Etiology, Prevalence, and Management of Oral and Maxillofacial Soft Tissue Injuries in Children at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi-Ghana

Background: Maxillofacial injury may vary from simple soft tissue lacerations to complex fractures of the orofacial region. Soft tissue injuries, whether isolated or in combination with other injuries, form part of the frequent traumatic craniofacial injuries seen at the emergency department. The force of impact and the injury type is directly related to the severity of the injury sustained. This study aimed to analyze the etiological factors, prevalence, and management of oral and maxillofacial soft tissue injuries at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Methods: This was a prospective study that involved children presenting with oral and maxillofacial injuries at the Accident and Emergency Department and the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi between the period of April to October 2020 (6 months). Patient selection was by convenience sampling targeting all children with injuries who met the inclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria were children below the age of 18 years whose parents or caregivers consent to participation. Children with maxillofacial injuries as a result of burns were excluded from the study. Results: During the study period a total of 134 children were reviewed with oral and maxillofacial injuries at KATH. Of these, 107 (78.9%) were recorded cases of orofacial soft tissue injuries. There were 63 (58.9%) males and 44 (41.1%) females and the male-to-female ratio was 1.5:1. The age range of patients studied was 8 months – 17 years, with mean age ± SD being 9.5 ± 5.3 years. Road Traffic Crash (50.5%) was the most common etiology of which Motor cycle crash constituted 24.3% and Pedestrian knockdown was 19.6%. Falls (42.1%) were the next most common etiology. The lips (19.8%) and the forehead (18.5%) were the most frequently injured sites on the face whiles the tongue (3.3%) had the most injuries intraorally. Laceration (45.7%) was the most frequent injury reviewed, followed by abrasions (35.8%). Most of the soft tissue injuries underwent primary closure (56.3%). A complication rate of 21.2% was recorded in this study and hypertrophic scarring (11.3%) was the most observed.

Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in the Surgical Area at the Kara Teaching Hospital

Objective: To report the management of skin and soft tissue infections in the surgical area of Kara University Hospital in Togo. Material and Methods: This study was conducted retrospectively from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2022, in the general surgery and orthopedic trauma departments. The study focused on soft tissue infections of the pelvic and thoracic limbs and analyzed epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic, and evolutionary data. Results: We registered 165 patients, comprising 109 men and 56 women.The sex ratio (F/H) were 0.51. The mean age was 45 years with extremes ranging from 23 to 90 years. Farmers (64.8%) followed by housewives (34.0%) were the social strata most affected. The consultation period varied between 1 and 90 days. The pathologies found were necrotizing fasciitis (53.3%), erysipelas (18.2%), infected limb wounds (12.1%), pyomyositis (9.7%), and necrotizing dermo-hypodermitis (1.8%). The main procedures performed were necrosectomy and grafting (62.9%), sample necrosectomy (18.8%), drainage (9.7%), and pelvic limb amputation (1.2%). Follow-up was favorable in 86.7% of cases. The study noted a death rate of 13.3% due to septic shock secondary to a delay in consultation. Conclusion: Skin and soft tissue infections were a common reason for surgical hospitalization at Kara University Hospital, with a high mortality rate due to delayed consultations.

Effect of artificial dermis combined with jinfu ning on skin healing and bacterial detection rate of finger abdomen

