Pharmaceutical situation of the pharmacological treatment of hospitalized patients with covid-19 in libya

By January 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 has spread internationally to a pandemic that mainly targets the respiratory system. The relevant infectious disease has been identified as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) by World Health Organization and declared as a global pandemic. In Libya, National Center for Disease Control reported the first case of coronavirus disease-2019 on 24th March, 2020. The authorities decided to close borders and activate designated treatment centers to deal with COVID-19 cases and contain the outbreak of SARS-COV-2. This study aimed to assess and evaluate the pharmaceutical situation of medications used in pharmacological management of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Tripoli, Libya. Three WHO availability indicators were selected to be studied and reported. A comprehensive list of medicines used in the management of hospitalized COVID-19 patients was constructed after reviewing and comparing seven national and international pharmacological management protocols and guidelines for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. This comparison revealed that nearly 50 medications are intended for use in COVID-19 inpatient pharmacological management. They all agreed about the use of three medications, representing one from each main class. This list was used to cross check their availability at the chosen designated COVID-19 treatment center. This study proved that local treatment center’s protocol is more in line with international guidelines than the national treatment guideline. The later was issued on March 2020. The Libyan National Essential Medicines’ List contained 25 out of 50 medications of the comprehensive list based on the last update in April 2019. This study recommends that national treatment guidelines and National Essential Medicines’ list require updating. Not all medications used in COVID-19 inpatient management were available in local treatment centers, although, the Emergency Management Department of Ministry of Health in Libya is responsible for the supply of the required medical supplies and medications to the COVID-19 treatment centers.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Resolution of infertility following hydatid cyst removal: a case report

Introduction and importance: Human echinococcosis, also known as‘hydatid cyst,’ constitutes a zoonotic parasitic disease attributed to Echinococcus granulosus or Echinococcus multilocularis. Primary af ictions occur in the liver and lungs, whilst the implication of alternative organs remains infrequent. The clinical presentation can vary, and large cysts may cause compression symptoms and complications. This case involved a 21-year-old Palestinian female with three large hydatid cysts in the liver, causing compression of adjacent structures and unique clinical manifestations. Case presentation: A female aged 21 arrived with signs of heart palpitations, shortness of breath, tiredness, and pain in the right upper abdomen, alongside a background of infertility. During routine pre-IVF ultrasound, three liver hydatid cysts were unexpectedly found, leading to a referral to the surgical department. Laboratory tests and imaging con rmed this diagnosis. The surgery involved cyst aspiration, hypertonic saline injection, and marsupialization. Post-surgical complications were managed as they occurred. The symptoms lessened afterward, and a successful pregnancy was achieved 9 months post-surgery. Clinical discussion: Zoonotic infection by cystic echinococcosis (CE) primarily engages the liver and lungs. The progression of symptoms is contingent upon cyst placement and resultant pressure on adjacent tissues. Diagnosis requires imaging alongside serological assays, while large cysts necessitate surgical intervention. Conclusion: The presented case underscores the complexity of managing multiple extensive liver hydatid cysts, highlighting the necessity to consider hydatid disease amidst patients presenting with indeterminate symptoms, particularly within endemic zones. An extensive surgical strategy produced positive outcomes, illustrating the signi cance of prompt intervention for symptom alleviation and sustained patient health.

Mohamad  Banat Mohamad banat

Ethnopharmacology- drug discovery from treasure house of ancient wisdom

Ethnopharmacology is an information exchange and understanding about people's use of plants, fungi, animals, microorganisms and minerals to discover a a wealth of helpful therapeutic agents and explore their toxic potential passed On by oral tradition or in written documented form Materia medica. This study area provides a scientific backbone for developing active therapeutics based on the traditional medicine of various ethnic groups. It is the interdisciplinary scientific exploration of biologically active agents traditionally employed or observed by man. The broad spectrum Of this domain covers social (anthropology), chemical (chemistry), biological (botany, biochemistry, microbiology) and pharmaceutical sciences (pharmacognosy, pharmacology and clinical therapeutics). Many valuable drugs of today (e.g., atropine, ephedrine, tubocurarine, digoxin and reserpine) have been used by studying indigenous remedies. Chemists continue to use plant-derived drugs (e.g., morphine, taxol, physostigmine. quinidine and emetine) as prototypes in their attempts to develop more effective and less toxic medicines. Currently, USP and BP contain many active ingredients/excipients from natural sources. Its objectives include the preservation of indigenous medical knowledge to understand the pharmacological basis Of herbal medicine; scientific study of indigenous drugs to contribute in the long run to promote or improve primary health care in regions of study; search for pharmacologically unique principles from existing indigenous remedies; finding a valid reason to guard the rainforests or to engage in conservation; establish gene banks and libraries of plant extracts for future biological evaluation: well-established germplasm banks for essential crops. Ethnopharmacology can be an innovative and powerful discovery engine for newer, safer, and more affordable medicines from the treasure house (traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples) of ancient wisdom.

Dr. Salman Ahmed Dr. salman ahmed

Transforming pharmacy education and practice for the new century

Pharmacy education has evolved from the outdated changing 5 to 4 year dispensing pharmacy program that focus on the medicines value the compounding and dispensing to patient-oriented pharmacy program (Pharm D) that focus on patient, experiential learning (practicum courses), evidence -based program that does foster critical thinking, and clinical reasoning skills [1] and improving patient care.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Implementing technology to improve creative academic library services in 21st-century libraries in india

To satisfy user expectations and resource needs, academic libraries are realizing more and more how important it is to integrate innovative technologies. Effective use of technology is essential to educational libraries' success. A thorough analysis finds new trends that university libraries are using to satisfy present demands. In the twenty-first century, libraries are becoming dynamic establishments that meet the changing demands of society. These consist of data literacy, digitization, and the incorporation of augmented and virtual reality technologies. Additionally, libraries are becoming community hubs for educational programs like seminars and lectures. Libraries are helping people navigate the immense ocean of information, and data literacy along with knowledge skills is essential. Services driven by AI are improving client experiences and expediting procedures. With libraries implementing eco-friendly architectural designs & community engagement tactics, sustainability projects are becoming more and more well-known. Libraries are responding to these shifts by creating creative solutions, including collaborations, environmental initiatives, and AI integration, all while overcoming financial limitations. To remain relevant, they are adopting cutting-edge strategies like AI-powered services, collaborations, sustainability, virtual and alternative reality technologies, open data initiatives, maker spaces, & creative labs. Libraries are implementing cutting-edge solutions to address a variety of community needs and encourage lifelong learning, despite obstacles such as limited financing, evolving librarian roles, privacy and security concerns, and adjusting to changing societal standards.

Dr. Awadhesh Singh Gautam Dr. awadhesh singh gautam

The mechanistic insight of polyphenols in calcium oxalate urolithiasis mitigation

About 12% of the world's population is affected by different forms of urolithiasis, of which the recurrence rate in females is 47–60% and in males is 70–80%. Standard therapeutic agents (allopurinol, citrate, cystone and thiazide diuretics) prevent and treat urolithiasis. Still, these are not universally-effective due to common kidney stone relapse and other side effects. Surgical treatment causes long-term renal damage, hypertension and stone recurrence. Polyphenols, the plant-derived bioactive molecules, have showed protection against cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis and neurodegenerative diseases, among several other ailments. The role of these phytochemicals in urolithiasis management is emerging. Hence, the present review discusses peer-reviewed published literature to date on this aspect and highlights that polyphenols could effectively inhibit the formation of calcium oxalate urinary stones (most common renal stone), correlating with their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition. Further, we have proposed the prospects and challenges in developing plant polyphenols into drugs against kidney stone prevention. This review might be a stepping stone for further investigation into the clinical implications of polyphenols in urolithiasis remediation.

Dr. Salman Ahmed Dr. salman ahmed

Human resource management - mind map on traditional functions of hrm

Human resource management refers to the process of employing people, training them, compensating, and developing policies and strategies to keep them (Storey, 2016). Personnel management is an administrative specialisation that focuses on hiring and developing employees to become valuable to the organisation (Bondarouk, Trullen, and Valverde, 2016). Management of personnel can be characterised as a satisfied workforce being achieved, used, and maintained (Sheehan, Garavan & Carbery, 2014). It constitutes an essential aspect of the management of employees in the organisation and their connection. According to Schroeder (2012, p.4), personnel management is achieved to help organisational, individual, and social goals, as the planning, organisation, offsetting, and maintaining of people. Vargas et al. (2018, p. 3052) add that personnel management is the element that primarily deals with human organisational resources. Management of personnel covers job, development, and compensation functions. In consultation with other departments, the personnel management performs these functions principally (Vargas et al., 2018, p. 3053)

Zamzam Abdelazim Zamzam abdelazim

Laboratory findings of libyan patients with covid-19 in intensive care unit

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared by the World Health Organization as a pandemic on 11th March, 2020 which spread rapidly all over the world. COVID-19 disease has different clinical presentations, ranging from asymptomatic to severe symptoms. Laboratory findings are important in determining which therapeutic strategies to seek and to identify severe cases initially. In this study, we compared the results of C-reactive protein, D-dimer, blood electrolytes and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration between survivors and non-survivors of 22 Libyan patients with COVID-19 present in the intensive care unit at Maitika Isolation Center (Tripoli, Libya) in the period of January to June 2021. We could not detect any significant difference in C-reactive protein between survivors and non-survivors but a significant difference in D-dimer level was observed. Non-survivor COVID-19 patients have a higher level of D-dimer. Moreover, a statistical significant difference in chloride and sodium levels but not in potassium level were detected. A marked lower of mean corpuscular hemoglobin in non-survivor than survivor COVID-19 patients was shown. Thus, these parameters could act as biomarkers for COVID-19 patients.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Selection of potential isolates of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (pgpr) in conferring salt tolerance under in vitro

Salinity is a major environmental stress which has been studied extensively and has its impact on agriculture in the past, present and future. The global importance of salt affected soils can be explained by their wide distribution on all continents covering about 10% of the total land surface. At present, there are nearly 954 million ha of saline soils on earth’s surface. It is extremely difficult to quantify the social and economic costs of salt prone land and water resources. Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a group of bacteria that actively colonize plant roots and increase plant growth and yield. They play an important role within the interaction between soil and plant. As plants grow on marginal soils such as saline soils, the importance of the rhizobacteria increases as they mobilize nutrients and provide tolerance ability to the plants. In the present study, an attempt was made and isolated 51 PGPR isolates (Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria–18; Azotobacter spp.-16 and Azospirillum spp.-17) from different salt affected areas in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. All the isolates were screened for their efficacy against different sodium salts namely sodium chloride, sodium citrate and sodium sulphate. It was observed that the absorbance of the culture broth grown in salt stress to sodium chloride decreased with increasing concentration of the salt. Similarly decrease in growth pattern in terms of the absorbance was also observed in salt stress to sodium citrate and sodium sulphate.

Dr. SARANYA DEVI K Dr. saranya devi k

Improving machine learning classification models for anaemia type prediction by oversampling imbalanced complete blood count data with smote-based algorithms

Computer-assisted disease diagnosis is cost-effective and time-saving, increasing accuracy and reducing the need for an additional workforce in medical decision-making. In our prior research, we trained, tested, and compared the accuracies of nine optimizable classification models to diagnose and predict eight anaemia types from Complete Blood Count (CBC) data. This study aimed to improve these classification models by oversampling the original imbalanced dataset with four algorithms related to the Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE). The results showed that the validation accuracy increased from 99.22% (Ensemble model) to 99.57% (Tree model), and most importantly, the False Discovery Rate (FDR) for the anaemia type with the highest FDR decreased from 23.1% to 1.5%.

Ladislav Végh Ladislav végh

Exploring globally used antiurolithiatic plants of s to z families: including saxifragaceae, scrophulariaceae, solanaceae, urticaceae, vitaceae, zingiberaceae and zygophyllaceae

Urolithiasis is a common worldwide problem with high recurrence. This review covers twenty-three (23) families starting from alphabet S to Z. It includes Solanaceae (12); Zingiberaceae (09); Scrophulariaceae and Urticaceae (08); Verbenaceae (07); Ulmaceae, Valerianaceae and Vitaceae (05); Zygophyllaceae. (04); Sapotaceae, Saxifragaceae and Typhaceae (03); Smilacaceae (02); Salicaceae, Salvadoraceae, Santalaceae, Simaroubaceae, Tamaricaceae, Tiliaceae, Theaceae, Tropaeolaceae, Violaceae and Xanthorrhoeaceae (01) plant used globally in different countries. Hopefully, this review will be helpful for the general public and attract the scientific world for antiurolithiatic drug discovery.

