Citations

Flexor tendon repair remains one of the more difficult technical tasks facing the hand surgeon. A good repair must be both strong and able to glide smoothly through the tendon sheath. The purpose of this study is to present a model that allows surgeons to improve their technique of flexor tendon repair by receiving feedback on these important biomechanical parameters. The set-up requires testing equipment found in most biomechanical laboratories and should be available in many academic medical centres. Preliminary data suggest that receiving feedback about the strength and smoothness of a flexor tendon repair may be a very useful tool in helping surgeons improve the overall quality of their tendon repair technique.

ABSTRACT Fosmidomycin is effective against malaria, but it needs to be given for ≥4 days when used alone. We conducted a study of 50 children with Plasmodium falciparum malaria to evaluate the safety and efficacy of consecutively shortened regimens of artesunate-fosmidomycin (1 to 2 mg/kg of body weight and 30 mg/kg of body weight, respectively; doses given every 12 hours). All dosing regimens were well tolerated. Artesunate-fosmidomycin acted rapidly, resulting in consolidated geometric mean parasite and fever clearance times of 24 h and 15 h, respectively. Treatment regimens of ≥2 days led to cure ratios of 100% by day 14 (39/39; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 91% to 100%). Most importantly, the 3-day regimen achieved 100% cure on day 28 (10/10; 95% CI, 69% to 100%). Treatment with artesunate-fosmidomycin was associated with transient grade I or II neutropenia (absolute neutrophil counts of 750 to 1,200/μl and 400 to 749/μl, respectively) in six or two patients, respectively. Artesunate-fosmidomycin demonstrates the feasibility and potential value of short-course artemisinin-based combination chemotherapy with rapidly eliminated combination partners.