Objective: To explore the effect of artificial dermis combined with rhGM-CSF(Jinfuning) on healing of soft tissue defect of finger ventral skin and the influence of bacterial detection rate. Methods: Totally 110 patients with finger injury admitted to the rehabilitation department of our department from January 2017 to June 2018 were collected and divided into control group and observation group according to the random number table method with 55 cases in each group. The control group received direct artificial derma lrepairing after thorough debridement, while the observation group received recombinant gm-csf gel coating on the wound surface before artificial dermal repairing, Wound healing, wound inflammation, bacterial detection rate, inflammatory factor expression, follow-up and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results: The wound healing rate of the observation group at 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after treatment was significantly higher than that of the control group (t= 11.211, P =0.000).( T = 14.895, P =0.000;T = 25.346, P=0.000;T =8.247, P=0.000). The wound healing time of the observation group was (19.7±2.3) d, and that of the control group was (27.4±3.3) d. The average wound healing time of the observation group was significantly shorter than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (t=14.197, P= 0.000). Observation group wound inflammation at each time point score was significantly lower than the control group, the group rooms, time points, ·point interaction effect between the comparison, the differences were statistically significant (P <0.05), the observation group wound bacteria detection rate of 7.27% (4 cases) : the control bacteria detection rate was 21.81% (12 cases), difference was statistically significant (chi-square = 4.68, P= 0.0305), the observation group of bacteria detection rate was significantly lower than the control group;The bacteria detected in the two groups were mainly e. coli, tetanus bacillus and fungi. There was no significant difference in the indicators between the two groups before treatment, and the values of inflammatory cytokines il-1 and TNF- IOD in the two groups were significantly decreased after treatment, and the observation group was significantly lower than the control group, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). No serious adverse reactions occurred in either group during the treatment. Conclusion: the application of artificial dermals combined with jinfuning can promote wound healing of skin and soft tissue defect of finger abdomen, effectively inhibit bacterial infection of wound surface, reduce inflammation and infection,reducing bacterial detection rate.

Terrorist attacks in the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan: Profile of soft tissue and skeletal injuries from a single trauma center

BACKGROUND: Pakistan has been hugely struck with massive bomb explosions(car and suicide bombs) resulting in multiple casualties in the past few years. The aim of this study is to present the patterns of skeletal and soft tissue injuries and to review the outcome of the victims who presented to our hospital.METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review from January 2008 to December 2012. The medical record numbers of patients were obtained from the hospital Health Information and Management Sciences(HIMS) as per the ICD-9 coding.RESULTS: During the study period, more than 100 suicide and implanted bomb blast attacks took place in the public proceedings, government offices, residential areas and other places of the city. Altogether 262 patients were enrolled in the study. The mean age of the patients was 31±14 years. The shrapnel inflicted wounds were present on to the upper limb in 24 patients and the lower limb in 50.CONCLUSION: Long bone fractures were the most common skeletal injuries. The fractures were complicated by penetrating fragments and nails which result in post operative infections and prolonged hospital stay.

Molecular Epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus among Patients with Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Two Chinese Hospitals

Background：Staphylococcus aureus is one of the predominant causes of skin and soft tissue infections （SSTIs）,but limited data were available regarding the characterization of S.aureus from SSTIs patients in Jiangsu Province in China.We aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology ofS.aureus among SSTIs patients in two hospitals of Jiangsu Province.Methods：Sixty-two patients with SSTIs from two Chinese hospitals in Jiangsu Province were enrolled in this study,and 62 S.aureus isolates were collected from February 2014 to January 2015.S.aureus isolates were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing,toxin gene detection,and molecular typing with sequence type,Staphylococcus protein A gene type,accessorygeneregulator（agr）group,and Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type.Results：Sixteen （25.8%） methicillin-resistant S.aureus （MRSA） isolates were detected,and there was no isolate found resistant to vancomycin,teicoplanin,sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim,and linezolid.The sei was the toxin gene most frequently found,and no lukS/F-PV-positive isolates were detected among the SSTIs＆#39; patients.Molecular analysis revealed that ST398 （10/62,16.1%;2 MRSA and 8 methicillin-susceptible S.aureus） to be the dominant clone,followed by ST5 （8/62,12.9%） and ST7 （8/62,12.9%）.Conclusions：The livestock ST398 was the most common clone among patients with S.aureus SSTIs in Jiangsu Province,China.Surveillance and further studies on the important livestock ST398 clone in human infections are necessarily requested.

