Efficacy and safety of fractional radiofrequency in treatment of acne scar / 中华医学美学美容杂志

Objective:To observe the efficacy and adverse reactions of fractional radiofrequency (FRF) in the treatment of facial acne scars.Methods:Fifty-seven patients with facial acne depressed scars were enrolled with the nature of Dreno scars as the diagnostic criteria. They were treated with lattice radiofrequency. The treatment heads were arranged in a matrix with a treatment area of 1.2 cm ×1.2 cm, an energy density of 80-100 mJ/pin, and an interval of five-seven once a week. And they were followed up and evaluated for the clinical efficacy and adverse reactions 6 months after the last treatment. Scoring was carried out according to the ECCA weight scores, and the efficacy judged according to complete improvement, significant improvement, moderate improvement, and mild improvement.Results:After 3 times of fractional radiofrequency treatment of 57 patients, the effective rate was 44 cases, accounting for 77.2%; the ECCA weight scores before and after treatment were 65.9±25.0 and 47.7±20.2, respectively; the difference was statistically significant ( t=13.92, P<0.001); At the same time of improvement, 32 cases of patients' complexion, fineness of pores, and skin elasticity had been improved to varying degrees, and patient satisfaction was high. Adverse reactions were mainly mild burning sensation, erythema and edema, and some patients had pale yellow exudate, etc, which could be relieved in 5-7 days. Conclusions:Fractional radiofrequency treatment of facial acne scars is safe and effective, with short recovery period, few adverse reactions and high patient satisfaction.

Uremic pruritus: pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and treatments

Uremic pruritus is one of the most common and bothersome symptoms in patients with end-stage renal disease. Most patients with uremic pruritus experience a prolonged and relapsing course and significant impairments of quality of life. The pathophysiology of uremic pruritus is not completely understood. A complex interplay among cutaneous biology and the nervous and immune systems has been implicated, with the involvement of various inflammatory mediators, neurotransmitters, and opioids. Uremic pruritus treatment outcomes are often unsatisfactory. Clinical trials have mostly been small in scale and have reported inconsistent results. Recent evidence shows that gabapentinoids, nalfurafine, and difelikefalin are effective for relieving uremic pruritus in hemodialysis patients. This review provides an overview of the epidemiology and proposed mechanisms of uremic pruritus, then highlights the manifestations of and clinical approach to uremic pruritus. Current evidence regarding treatment options, including topical treatments, treatment of underlying disease, phototherapy, and systemic treatments, is also outlined. With a better understanding of uremic pruritus, more therapeutic options can be expected in the near future.

Efficacy and safety of 308-nm SQ light-emitting diode light and 308-nm excimer light in the treatment of facial vitiligo: a retrospective study / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective:To compare efficacy and safety of 308-nm SQ light-emitting diode (LED) light versus 308-nm excimer light in the treatment of facial vitiligo.Methods:Patients with stable facial vitiligo were retrospectively collected from Department of Physical Therapy, Hospital of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from June 2018 to June 2020, who received treatment with 308-nm SQ LED light (LED group) or 308-nm excimer light (excimer light group). The treatment was performed once or twice a week, and patients who had received more than 8 sessions of treatment were included in the analysis of efficacy and safety. Statistical analysis was carried out by using chi-square test.Results:Totally, 68 patients with 90 lesions were enrolled into the LED group, including 36 males and 32 females, aged 25.01 ± 13.37 years; 20 patients with 28 lesions were enrolled into the excimer light group, including 13 males and 7 females, aged 27.15 ± 14.30 years. After 8 and 16 sessions of treatment, there was no significant difference in the response rate between the LED group (23.33%, 46.67%, respectively) and excimer light group (14.29%, 46.43%, χ2 = 1.05, < 0.001, respectively, both P > 0.05). During the treatment, 36 (52.94%) patients in the LED group developed persistent erythema, 17 (85%) in the excimer light group developed persistent erythema or blisters. The incidence of adverse reactions was significantly lower in the LED group than in the excimer light group ( χ2 = 16.43, P < 0.001) . Conclusion:Compared with the 308-nm excimer light, the 308-nm SQ LED light showed similar effect but higher safety for the treatment of facial vitiligo.

Clinical analysis of cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity caused by injection of equine tetanus antitoxin or equine anti-tetanus immunoglobulin F (ab′) 2 / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective:To analyze clinical characteristics of cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity caused by injection of equine tetanus antitoxin (TAT) or equine anti-tetanus immunoglobulin F (ab′) 2. Methods:Clinical data were collected from 181 outpatients or inpatients with cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity caused by injection of equine TAT or anti-tetanus immunoglobulin from 2008 to 2020, and retrospectively analyzed.Results:Before the injection of equine TAT or anti-tetanus immunoglobulin, skin test was negative in 171 (94.47%) of the 181 patients, and the 10 (5.53%) patients with positive skin test responses received desensitization injection. Among the 181 patients, there were 118 males and 63 females aged from 11 to 68 years, with the disease duration of 1 to 7 days and alatency period of 4 to 14 days. There was no significant difference in the clinical manifestations between the patients receiving injection of TAT (130 cases) and those receiving injection of equine anti-tetanus immunoglobulin (51 cases) . Urticaria-like rashes were the main clinical manifestation, and infiltrative erythema occurred at the injection site in 12 patients, of whom 10 developed generalized urticaria all over the body. Of the 181 patients, 163 (90.06%) presented with generalized skin rashes, and 56 (30.94%) had systemic symptoms such as chest tightness, fever, etc, of whom 15 (26.79%) had a history of allergies and 6 with severe symptoms had no history of allergies. Thirty-four (18.78%) patients had single or multiple laboratory abnormalities, such as increased white blood cell counts, elevated C-reactive protein level and urinary glucose, and presence of occult blood in urine. All cases responded well to the treatment with antihistamines and glucocorticoids. The treatment duration ranged from 3 to 10 days, and the outcome was good.Conclusion:TAT-or anti-tetanus immunoglobulin-induced cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity may still occur in patients with a negative skin test or after desensitization treatment, and mainly manifests as urticaria-like rashes.

