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Patients undergoing gynecological surgery commonly receive indwelling transurethral Foley catheters, however duration of catheterization is associated with risk of urinary tract infections and other adverse effects. Early removal of catheters is encouraged, however optimal timing postsurgery remains unclear. This quasi-experimental study compared outcomes for women after removal of a Foley catheter at two different times following benign gynecological surgery. Participants received either early catheter removal, within 6 hours of surgery (n = 38) or standard catheter removal, within 12 to 24 hours of surgery (n = 45). There were no significant differences in outcomes for discomfort scores or re-catheterization rates between groups. However, the early removal group had a significantly shorter time to first ambulation and shorter hospital stays. Early removal of Foley catheters in patients who underwent gynecological surgery did not increase adverse events. Early removal of catheters after gynecological surgery may decrease re-catheterization rates and increase patient satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sterile larvae--maggots of the green bottle blowfly Lucilia sericata are employed as a treatment tool for various types of chronic wounds. Previous studies reported that excretions/secretions (ES) of the sterile larvae could prevent and remove the biofilms of various species of bacteria. In the present study we assessed the effect of ES from the larvae pretreated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the bacteria biofilms. Methods and Findings: We investigated the effects of ES from the maggot pretreated with P. aeruginosa on the biofilms using microtitre plate assays and on bactericidal effect using the colony-forming unit (CFU) assay. The results showed that only 30 mg of the ES from the pretreated maggots could prevent and degrade the biofilm of P. aeruginosa. However, the CFU count of P. aeruginosa was not decrease when compared to the ES from non pretreated maggots in this study condition. It is suggested that the ES from the pretreated maggot was more effective against biofilm of P. aeruginosa than sterile maggot ES. Conclusions:Our results showed that the maggot ES, especially the bacteria-pretreated larva ES may provide a new insight into the treatment tool of the bacterial biofilms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nausea and vomiting is a common post-operative complication that exacerbates patient discomfort and puts tension on suture lines, which may cause hematomas beneath surgical flaps and place patient at risk of aspiration pneumonia. Nausea and vomiting decreases patient comfort and satisfaction and increases hospital stay length and costs. Postoperative nausea and vomiting are common occurrences. Nurses typically give medicine in accordance with doctors' orders without understanding patient symptoms. Such results in less than optimal holistic care management. This situation encouraged the author to collect references on current international trends related to postoperative nausea and vomiting treatment in the clinical setting. The author further worked to recommend a care management protocol based on findings. This paper describes risk factors of postoperative nausea and vomiting and the related drugs, prevention procedures, and treatment recommendations. Finally, the author developed a simple care flow chart suited for use in internal clinical situations that may provide a valuable reference for medical professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique, amorphous silicon oxide films containing nanocrystalline silicon grain (nc-SiOx:H) are deposited, and the bonding configurations and optical absorption properties of the films are investigated. The grain size can be well controlled by varying the hydrogen and oxygen content, and the largest size is obtained when the hydrogen dilution ratio R is 33. The results show that the crystallinity and the grain size of the film first increased and then decreased as R increased. The highest degree of crystallinity is obtained at R = 30. The analyses of bonding characteristics and light absorption characteristics show that the incorporation of hydrogen leads to an increase of overall bonding oxygen content in the film, and the film porosity first increases and then decreases. When R = 30, the film can be more compact, the optical absorption edge of the film is blue shifted, and the film has a lower activation energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon oxide films containing nanocrystalline silicon (nc-SiOx:H) are deposited by co-sputtering technology at low temperatures (<400°C) that are much lower than the typical growth temperature of nc-Si in SiO2. The microstructures and bonding properties are characterized by Raman and FTIR. It is proven that an optimum range of substrate temperatures for the deposition of nc-SiOx:H films is 200–400°C, in which the ratio of transition crystalline silicon decreases, the crystalline fraction is higher, and the hydrogen content is lower. The underlying mechanism is explained by a competitive process between nc-Si Wolmer–Weber growth and oxidation reaction, both of which achieve a balance in the range of 200–400°C. We further implement this technique in the fabrication of multilayered nc-SiOx:H/a-SiOx:H films, which exhibit controllable nc-Si sizes with high crystallization quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]