Minimizing treatment complexity of combat-related soft tissue injuries using a dedicated tension relief system and negative pressure therapy augmented by high-dose in situ antibiotic therapy and oxygen delivery: a retrospective study

Background:Following combat-related,extensive soft tissue injury from gunshot wounds or blasts,prolonged duration from injury to full wound closure is associated with infection,increased morbidity and mortality,failure to mobilize,poor functional outcome and increased cost.The purpose of this study was to evaluate a novel treatment enabling early primary closure of combat wounds.Methods:This was a retrospective study of 10 soldiers and civilians with extensive combat-related soft tissue limb injuries(5 gunshot wounds,5 blasts)treated using the TopClosure^(■)Tension Relief System(TRS)with simultaneous administration of regulated oxygen-enriched and irrigation negative pressure-assisted wound therapy(ROINPT)via the Vcareα^(■)device.Results:Nine patients were treated during the acute phase of injury and one was treated following removal of a flap due to deep infection 20 years after injury and flap reconstruction.Two patients had upper limb injury and the rest lower limb injury.With the aid of the TRS and/or ROINPT,immediate primary closure during reconstruction was achieved in 6 patients and delayed primary closure in three.Only one patient required a skin graft to close a small area of the wound after most of the wound had been closed by delayed primary closure.Wound closure was achieved within 0–37 days(median:12.5 days,interquartile range:2.75–19.75)from injury.Conclusions:The TRS is a novel device for effective,early skin stretching and secure wound closure through the application of stress relaxation and mechanical creep,achieving primary closure of large defects using a simplified surgical technique and reducing the need for closure using skin grafts and flaps and the use of tissue expanders.Delivering supplemental oxygen to the wound by ROINPT reverses the reduced oxygen levels inherent in conventional negative pressure-assisted wound therapy,mitigating anaerobic contamination and reducing infection.Irrigation may accelerate the evacuation of infectious material from the wound and provide a novel method for antibiotic administration.The combination of TRS and ROINPT devices allow for early primary closure with improved functionality of combat-related limb injuries.

Is it time to put traditional cold therapy in rehabilitation of soft-tissue injuries out to pasture?

Cold therapy has been used regularly as an immediate treatment to induce analgesia following acute soft-tissue injuries,however,a prolonged ice application has proved to delay the start of the healing and lengthen the recovery process.Hyperbaric gaseous cryotherapy,also known as neurocryostimulation,has shown the ability to overcome most of the limitations of traditional cold therapy,and meanwhile promotes the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects well,but the current existing studies have shown conflicting results on its effects.Traditional cold therapy still has beneficial effect especially when injuries are severe and swelling is the limiting factor for recovery after soft-tissue injuries,and therefore no need to be entirely put out to pasture in the rehabilitation practice.Strong randomized controlled trials with good methodological quality are still needed in the future to evaluate the effects of different cryotherapy modalities.

Observation on Therapeutic Effect in Acupuncture Treatment of Soft Tissue Injuries by Differentiation of Deficient and Excessive Patterns

Objective： To compare the therapeutic effects between the needling method by identification of deficient and excessive patterns and the needling method by routine meridian differentiation in the treatment of soft tissue injuries. Methods. 380 cases of the patients with soft tissue injuries were randomly divided into pattern identification group （200 cases, with the needling method by identification of deficient and excessive patterns） and meridian identification group （180 cases, with the needling method by routine meridian differentiation）, to observe and compare the therapeutic effects in the two groups. Results： The curative effect was 86% in the pattern identification group and 31.11% in the meridian identification group, with a significant difference （P〈 0.01）. In comparison with the total average treatment times in the cured and improved cases, the pattern identification group was 8.8 days and the meridian identification group was 15.6 days, with a remarkable significant difference （P〈 0.01）. The pattern identification group was better than the meridian identification group. Conclusion： In the treatment of soft tissue injuries, the needling method by identification of deficient and excessive patterns was better than the needling method by routine meridian differentiation.