Dr. Salman Ahmed Dr. salman ahmed

Homogenous generation of dopaminergic neurons from multiple hipsc lines by transient expression of transcription factors

A major hallmark of Parkinson's disease is loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). The pathophysiological mechanisms causing this relatively selective neurodegeneration are poorly understood, and thus experimental systems allowing to study dopaminergic neuron dysfunction are needed. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) differentiated toward a dopaminergic neuronal phenotype offer a valuable source to generate human dopaminergic neurons. However, currently available protocols result in a highly variable yield of dopaminergic neurons depending on the source of hiPSCs. We have now developed a protocol based on HBA promoter-driven transient expression of transcription factors by means of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors, that allowed to generate very consistent numbers of dopaminergic neurons from four different human iPSC lines. We also demonstrate that AAV vectors expressing reporter genes from a neuron-specific hSyn1 promoter can serve as surrogate markers for maturation of hiPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons. Dopaminergic neurons differentiated by transcription factor expression showed aggravated neurodegeneration through α-synuclein overexpression, but were not sensitive to γ-synuclein overexpression, suggesting that these neurons are well suited to study neurodegeneration in the context of Parkinson’s disease.

Sameehan mahajani

Comparison between isoflurane and sevoflurane in inhalation anesthesia: a prospective study

Inhalation of a gas anesthetic produces rapid induction of anesthesia without the need for intravenous drugs. Although it is specifically useful for patients who are afraid of injections or if their intravenous access is difficult, single-breath induction may also allow patients to wake up more quickly than intravenous induction drugs. The object of this study is to compare isoflurane and sevoflurane during inhalation in Libyan patients undergoing surgery in terms of side effects like blood pressure and heart rate changes and complications. Seventy- five patients were recruited in this study from different hospitals in Benghazi City, Libya (January to March, 2022) including Aljalaa Hospital and Alatfal Hospital, and data including side effects and complications were collected through data collection. Surgeries that used isoflurane, or sevoflurane or both inhalation gases for anesthesia were included in our data. While the surgeries which did not use any of these inhalation gases were excluded from our data. When we compared the side effects of using isoflurane with sevoflurane according to the age group, we found that hypotension is the most occurring side effect companies to the use of isoflurane in our adult population (28.6%) and in pediatrics (14.3%) but there was a low incidence of other side effects related to sevoflurane administration. Regarding to side effects related to the use of sevoflurane according to the age groups, 16 adult Libyan patients experienced no side effects (61.5%) compared to 10 children (38.5%). It can be concluded that both isoflurane and sevoflurane are suitable for daycare anesthesia. Sevoflurane might be an ideal drug for single-breath inhaled induction of anesthesia due to it has fewer side effects and complications.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Rust-based blockchain for improving supply chain communication in internet of vehicles

The motto behind the keenness of urban areas has become unmistakable in current cities because of the rise of installed and associated shrewd gadgets, frameworks, and innovations. It is possible to connect every object to the Internet. As a result, in the impending Internet of Things era, the “Internet of Vehicles-IoV” will play a critical role in newly developed dazzling urban communities. The IoV can possibly address different traffic and street wellbeing issues successfully to forestall deadly crashes. In any case, a specific test of IoV, particularly in “Vehicle-to-Vehicle” as well as “Vehicle-to-Infrastructure” communications, guarantees quick, in order to transmit securely and exact performance of the information. The above effort is modifying Blockchain innovation for continuous application called RTA to meet “Vehicle-to-Every thing-V2x” communications problems in order to overcome these challenges. As a result, the main goal of the study is to develop a Blockchain-based IoT framework for establishing communication security and creating a completely decentralized computing platform. Research methodology used here is divided into two major sections. In the part 1 presented below, authors discuss the traceability and optimization over Merkle trees. The second section deals with implementing an actual blockchain with our optimized Merkle tree as the underlying technology to represent a distributed trust based ledger.

Dr H Shaheen Dr h shaheen

Preparation and characterization and biodistribution studies of lomustine loaded plga nanoparticles by interfacial deposition method

The incorporation of lomustine, a hydrophobic anticancer drug into PLGA nanoparticles by interfacial deposition method was optimized. Based on the optimal parameters, it was found that lomustine-PLGA nanoparticles with acceptable properties could be obtained. Optimization of formulation variables to control the size and drug entrapment efficiency of the prepared nanoparticles seems to be based on the same scientific principles as drug-loaded nanoparticles prepared by nanoprecipitation, solvent evaporation method. The process was the most important factor to control the particle size, while both the drug-polymer interaction and the partition of drug in organic and aqueous phases were the crucial factors to govern the drug entrapment efficiency. PLGA concentration at lower level (100 mg), 1:5 organic phase: aqueous ratio, 1%w/v PVA concentration, 3%w/v pluronic F68 achieved smaller particle size. Additionally, L:G ratio of PLGA 75:25, lower volume of organic solvent (1:10 organic phase: aqueous phase), higher initial drug content (10mg) enhanced the drug entrapment efficiency and maintained lomustine concentration in blood for an extended time period, elevated lomustine concentration in lungs and slowed the elimination of lomustine. The biodistribution profiles of prepared nanoparticles in albino mice showed higher plasma drug concentration for longer period of time, elevated drug concentration in lungs and slow elimination from kidney. No toxic effects of prepared nanoparticles were observed in histopathological examination of lungs and kidney. The systematic investigation reported here promises the development of PLGA nanoparticles loaded with lomustine when tested in Lung Cancer cell line L132 and toxicological/ histopathological studies in albino mice.

Archana Mehrotra Archana mehrotra

Business ethics

Corporate social responsibility is a self-equipped business approach that helps an organization be socially responsible to its stakeholders and the overall public. Through the practice of CSR, companies are conscious and aware of the impacts they have on all aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental (Goel and Ramanathan, 2014, p. 51). A case study scenario, in this case, is of StanBed Tours Ky, the impact of CSR on consumer loyalty, stating that the increase of CSR has resulted in the society's satisfaction with the business (Bediako, 2017, p. 1). CSR influences the people affected by it in various intensities and means. Such as, employees, who are part of the major stakeholders, are significantly affected by the organization's corporate social responsibility activities in marketing, which shape their logic, inspiration and lead to deeper commitments to achieving organizational goals and strategic plans (Makasi et al., 2014, p. 2600). Additionally, CSR investments in marketing significantly impact external shareholders such as consumers and the organization's image (Kaman, 2015, p. 7). CSR activities carried out by StanBed include tree planting exercises to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions resulting from flying airplanes, voluntary beach cleaning services to protect marine life, and providing educational services to children in the community of tours.

Zamzam Abdelazim Zamzam abdelazim

Psychological impact of covid-19 pandemic on medical students: an online cross-sectional study

COVID-19 pandemic has spread all over the world and has caused psychological impacts. Medical students are known to be vulnerable population, experiencing higher levels of anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders compared to non-medical students. The nature of life changes like what happened and still happening during the pandemic have its impact on mental health of the students. The aim of this study was to identify the psychological impacts of COVID-19 on medical students among different universities to develop profiles to characterize students' anticipated levels of psychological impacts during the pandemic. Also, to search for potential risk factors that could make students more likely to experience these impacts. An online survey was filled by medical students (n = 100) at faculties of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and medical sciences of different universities: University of Benghazi, Libyan International Medical University, Omar Almokhtar University, Cairo University and Alexandria University. The students were taken to the further analysis. Thus, 55% of the participants had psychological impacts due to the pandemic and 17% had severe effect. Some of these impacts were actually positive as a large number (58%) of the participants felt relaxed during the pandemic. Multiple stressors were identified that contributed to the increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression. These included concern about academic performance (80%), concern about self/dear-one’s health (90%), difficulty with concentration (46%), disruption to sleeping patterns (78%), increased social isolation (26%), disruption to eating patterns (48%), changing in the living environment (26%), financial difficulties (34%) increased class workload (20%) depressive thoughts (37%) and suicidal thoughts (07%). In conclusion, the study indicates that COVID-19 pandemic have positive and negative impacts on medical students. Thus, it is suggested that measures need to alleviate students’ stress, which might have harmful effects in different aspects.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Mediterranean journal of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences

Challenges experienced by students at stellenbosch university that hinder their ability successfully to learn online during the covid-19 era: a demographic and spatial analysis

The purpose of this meta-methods study (i.e., involving the full[er] integration of multiple methods research approaches and mixed methods research approaches) was to examine challenges experienced by students at Stellenbosch University that hinder their ability successfully to learn online during the emergency remote teaching that began in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, 1,932 students completed an online questionnaire. Analyses of the open-ended responses via WordStat 8.0.29 topic modeling (i.e., crossover mixed analysis) led to the identification of seven (challenge) themes that categorised the students’ challenges. In turn, via a principal component analysis of the themes (i.e., crossover mixed analysis), these seven themes were collapsed into four dimensions (i.e., meta-themes). A latent class analysis (i.e., qualitizing) yielded seven profiles of students. Disaggregating the themes by demographic and location variables led to the identification of subgroups who are most at risk for experiencing each challenge type. Implications of these and other findings are discussed.

Dr Emmanuel Ojo Dr emmanuel ojo

Models of data structures in educational visualizations for supporting teaching and learning algorithms and computer programming

Teaching and learning computer programming is challenging for many undergraduate first-year computer science students. During introductory programming courses, novice programmers need to learn some basic algorithms, gain algorithmic thinking, improve their logical and problem-solving thinking skills, and learn data types, data structures, and the syntax of the chosen programming language. In literature, we can find various methods of teaching programming that can motivate students and reduce students’ cognitive load during the learning process of computer programming, e.g., using robotic kits, microcontrollers, microworld environments, virtual worlds, serious games, interactive animations, and visualizations. In this paper, we focus mainly on algorithm visualizations, especially on the different models of data structures that can be effectively used in educational visualizations. First, we show how a vector (one-dimensional array), a matrix (two-dimensional array), a singly linked list, and a graph can be represented by various models. Next, we also demonstrate some examples of interactive educational algorithm animations for teaching and learning elementary algorithms and some sorting algorithms, e.g., swapping two variables, summing elements of the array, mirroring the array, searching the minimum or maximum of the array, searching the index of minimum or maximum of the array, sorting elements of the array using simple exchange sort, bubblesort, insertion sort, minsort, maxsort, quicksort, or mergesort. Finally, in the last part of the paper, we summarize our experiences in teaching algorithmization and computer programming using algorithm animations and visualizations and draw some conclusions.

Ladislav Végh Ladislav végh

Controlling the apex in early onset scoliosis through active apex correction (apc) non fusion growth modulating technique, is it a myth?

Study DesignA multicenter retrospective study. ObjectivesTo determine the rate of Apex facet fusion in children with Early Onset Scoliosis treated surgically with the Active Apex Correction (APC) technique. MethodsSeventeen patients were treated with the APC technique as index surgery for Early Onset Scoliosis with more than 1 year of follow-up. A 3D CT scan was done to determine the facet fusion rate in the deformity’s apex controlled with posterior tethering. ResultsThe average follow-up time was 26.4 months (12-56), Average age at index surgery was 81.2 months (30-132), and average number of surgeries done 1.3. Apical vertebrae studied for facet fusion were the 3 vertebrae in the apex in each patient that were subjected to posterior tethering according to the APC technique. In total they were 86 apical vertebrae (172 Facets studied with 86 convex side, 86 concave side). Our observations showed that 29 facet joints were fused (16% of the total facets studied),15 were on the convex, 14 on the concave side (no statistically significant difference). Regarding the facet joint distance in the non-fused facets was 0.99 mm on the convex side and 1.08 mm on the concave side with no statistical significance difference. ConclusionAPC for Early Onset Scoliosis achieves apical growth modulation and control utilizing posterior tethering without inducing fusion. This study demonstrated that APC is an effective non-fusion technique through the low incidence of facet fusion levels at the Apex, limiting the crankshaft phenomena seen in cases with apex control through arthrodesis.

Mohamad  Banat Mohamad banat

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