BACKGROUND:High liquid-absorbing property, high-capacity imbibition property and high antibacterial property of chitosan dressings can be promoted by chemical modification.
OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of high-absorbing chitosan dressings on hemostasis and wound healing.
METHODS: (1) Venule bleeding experiment: symmetry oozing wounds were produced on the rabbit skin, which were respectively covered by high-absorbing chitosan dressings and sterile gauze. Then, hemostatic time and bleeding volume were recorded. (2) Deep II degree burn wound healing experiment: 40 Sprague-Dawley rats were selected to prepare deep II degree burn wounds on the back, and then model rats were randomly divided into two groups: experimental group with high-absorbing chitosan dressings and control group with vaseline gauze. After 3, 7, 14, 21 days, wound tissues were taken and analyzed histopathologicaly.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Venule bleeding experiment: The bleeding amount and hemostatic time were significantly lower in the high-absorbing chitosan dressing group than the sterile gauze group (P < 0.05,P < 0.01). (2) Deep II degree burn wound healing experiment: the unhealed wound areas were significantly lower in the experimental group than the control group at days 7, 14, 21 after repair (P < 0.05). After 3 days of wound repair, necrosis of the squamous epithelial layer and the structural damage of the hair folicle in the corium layer and skin appendages were found in both two groups. Meanwhile, the infiltration caused by varying numbers of neutrophils and lymphocytes inside the damaged skin tissues was visible. After 21 days of repair, the epithelium healed wel in the control group, with a little lymphocyte infiltration and formation of crust on the skin surface; while in the experimental group, the epithelium healed wel, with complete squamous epithelial layer and no inflammatory cel infiltration. Thus, these experimental findings reveal that the high-absorbing chitosan dressing has an excelent effect on hemostasis and wound healing.

Coronary artery calcifications (CAC) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). It has been revealed that this condition can be automatically quantified through computerize tomographic (CT) scan contained in radiotherapy plan for patients with breast cancer, with which, physicians can identify the patients with increased risk of CVD after radiotherapy prematurely and take intervention measures in advance. In this article, the current literature and research progress on the correlation between CAC and cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer after radiotherapy were reviewed, expecting to provide a strategy to reduce the CVD risk in patients with breast cancer after radiotherapy.