Risk stratification system for skin and soft tissue infections after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation:PAH risk score

Skin and soft tissue infections(SSTIs)refer to infections involving the skin,subcutaneous tissue,fascia,and muscle.In transplant populations with hematological malignancies,an immunocompromised status and the routine use of immunosuppressants increase the risk of SSTIs greatly.However,to date,the profiles and clinical outcomes of SSTIs in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(HSCT)patients remain unclear.This study included 228 patients(3.67%)who developed SSTIs within 180 days after allogeneic HSCT from January 2004 to December 2019 in Peking University People’s Hospital.The overall annual survival rate was 71.5%.We compared the differences between survivors and non-survivors a year after transplant and found that primary platelet graft failure(PPGF),comorbidities of acute kidney injury(AKI),and hospital-acquired pneumonia(HAP)were independent risk factors for death in the study population.A PPGF-AKI-HAP risk stratification system was established with a mortality risk score of 1×PPGF+1×AKI+1×HAP.The areas under the curves of internal and external validation were 0.833(95%CI 0.760–0.906)and 0.826(95%CI 0.715–0.937),respectively.The calibration plot revealed the high consistency of the estimated risks,and decision curve analysis showed considerable net benefits for patients.

Advantages of Ilizarov External Fixation in an Elderly Patient with Pilon Fracture with Severe Soft Tissue Injury and Severe Osteoporosis: A Case Report

Introduction: Pilon fracture in elderly individuals is characterized by senile skin atrophy, poor dermal extensibility, and thin subcutaneous tissue. The use of bulky internal fixation material can thus cause the swelling that accompanies the fracture to induce secondary injury to skin tissue. In addition, initiation of postoperative weight-bearing is delayed due to bone fragility and difficulties with partial weight-bearing, causing a tendency toward prolonged hospitalization. Mean duration of hospitalization after pilon fracture for elderly patients in our department was 79.2 days. Case Presentation: An 80-year-old woman with pilon fracture with soft tissue injury and severe osteoporosis was transferred to our department. The fracture was treated using Ilizarov external fixation. Fourteen days postoperatively, walking with full weight-bearing was permitted. The hospital stay was 28 days. The external fixator of the ankle was removed 87 days postoperatively, at which time the patient was anatomically and functionally recovered and able to walk unaided. Conclusion: Ilizarov external fixation may represent a useful option in elderly patients with pilon fracture showing severe soft tissue injury and severe osteoporosis. The present case provides evidence that this procdure can be successfully applied to the management of such pilon fractures in elderly patients.

A New Model to Study Healing of a Complex Femur Fracture with Concurrent Soft Tissue Injury in Sheep

High energy bone fractures resulting from impact trauma are often accompanied by subcutaneous soft tissue injuries, even if the skin remains intact. There is evidence that such closed soft tissue injuries affect the healing of bone fractures, and vice versa. Despite this knowledge, most impact trauma studies in animals have focussed on bone fractures or soft tissue trauma in isolation. However, given the simultaneous impact on both tissues a better understanding of the interaction between these two injuries is necessary to optimise clinical treatment. The aim of this study was therefore to develop a new experimental model and characterise, for the first time, the healing of a complex fracture with concurrent closed soft tissue trauma in sheep. A pendulum impact device was designed to deliver a defined and standardised impact to the distal thigh of sheep, causing a reproducible contusion injury to the subcutaneous soft tissues. In a subsequent procedure, a reproducible femoral butterfly fracture (AO C3-type) was created at the sheep’s femur, which was initially stabilised for 5 days by an external fixator construct to allow for soft tissue swelling to recede, and ultimately in a bridging construct using locking plates. The combined injuries were applied to twelve sheep and the healing observed for four or eight weeks (six animals per group) until sacrifice. The pendulum impact led to a moderate to severe circumferential soft tissue injury with significant bruising, haematomas and partial muscle disruptions. Posttraumatic measurements showed elevated intra-compartmental pressure and circulatory tissue breakdown markers, with recovery to normal, pre-injury values within four days. Clinically, no neurovascular deficiencies were observed. Bi-weekly radiological analysis of the healing fractures showed progressive callus healing over time, with the average number of callus bridges increasing from 0.4 at two weeks to 4.2 at eight weeks. Biomechanical testing after sacrifice showed in- creasing torsional stiffness between four and eight weeks healing time from 10% to 100%, and increasing ultimate torsional strength from 10% to 64% (relative to the contralateral control limb). Our results demonstrate the robust healing of a complex femur fracture in the presence of a severe soft tissue contusion injury in sheep and demonstrate the establishment of a clinically relevant experimental model, for research aimed at improving the treatment of bone fractures accompanied by closed soft tissue injuries.

