Do thermoreactive clips reduce sternal infection : a propensity-matched comparison with sternal wires?
Thermoreactive clips did not have an advantage in the prevention of superficial or deep sternal wound infection in obese patients undergoing sternotomy.
Combination of PCR and specific parvovirus B19 IgG/IgM tests enabled high detection rates of parvovirus B19 infection in this series of 57 consecutive pregnancies with adverse outcomes. The high mortality rate in the B19-infected fetuses was partly explained by a high occurrence of fetal trisomy, compared to non-B19-infected fetuses, suggesting a higher vulnerability of the former. After correction for this concomitant karyotype abnormality, the percentage of presumably lethal infection due to parvovirus B19 was 8.8%.