.0 years; range, 18 to 72 years) treated with IMN for closed DFFs were retrospectively analyzed. Data including age, sex, location, weight, height, comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension or kidney injury, date of injury, mechanism of injury, type of femoral fractures (AO classification), date of surgery, duration of surgery, IMN length and diameter used, date of radiological fracture union and complications of surgery such as nonunion, delayed union, and infections were recorded.
RESULTS: Of the patients, 63 had obesity and 57 did not have obesity. There was a statistically significant difference in fracture configuration among patients with obesity; they sustained type B (p=0.001) and type C (p=0.024), the most severe fracture configuration. The nonunion rate was 45%. Obesity had a significant relationship with fracture nonunion with patients with obesity having the highest number of nonunion rates (n=40, 74.1%) compared to those without obesity (n=14, 25.9%) (p=0.001). Fracture union was observed within the first 180 days in 78.9% of patients without obesity, while it developed in the same time interval in only 38.1% of patients with obesity (p=0.001).
CONCLUSION: Fracture union time for the patients with obesity was longer, regardless of the fracture configuration. Obesity strongly affects fracture union time in DFFs treated with an IMN. Obesity should be considered a relative risk in decision-making in the choice of fixation while treating midshaft femoral fractures.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes involved in cancer progression and are regarded as major oncotargets. Among others, MMP9 plays critical roles in tumour progression, angiogenesis, and invasion of cutaneous SCC. We aimed to determine whether the MMP9 gene is a suitable gene target for anti-cancer therapy for cutaneous SCC. We performed clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-Cas9 transfection of guide RNA (gRNA) targeting the MMP9 gene into human cutaneous SCC cell line A431.
RESULTS: Following CRISPR transfection treatment, the viability (p < 0.01) and migratory activities (p < 0.0001) of in vitro cutaneous SCC cells were found to be reduced significantly. The use of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) also revealed downregulation of the mRNA expression levels of cancer-promoting genes TGF-β, FGF, PI3K, VEGF-A, and vimentin. Direct inhibition of the MMP9 gene was shown to decrease survivability and metastasis of cutaneous SCC cell line A431.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provided direct evidence that MMP9 is important in the viability, proliferation, and metastasis of cutaneous SCC cells. It serves as a positive foundation for future CRISPR-based targeted anti-cancer therapies in treating skin cancer and other forms of malignancies that involve MMPs as the key determinants.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using retrospective data of patients treated for NF collected from two tertiary care hospitals (Hospital Seremban and Hospital Ampang) in Central Malaysia. A total of 420 NF patients were identified from the five years of retrospective data obtained from the two hospitals.
RESULTS: The top three empirical antibiotics prescribed are ampicillin + sulbactam (n = 258; 61.4%), clindamycin (n = 55; 13.1%) and ceftazidime (n = 41; 9.8%). The selection of the antibiotic significantly impacts the outcome of NF. The top three causative pathogens for NF are Streptococcus spp. (n = 79; 18.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 61; 14.5%) and Staphylococcus spp. (n = 49; 11.7%). The patients who received antibiotics had 0.779 times lower chances of being amputated. Patients with a lower laboratory risk indicator for necrotizing fasciitis (LRINEC) score had 0.934 times lower chances of being amputated.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the most common empirical antibiotic prescribed was ampicillin + sulbactam followed by clindamycin and ceftazidime. The antibiotics prescribed lower the risk of having an amputation and, hence, a better prognosis of the disease. Broad-spectrum empirical antibiotics following surgical debridement reduce the mortality rate of NF.
METHODS: Retrospective data of patients treated for NF were collected from two tertiary care hospitals in Central Malaysia between January 2014 and December 2018.
RESULTS: A total of 469 NF patients were identified. More than half of the NF patients were males (n = 278; 59.28%). The highest number of cases was found among age groups between 30 and 79, with mean age of 56.17. The majority of the NF cases (n = 402; 85.72%) were monomicrobial. Streptococcus spp. (n = 89; 18.98%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 63; 13.44%) and Staphylococcus spp. (n = 61; 13.01%) were identified as the top three microorganisms isolated. Among the 469 NF cases, 173 (36.8%) were amputated or dead while 296 (63.1%) recovered. Proteus spp. (n = 19; 12.93%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 18; 12.24%) and Escherichia coli (n = 14; 9.52%) were associated with all types of amputations. The most common antibiotic prescribed was unasyn (n = 284; 60.56%), followed by clindamycin (n = 56; 11.94%) and ceftazidime (n = 41; 8.74%). A total of 239 (61.8%) recovered while 148 (38.2%) were either amputated or dead when managed with the unasyn, clindamycin or ceftazidime.
CONCLUSION: This study represents the largest NF cases series in Malaysia highlighting the causative agents and management.