Mechanism of Olibanum and Myrrha for the Acute Soft Tissue Injury Based on Network Pharmacology

Objective The objective of this study was to screen the therapeutic target of olibanum and myrrha on acute soft tissue injury(ASTI)by network pharmacology and to clarify their mechanisms.Methods The main chemical constituents and the targets of olibanum and myrrha were obtained by using traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform database.The disease targets of ASTI were searched by GeneCards.The intersection targets of herbs and diseases were selected for protein interaction analysis,protein–protein interaction network was constructed,and potential protein functional modules in the network were explored.A compound–target–disease network was constructed using Cytoscape3.8.2 software.The targets were analyzed by gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis based on the Metascape database.Results The core active components of olibanum and myrrha were quercetin,β-sitosterol,and stigmasterol.The core targets were PGR,NCOA2,PTGS2,PRKCA,and NR3C2.Pathways in cancer,AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications might play a potential role in olibanum and myrrha in the treatment of ASTI.Conclusion Olibanum and myrrha have the characteristics of multiple components,multiple targets,and overall regulation in the treatment of ASTI.

Severe monobacterial necrotizing soft tissue infection by group A Streptococcus:A surgical emergency

Eight percent of necrotizing soft tissue infections(NSTI) are attributable to group A Streptococci(GAS),and among these,50%develop streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.The reported mortality associated with NSTI reaches 32%.We present cases of two healthy individuals with minor GAS skin infection which developed to a rapidly progressed NSTI and sepsis despite of the antibiotic treatment,aiming to discuss the lessons learned from the course and management of these patients.

EIGHTY CASES of SOFT TISSUE INJURY TREATED WITH LOCAL CONTRALATERAL NEEDLING METHOD

Contralateral needling method is a common and effective one of acupuncture analgesicmethods.It is used to treat a local pain in the limbs and trunk with a short course of disease,pain and swelling will disappear or be relieved immediately for one or two treatments.Really,there isan effect of relieving pain as soon as the needle is inserted.When the local contralateral needlingmethod is used,the key to improving the effectiveness lies in determining the pain position and its correspondingpoint correctly,the more correct the pain position and its corresponding point are determined,the better the effectiveness will be.In this group,80 cases soft tissue injury were treatedwith local contralateral needling method,the cure rate was 82％,and the total effective rate was100％.

Experimental study on early repair of oromaxillofacial perforating soft tissue defect due to gunshot in dogs

The left cheek of 8 adult male mongrel dogs was shot with M1935.56mm bul-let fired through an US-made M16 rifle to result in a perforating soft tissue defect.Pri-mary debridement was performed immediately and the secondary debridement 72h alter in-jury.After the secondary thorough debridement,the cutaneous side of the defect was re-paired with a saphenous artery-vein free skin(muscular)flap using microvascularanastomosis,and the oral side of the defect was repaired by drawing the surroundingmucosa together and fixing with sutures or with a local sliding mucous membrane flap.All the animals were kept under observation for 2～6 months.It was believed that the pri-mary debridement and secondary thorough debridement were both essential. The survivalrate of the free tissue flap was 75%(6/8).These facts suggest that early repair ofthe oromaxillofacial perforating soft tissue defect due to gunshot is practicable.

