Introduction: Fast-setting high viscosity cement was introduced in the last decade, offering arthroplasty surgeons the benefit of shortened setting time. This could reduce the operating time, which may reduce the risk of infection and improve theatre efficiency. PALACOS® Fast R+G high viscosity cement has an average setting time of less than 6 minutes (30% faster than regular PALACOS® R+G) due to the lack of a waiting phase. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of total knee arthroplasty performed using this fast-setting, high viscosity cement and short-term radiological outcomes. Materials and methods: This single surgeon case series looked at 344 primary TKAs performed using PALACOS® fast R+G cement from January 2016 to March 2020. Data were collected on patient demographics, perioperative events, and complications. Radiographs taken immediately post-operatively and at the one-year follow-up were analysed using the Knee Society Roentgenographic Evaluation and Scoring System (KSRESS). Results: This case series included 313 consecutive patients (31 bilateral) with a mean age of 70 years (range 44-93). A total of 237 patients (76%, 262 TKA patients) had a minimum one-year follow-up. No adverse events were noted perioperatively; ten patients had superficial wound issues and were managed successfully with wound care and/or oral antibiotics. Six (1.7%) patients underwent re-operation in the study period. These included one DAIR, one staged revision for deep infection, two revisions for instability, one manipulation under anaesthetic for stiffness, and one patella internal fixation for fracture. The mean combined valgus angle for the prosthesis was 183.1° (range 177.7° to 187.8°), indicating adequate alignment. At one-year follow-up, no radiographs demonstrated any new loosening or worsening of any previously noted radiolucent lines. Conclusion: This study reports the largest case series that looks at the use of fast-setting bone cement in primary TKA. It demonstrates good safety, as evidenced by a low reoperation rate, deep infection rate, and no adverse events during implantation. Fast-setting cement offers the promise of improving theatre efficiency and decreasing total running costs. Further studies are needed to provide data on improved theatre efficiency, cost savings and the longevity of implanted knees utilising this cement.

Organoids ; Biomedical Research

The animal model deals with the species other than the human, as it can imitate the disease progression, its’ diagnosis as well as a treatment similar to human. Discovery of a drug and/or component, equipment, their toxicological studies, dose, side effects are in vivo studied for future use in humans considering its’ ethical issues. Here lies the importance of the animal model for its enormous use in biomedical research. Animal models have many facets that mimic various disease conditions in humans like systemic autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular diseases, Atherosclerosis, diabetes, etc., and many more. Besides, the model has tremendous importance in drug development, development of medical devices, tissue engineering, wound healing, and bone and cartilage regeneration studies, as a model in vascular surgeries as well as the model for vertebral disc regeneration surgery. Though, all the models have some advantages as well as challenges, but, present review has emphasized the importance of various small and large animal models in pharmaceutical drug development, transgenic animal models, models for medical device developments, studies for various human diseases, bone and cartilage regeneration model, diabetic and burn wound model as well as surgical models like vascular surgeries and surgeries for intervertebral disc degeneration considering all the ethical issues of that specific animal model. Despite, the process of using the animal model has facilitated researchers to carry out the researches that would have been impossible to accomplish in human considering the ethical prohibitions.

OBJECTIVETo our knowledge, prescription of homeopathic medicines by homeopathic undergraduate students has not been studied before though it may possess serious implications. We aimed to determine the practice and attitudes of prescription by homeopathic undergraduate students.

METHODSA cross-sectional study was carried out involving all the students from four government homeopathic schools of West Bengal, India. Ethical requirements were ensured and data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Chi-square tests and logistic univariate regression analyses were performed to identify associations and differences.

RESULTSA total of 328 forms were completed. Of these, 264 (80.5%) homeopathic undergraduate students admitted of prescribing medicines independently and most (40.5%) said that they did this 2-3 times a year. The most common reasons for this were 'urgency of the problem' (35.2%), 'previous experience with same kind of illness' (31.8%), and 'the problem too trivial to go to a doctor' (25.8%). About 63.4% of the students thought that it was alright to independently diagnose an illness while 51.2% thought that it was alright for them to prescribe medicines to others. Common conditions encountered were fever, indigestion, and injury. Students who prescribed medicines were more likely to belong to Calcutta Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital (odds ratio = 5.8; 95% confidence interval 2.247-14.972). Prescription by students gradually increased with academic years of homeopathic schools. Many students thought it was alright for students to diagnose and treat illnesses.

CONCLUSIONPrescription of medicines by homeopathic undergraduate students is quite rampant and corrective measures are warranted.

Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drug Prescriptions ; standards ; statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Homeopathy ; education ; manpower ; standards ; Humans ; India ; Male ; Students ; statistics & numerical data ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult