Complication rates and associated factors in alveolar distraction osteogenesis: a comprehensive review

Despite its growing popularity, alveolar distraction osteogenesis (DO) is a technically challenging operation. The purpose of this review is to estimate the types and frequencies of complications in alveolar DO and to identify factors associated with them. 26 reports of alveolar DO found in the PubMed database that met the criteria for inclusion were studied. 256 patients underwent 270 DO procedures; 109 complications arose in 77 patients (30%) with 77 distractions (29%). In 27/77 patients, more than 1 complication occurred. 20 complications (7%) were a consequence of surgery, 32 (12%) occurred during distraction, 22 (8%) during the consolidation period and 35 (13%) post-distraction. The most common complications were insufficient bone formation following the consolidation period (22 cases, 8%), regression of distraction distance (18 cases, 7%) and problems related to the distractor device (16 cases, 6%). The most severe complications occurred in 4 cases (2%). The type of device used and an augmentation rate of more than 0.5 mm/24 h were significantly related to insufficient bone formation and evidence of complications. This review indicates that complications in alveolar DO are frequent, but rarely cause severe problems or clinical decline. Appropriate treatment selection, surgical technique and adjusted protocol should decrease the number of complications.

Strategic Emergency department design: An approach to capacity planning in healthcare provision in overcrowded emergency rooms

Healthcare professionals and the public have increasing concerns about the ability of emergency departments to meet current demands. Increased demand for emergency services, mainly caused by a growing number of minor and moderate injuries has reached crisis proportions, especially in the United Kingdom. Numerous efforts have been made to explore the complex causes because it is becoming more and more important to provide adequate healthcare within tight budgets. Optimisation of patient pathways in the emergency department is therefore an important factor. This paper explores the possibilities offered by dynamic simulation tools to improve patient pathways using the emergency department of a busy university teaching hospital in Switzerland as an example.

Corporate acquisitions by listed firms: the experience of a comprehensive sample

The sample used includes tender offers, mergers, acquisitions of privately held corporations, and comprehensive acquisitions of other firms' assets. According to the results, the majority of bid announcements prompt significant stock price increases, especially when controlling for partial anticipation problems and relative acquisition size. Furthermore, there is little evidence that firms that engage in "bad" acquisitions are more likely to be taken over.

Canine noninflammatory alopecia: a comprehensive evaluation of common and distinguishing histological characteristics

BACKGROUND Noninflammatory alopecia is a frequent problem in dogs, and the pathogenesis is still unclear. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was a comparative histological description of skin biopsies from dogs with different alopecic disorders and control dogs matched for coat type, season and disease duration. ANIMALS Twenty-one cases of alopecia X in plush-coated dogs, 12 cases of recurrent flank alopecia, three cases of hyperestrogenism, 15 cases of hyperadrenocorticism, 12 cases of hypothyroidism and 12 cases of primary alopecic disorders of unknown cause were evaluated. The controls were biopsies from 38 dogs of different coat types. METHODS We evaluated five serial sections of each biopsy histologically and immunohistologically to compare the histological findings within the disease groups and with the control. RESULTS All the dogs with hair cycle disorders had a significant increase in the number of hairless hair follicles, which we assigned to kenogen. In addition, dogs with alopecia X had the lowest percentage of anagen follicles and the highest percentage of telogen follicles. CONCLUSIONS The marked increase in kenogen follicles is a strong indication that the induction of the new anagen phase is impaired in hair cycle disorders. The findings in dogs with alopecia X further suggest that premature catagen is also involved in the pathogenesis. Further work to investigate the stem cell compartment and possible initiating factors for the different cycle phases is required to elucidate the exact pathogenesis.