Biomedical subjects

P S Rothwell

Publications and source records attributed to P S Rothwell.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

What are Section 63 and 'approved' courses and how are they organised?

Although Section 63 courses for general dental practitioners in the NHS have been running for many years, there seems to be poor understanding of what 'Section 63' means and how it operates. To some extent this is because of the changes which have taken place since it was introduced and the tremendous expansion in postgraduate dental education (and its objectives) in recent years. The introduction of other 'approved' courses and postgraduate education allowances have created further uncertainties. This paper gives an overview of Section 63, the source of the funds, how they are allocated, how they may be used and who is eligible, and outlines details of other 'approved' courses and the various allowances which GDPs can claim in relation to these different categories of courses.

Education, Dental, Continuing↗

PubMed1991

Evaluation of a hygiene monitor for detection of contamination in dental surgeries.

Routines for disinfecting working surfaces in dental surgeries are difficult to monitor without time-consuming and labour-intensive microbiological techniques, yet effective monitoring is a vital part of cross-infection control. Easy to use, on-site methods would be valuable in this context. This study evaluates a portable monitor, the Biotrace Hygiene Monitor, which uses bioluminescence to measure adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on surfaces. Under laboratory conditions, the ability of the monitor to detect whole saliva and Streptococcus sanguis was determined and, in the general practice environment, the level of ATP on surfaces in five dental surgeries was assessed. The minimum amount of saliva detectable was 0.5 microliters and in surgeries, the monitor readily identified numerous surfaces with fairly high levels of ATP. Routine cleaning methods sometimes left ATP on surfaces at levels which represented a cross-infection risk, if it is assumed that the ATP derived from patients' saliva. Modification of cleaning methods resulted in a reduction of ATP levels to within that which could be considered reasonably practicably safe. It is concluded that the Biotrace Hygiene Monitor offers a simple and valuable means of monitoring dental practice cleaning routines.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1991

Evaluation of a dental unit with a built-in decontamination system.

The efficacy of a dental unit equipped with a system that disinfects and sterilizes the water tubing by flushing with glutaraldehyde was evaluated by inserting Bacillus megaterium spores and Pseudomonas and Moraxella species into the water tubing. Up to 10(8) Pseudomonas and Moraxella organisms were killed during the disinfection cycle, but Bacillus megaterium spores were not. Up to 10(5) spores were eradicated by the sterilization cycle, although the system did not consistently kill 10(8) spores. The water tubing of the new unit was not naturally colonized by water bacteria during an 8-month period prior to the study. Evidence suggested that this was due to antimicrobial activity associated with the plastic tubing; therefore, microbial contamination of new dental units, irrespective of their design, would not be expected, until the inhibitory factor in the plastic tubing has leached out.

Bacillus megaterium↗

PubMed1990