Application of the calculated electrophysiological parameters in early diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome

@#Objective: To investigate the application of the calculated electrophysiological parameters in early diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Methods: 44 patients (60 hands) with a diagnosis of CTS and 31 healthy volunteers (44 hands) were enrolled. Acquired indicators include median nerve distal motor latency (DML), complex muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude, conduction velocity (MCV), median nerve sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude, and conduction velocity (SCV). Then the terminal latency index (TLI), the residual latency (RL), and the difference in peak sensory latencies between the median and ulnar nerves (ΔPSL) were calculated. Results: The two groups were matched in age and gender distribution. The CTS group showed significant difference in SCV, DML, SNAP, and CMAP compared with the control group. The sensitivity, specificity, cutoff value, Youden index, and area under the curve of each indicator are respectively as follows: TLI (0.733, 0.932, 0.622, 0.629, and 0.877), RL (0.750, 0.977, 1.334, 0.727, and 0.907), ΔPSL (0.950, 0.841, 0.150, 0.791, and 0.942), SCV (0.950, 0.796, 56.5, 0.746, and 0.946), DML (0.867, 0.932, 3.55, 0.799, and 0.930), SNAP (0.683, 0.932, 21.68, 0.615, and 0.844), and CMAP (0.683, 0.773, 8.76, 0.456, and 0.758). Conclusion: The calculated electrophysiological parameters have higher sensitivities and specificities relative to a single electrophysiological parameter, which could greatly improve the accuracy of early diagnosis of CTS.

Male sexual dysfunction and Parkinson's disease: a preliminary investigation / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the prevalence of male sexual dysfunction in males with Parkinson's disease and the pathogenesis and related factors of the problem.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We evaluated the sexual function of 140 men with Parkinson's disease using Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (Part III) (UPDRS III), Hoenhn-Yahr Staging (HYS), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Sexual Dysfunction Standard of ICD-10. We calculated the Levodopa equivalent doses (LED) for all the patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Sexual dysfunction was found in 58 (41.43%) of the patients with Parkinson's disease. There were no significant differences in age, education, age of onset, course of disease and scores on UPDRS III, HYS and LED between the sexual dysfunction and normal sexual function groups. The HAMD score was 14.95 +/- 9.12 in the sexual dysfunction group, significantly higher than 10.96 +/- 9.82 in the normal sexual function group (P < 0.05), and it was positively correlated with the inci- dence of male sexual dysfunction (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Sexual dysfunction is a common symptom in males with Parkinson's disease, and is correlated with the high HAMD score of Parkinson's disease patients.</p>

The risk factors of various kinds of fever in critically ill patients with acute stroke / 中国脑血管病杂志

Objective: To identify the risk factors of fever in critically ill patients with acute stroke in a neurological intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: The frequency of risk factors of fever in 137 stroked patients during the first 7. days after admission were retrospectively studied. Fever was defined as a patient's axillary temperature ≥37.5°C in two separate determinations or >37.8°C in one determination. We categorized the fever into 4 kinds: Circled digit oneany fever, Circled digit twoexplained infectious fever, Circled digit threeexplained noninfectious fever and Circled digit fourunexplained fever based on Commichau's methods. Then logistic regression analysis was used to ascertain the risk factors of the 4 kinds of fever. Results: Any fever, explained infectious fever, unexplained fever and explained noninfectious fever occurred in 65%, 48.9%, 15.3% and 0.7% respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that patients older than 65 years, impaired consciousness, large area cerebral infarction/cerebral hemorrhage volume ≥30 ml, and deep vein catheterization used were involved into regression equation for any fever. In addition to these variables, length of NICU stay was also involved into regression equation for explained infectious fever. Brain midline shift, initial peripheral leucocytes count more than 12.0 × 10 9/L were involved into regression equation for unexplained fever. Conclusion: The risk factors differ in various kinds of fever in critically ill patients with acute stroke. Effective measures should be taken for different types of febrility.