Application of a pre-filled tissue expander for preventing soft tissue incarceration during tibial distraction osteogenesis

BACKGROUND Bone transport and distraction osteogenesis has been widely used to treat bone defects after traumatic surgery,but,skin and soft tissue incarceration can be as high as 27.6%.AIM To investigate the efficacy of inserting a tissue expander to prevent soft tissue incarceration.METHODS Between January 2016 and December 2018,12 patients underwent implantation of a tissue expander in the subcutaneous layer in the vicinity of a tibial defect to maintain the soft tissue in position.A certain amount of normal saline was injected into the tissue expander during surgery and was then gradually extracted to shrink the expander during the course of transport distraction osteogenesis.The tissue expander was removed when the two ends of the tibial defect were close enough.RESULTS In all 12 patients,the expanders remained intact in the subcutaneous layer of the bone defect area during the course of transport distraction osteogenesis.When bone transport was adequate,the expander was removed and the bone transport process was completed.During the whole process,there was no incarceration of skin and soft tissue in the bone defect area.Complications occurred in one patient,who experienced poor wound healing.CONCLUSION The pre-filled expander technique can effectively avoid soft tissue incarceration.The authors’primary success with this method indicates that it may be a valuable tool in the management of incarcerated soft tissue.

S100 calcium-binding protein A9 promotes skin regeneration through toll-like receptor 4 during tissue expansion

Background:In plastic surgery,tissue expansion is widely used for repairing skin defects.However,low expansion efficiency and skin rupture caused by thin,expanded skin remain significant challenges in promoting skin regeneration during expansion.S100 calcium-binding protein A9(S100A9)is essential in promoting wound healing;however,its effects on skin regeneration during tissue expansion remain unclear.The aim of the present study was to explore the role of S100A9 in skin regeneration,particularly collagen production to investigate its importance in skin regeneration during tissue expansion.Methods:The expression and distribution of S100A9 and its receptors-toll-like receptor 4(TLR-4)and receptor for advanced glycation end products were studied in expanded skin.These character-istics were investigated in skin samples of rats and patients.Moreover,the expression of S100A9 was investigated in stretched keratinocytes in vitro.The effects of S100A9 on the proliferation and migration of skin fibroblasts were also observed.TAK-242 was used to inhibit the binding of S100A9 to TLR-4;the levels of collagen I(COL I),transforming growth factor beta(TGF-β),TLR-4 and phospho-extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2(p-ERK1/2)in fibroblasts were determined.Furthermore,fibroblasts were co-cultured with stretched S100A9-knockout keratinocytes by siRNA transfection and the levels of COL I,TGF-β,TLR-4 and p-ERK1/2 in fibroblasts were investigated.Additionally,the area of expanded skin,thickness of the dermis,and synthesis of COL I,TGF-β,TLR-4 and p-ERK1/2 were analysed to determine the effects of S100A9 on expanded skin.Results:Increased expression of S100A9 and TLR-4 was associated with decreased extracellular matrix(ECM)in the expanded dermis.Furthermore,S100A9 facilitated the proliferation and migration of human skin fibroblasts as well as the expression of COL I and TGF-βin fibroblasts via the TLR-4/ERK1/2 pathway.We found that mechanical stretch-induced S100A9 expression and secretion of keratinocytes stimulated COL I,TGF-β,TLR-4 and p-ERK1/2 expression in skin fibroblasts.Recombined S100A9 protein aided expanded skin regeneration and rescued dermal thinning in rats in vivo as well as increasing ECM deposition during expansion.Conclusions:These findings demonstrate that mechanical stretch promoted expanded skin regeneration by upregulating S100A9 expression.Our study laid the foundation for clinically improving tissue expansion using S100A9.

