BACKGROUND Infection at the pin tract is a frequent and feared complication of external fixators(EF).The type of pin material and coatings have been regarded as possibly influencing infection rates.Over the last 20 ye...BACKGROUND Infection at the pin tract is a frequent and feared complication of external fixators(EF).The type of pin material and coatings have been regarded as possibly influencing infection rates.Over the last 20 years,few prospective clinical studies and systematic reviews addressed the role of coated pins on the rate of pin site infection in human clinical studies.AIM To assess the EF literature over the past 20 years on the clinical benefits of pins manufactured from varied materials and coating systems and their possible role in pin tract infection rates.METHODS We performed a systematic review according to the PRISMA and PICOS guidelines using four scientific platforms:PubMed,LiLacs,SciELO,and Cochrane.We searched the literature for related publications over the past 20 years.RESULTS A literature search yielded 29 articles,among which seven met the inclusion criteria.These studies compared stainless-steel pins and pins coated with hydroxyapatite(HA),titanium and silver.The pin tract infection definitions were arbitrary and not standardized among studies.Most studies included a low number of patients in the analysis and used a short follow-up time.Three metaanalyses were carried out,comparing stainless steel vs silver pins,stainless steel vs HA-coated pins,and titanium vs HA-coated pins.None of this analysis resulted in statistically significant differences in pin tract infection rates.CONCLUSION Currently,no clinical evidence supports the advantage of EF pins manufactured with materials other than stainless steel or coated over uncoated pins in reducing the rates of pin tract infections.A standardized definition of pin tract infection in external fixation is still lacking.展开更多
In this paper, we study the propagation and its failure to propagate (pinning) of a travelling wave in a Nagumo type equation, an equation that describes impulse propagation in nerve axons that also models population ...In this paper, we study the propagation and its failure to propagate (pinning) of a travelling wave in a Nagumo type equation, an equation that describes impulse propagation in nerve axons that also models population growth with Allee effect. An analytical solution is derived for the traveling wave and the work is extended to a discrete formulation with a piecewise linear reaction function. We propose an operator splitting numerical scheme to solve the equation and demonstrate that the wave either propagates or gets pinned based on how the spatial mesh is chosen.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND Infection at the pin tract is a frequent and feared complication of external fixators(EF).The type of pin material and coatings have been regarded as possibly influencing infection rates.Over the last 20 years,few prospective clinical studies and systematic reviews addressed the role of coated pins on the rate of pin site infection in human clinical studies.AIM To assess the EF literature over the past 20 years on the clinical benefits of pins manufactured from varied materials and coating systems and their possible role in pin tract infection rates.METHODS We performed a systematic review according to the PRISMA and PICOS guidelines using four scientific platforms:PubMed,LiLacs,SciELO,and Cochrane.We searched the literature for related publications over the past 20 years.RESULTS A literature search yielded 29 articles,among which seven met the inclusion criteria.These studies compared stainless-steel pins and pins coated with hydroxyapatite(HA),titanium and silver.The pin tract infection definitions were arbitrary and not standardized among studies.Most studies included a low number of patients in the analysis and used a short follow-up time.Three metaanalyses were carried out,comparing stainless steel vs silver pins,stainless steel vs HA-coated pins,and titanium vs HA-coated pins.None of this analysis resulted in statistically significant differences in pin tract infection rates.CONCLUSION Currently,no clinical evidence supports the advantage of EF pins manufactured with materials other than stainless steel or coated over uncoated pins in reducing the rates of pin tract infections.A standardized definition of pin tract infection in external fixation is still lacking.
文摘In this paper, we study the propagation and its failure to propagate (pinning) of a travelling wave in a Nagumo type equation, an equation that describes impulse propagation in nerve axons that also models population growth with Allee effect. An analytical solution is derived for the traveling wave and the work is extended to a discrete formulation with a piecewise linear reaction function. We propose an operator splitting numerical scheme to solve the equation and demonstrate that the wave either propagates or gets pinned based on how the spatial mesh is chosen.
