Tonio Bezzina | University of Malta (original) (raw)

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Papers by Tonio Bezzina

Research paper thumbnail of Virtual Reality Training vs. Apprenticeship Training in Laparoscopic Surgery – A Meta-Analysis of the Literature

Research paper thumbnail of Retroperitoneal vs. transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy: a meta-analysis of the literature

European Surgery, 2018

Background Minimally invasive surgery is becoming the mainstay of surgical treatment. Two laparos... more Background Minimally invasive surgery is becoming the mainstay of surgical treatment. Two laparoscopic techniques have been developed in the management of adrenal disease-retroperitoneal and transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Methods A literature search has been carried out in PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Google Scholar academic search engines, using the MeSH terms "Adrenalectomy", "Randomised Controlled Trials", "Retroperitoneal", "Transperitoneal", "Laparoscopy". All randomized controlled trials published until January 2016 comparing retroperitoneal and transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy were identified. Data were collected on operative performance, operative time and post-operative management. Each outcome was calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Three blinded prospective randomised controlled studies were used. When compared to transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy, retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy has comparable blood loss (χ 2 = 11.24; P = 0.0008; CI-2.67, 6.73; I 2 = 91%), operative time (χ 2 = 5.77; P = 0.06; CI-0.41, 3.19; I 2 = 65%) and post-operative pain (χ 2 = 1.31; P = 0.25; CI-0.5, 1.33; I 2 = 24%). Retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy is associated with a significantly shorter time to oral intake (χ 2 = 7.56; P = 0.006;

Research paper thumbnail of The Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Cutibacterium Acnes in Maltese Patients with Acne

The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 2020

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics have been widely used for the management of acne vulgaris, which has led ... more BACKGROUND: Antibiotics have been widely used for the management of acne vulgaris, which has led to increased resistance of Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes). OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the susceptibility profile of C. acnes, isolated from patients with acne, to different prescribed antibiotics and compare our findings with global data. The relationship between antibiotic resistance and sex, age, acne severity, presence of any affected siblings, disease duration, and previous antimicrobial treatment was also investigated. METHODS: Samples were collected from randomly selected pustular acne lesions of patients attending the Dermatology Outpatients Clinic at Sir Paul Boffa Hospital in Floriana, Malta. Samples were inoculated and incubated in anaerobic conditions until 100 cultured C. acnes samples were obtained. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was then performed using azithromycin, clindamycin, doxycycline, minocycline, tetracycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole using the ...

Research paper thumbnail of Virtual Reality Training vs. Apprenticeship Training in Laparoscopic Surgery – A Meta-Analysis of the Literature

Research paper thumbnail of Retroperitoneal vs. transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy: a meta-analysis of the literature

European Surgery, 2018

Background Minimally invasive surgery is becoming the mainstay of surgical treatment. Two laparos... more Background Minimally invasive surgery is becoming the mainstay of surgical treatment. Two laparoscopic techniques have been developed in the management of adrenal disease-retroperitoneal and transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Methods A literature search has been carried out in PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Google Scholar academic search engines, using the MeSH terms "Adrenalectomy", "Randomised Controlled Trials", "Retroperitoneal", "Transperitoneal", "Laparoscopy". All randomized controlled trials published until January 2016 comparing retroperitoneal and transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy were identified. Data were collected on operative performance, operative time and post-operative management. Each outcome was calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Three blinded prospective randomised controlled studies were used. When compared to transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy, retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy has comparable blood loss (χ 2 = 11.24; P = 0.0008; CI-2.67, 6.73; I 2 = 91%), operative time (χ 2 = 5.77; P = 0.06; CI-0.41, 3.19; I 2 = 65%) and post-operative pain (χ 2 = 1.31; P = 0.25; CI-0.5, 1.33; I 2 = 24%). Retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy is associated with a significantly shorter time to oral intake (χ 2 = 7.56; P = 0.006;

Research paper thumbnail of The Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Cutibacterium Acnes in Maltese Patients with Acne

The Journal of clinical and aesthetic dermatology, 2020

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics have been widely used for the management of acne vulgaris, which has led ... more BACKGROUND: Antibiotics have been widely used for the management of acne vulgaris, which has led to increased resistance of Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes). OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the susceptibility profile of C. acnes, isolated from patients with acne, to different prescribed antibiotics and compare our findings with global data. The relationship between antibiotic resistance and sex, age, acne severity, presence of any affected siblings, disease duration, and previous antimicrobial treatment was also investigated. METHODS: Samples were collected from randomly selected pustular acne lesions of patients attending the Dermatology Outpatients Clinic at Sir Paul Boffa Hospital in Floriana, Malta. Samples were inoculated and incubated in anaerobic conditions until 100 cultured C. acnes samples were obtained. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was then performed using azithromycin, clindamycin, doxycycline, minocycline, tetracycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole using the ...

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