Electrical Resistance as A Measure of Soft Tissue Injuryfrom Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Assessment of muscle damage relies commonly on subjective sensation of pain. The purpose of this research was to test thevalidity of microcurrent conductance on skin over injured tissue to quantify soft tissue injury and recovery following heavy exercisecompared to other indexes of muscle soreness. A randomized, controlled, single-blinded, 1-week trial on 60 subjects.Setting-University Interventions： Subjects did 3 sets of squats for 5 min each. There were 3 groups of 20 subjects. One did nothing andone had heat applied for 8 h post exercise. The final group had heat 24 h after exercise. Tissue resistance and muscle strength force tomove the knee, analog visual pain scale. In the control group, microcurrent continually decreased, eventually decreasing 32% by thethird day post exercise. When heat was given immediately following exercise, microcurrent was 26% greater （P 〈 0.001）. The painscale rose to 3.1/10 as opposed to 5.4/10 for controls. Strength and muscle elasticity stayed mostly constant after heat as opposed to a28% decrease in strength and increase in stiffness in the control subjects. For 24 h delayed heat, microcurrent was 14% greater（P 〈 0.02）, and was unchanged for the first 24 h when no therapy was given. Pain scale rose to 4.8/10. Stiffness was unchanged whilemuscle strength decreased the same as controls. Microcurrent shows agreement with loss of strength, and stiffness from DOMS but notthe subjective pain measure. It appears that microcurrent is a good measure of muscle damage.

Therapeutic Effect and Mechanism of Jipei Dilong Ointment on Acute Soft Tissue Injury in Rats

[Objectives]This study was conducted to observe the therapeutic effect of Jipei Dilong Ointment on rats with acute soft tissue injury caused by heavy objects and to explore its action mechanism.[Methods]Thirty six rats were randomly divided into six groups(control group,model group,high-dose Jipei Dilong Ointment group(JP-H),medium-dose Jipei Dilong Ointment group(JP-M),low-dose Jipei Dilong Ointment group(JP-L)and diclofenac group).Except for the Control group,other groups were subjected to modeling of acute soft tissue injury by the weight impact method.All administration was performed once a day for nine consecutive days.The local appearance score and activity disorder score were determined after soft tissue injury in rats.HE staining was used to detect the pathological changes of injured soft tissues in rats.RT-PCR was used to detect the relative mRNA expressions of Bax,Bcl-2,MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in injured soft tissues of rats.Western Blot was used to detect the protein expressions of MMP-9,TIMP-1,TLR4,MyD88 and NF-κB p65 in injured soft tissues of rats.Results were statistically analyzed.[Results]Compared with the model group,Jipei Dilong Ointment could significantly improve the appearance symptoms such as swelling and ecchymosis in the injured area and the movement function of the affected limb(P<0.05).It could also improve the infiltration of inflammatory cells and widening of the intermuscular space caused by injury.Among them,the JP-H group and the diclofenac group had more significant curative effects.After 9 d of administration,each administration group could significantly up-regulate the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax mRNA expression level(P<0.05 or P<0.01),and the ratio of MMP-9/TIMP-1 mRNA expression level showed a downward trend(P>0.05).The expression level of NF-κB p65 protein in each administration group was significantly decreased(P<0.01).The protein expression levels of TLR4 and MyD88 and the ratio of MMP-9/TIMP-1 protein expression level in each administration group decreased to varying degrees.Among them,the JP-H group and diclofenac group significantly decreased(P<0.05).[Conclusions]Jipei Dilong Ointment has the functions of relieving pain,swelling and inflammation.It could improve the local appearance,functional activity and tissue morphology of affected limbs in rats,and has a therapeutic effect on acute soft tissue injury in rats.Its mechanism of action might be related to the inhibition of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB p65 signaling pathway and the regulation of Bcl-2/Bax and MMP-9/TIMP-1 balance.

TREATMENT OF SOFT TISSUE INJURY BY PUNCTURING CLEFT-POINTS

Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture of "Xi" (Cleft) points in treatment of soft tissue injury. Methods: 335 cases of soft tissue injury patients were divided into Cleft point group (264 cases) and Ashi point group (control group, 71 cases) randomly. In Cleft point group, the 16 Cleft points were used in combination with Ahshi points. In control group, only local Ahshi points were punctured. The treatment was conducted once every day, with 5 sessions being a therapeutic course. After 2 courses of treatment, the therapeutic effect was analyzed. Results: Results showed that the therapeutic effect of cleft point group was significantly better than that of control group (P<0.05), particularly in treatment of acute soft tissue. Conclusion: Cleft point acupuncture has a better therapeutic effect in treatment of soft tissue injury in comparison with Ashi point.