Reconstruction of right ventricular outflow tract with self-made single-valve conduit for complex congenital heart disease / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To summarize the experience of right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction with self-made single-valve conduit for the treatment of complex congenital heart disease, and to explore the key points of operation, and to evaluate the short-term and medium-term results of the treatment. Methods    We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 65 patients with complex congenital heart disease treated by self-made single-valve conduit from January 2006 to June 2018. There were 42 males and 23 females aged 5-23 (9.9±4.2) years with weight 15-65 (26.2±9.9) kg. There were 19 patients with single valve artificial blood vessel (an artificial vascular group), and 46 patients with single valve bovine pericardium tube (a bovine pericardial tube group). There were 48 patients of ventricular septal defect (VSD) with pulmonary atresia (PA), 10 patients of corrective transposition of great artery with pulmonary artery stenosis, 5 patients of tetralogy of Fallot with single coronary artery malformation, 2 patients of double outlet of right ventricle with pulmonary artery stenosis and single coronary artery malformation. Results    Two patients died early after operation, both of them were VSD/PA patients who underwent radical treatment of extravascular prosthesis. The right ventricular outflow tract pressure difference was 13-37 (25.2±4.9) mm Hg in the artificial vascular group and 5-23 (10.5±3.3) mm Hg in the bovine pericardial tube group. No obvious reflux was found at discharge. The patients were followed up for 8 months to 13 years. One patient was lost. During the follow-up period, there were 5 patients of moderate tricuspid regurgitation, 32 patients of moderate intraductal regurgitation, 7 patients of severe right ventricular outflow  tract obstruction, 11 patients of moderate obstruction and 25 patients of mild obstruction. There was no late death. Heart function classification of all patients was in New York Heart Association classⅠtoⅡ. Conclusion    The self-made single-valve conduit used to reconstruct right ventricular outflow tract shows good clinical effect. Using bovine pericardium tube has less pressure difference of outflow tract in comparison with artificial blood vessel. Bovine pericardium tube is more recommended for young and low weight patients.

Acrivastine combined with loratadine in the treatment of chronic refractory urticaria: a multicenter, randomized controlled study / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of acrivastine alone or in combination with loratadine in the treatment of chronic refractory urticaria.Methods:From March 2017 to December 2018, a multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical study was conducted in 4 centers. Patients with chronic refractory urticaria were randomly divided into two groups, i.e., combined treatment group receiving oral acrivastine capsules 8 mg thrice a day plus oral loratadine tablets 10 mg once a day, and acrivastine alone group receiving oral acrivastine capsules 8 mg thrice a day plus a placebo 10 mg once a day. The course of treatment was 4 weeks. Visits were scheduled at baseline and after 1, 2 and 4 weeks of treatment. At the same time, clinical data were collected, and adverse events were recorded. Symptom scores were evaluated based on degree of itching, number and size of wheals, duration of each attack and number of attacks per week, and symptom score reduce index (SSRI) was used to evaluate the efficacy. Repeated measures analysis of variance and chi-square test were used to evaluate the efficacy and safety.Results:Fifty-three patients in the combined treatment group and 59 in the acrivastine alone group were included in the efficacy analysis. Before treatment, there was no significant difference in symptom score or visual analogue score between the two groups. After 2 weeks of treatment, 19 patients were cured and 10 achieved marked improvement in the combined treatment group, with a response rate of 54.72%; 15 were cured and 6 achieved marked improvement in the acrivastine alone group, with a response rate of 35.59%. After 4 weeks of treatment, 23 patients were cured and 9 achieved marked improvement in the combined treatment group, with a response rate of 60.38%; 20 were cured and 2 achieved marked improvement in the acrivastine alone group, with a response rate of 37.29%. After 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, the response rates were significantly higher in the combined treatment group than in the acrivastine alone group ( χ2 = 4.13, 5.96 respectively, both P < 0.05) . The SSRI significantly differed among different follow-up time points, as well as between the 2 groups ( F = 8.62, 4.38 respectively, both P < 0.05) . Multivariate analysis of variance showed that SSRI was significantly higher in the combined treatment group (0.63 ± 0.05, 0.68 ± 0.05, respectively) than in the acrivastine alone group (0.47 ± 0.05, 0.51 ± 0.05, respectively) after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment (both P < 0.05) . Drug-related adverse reactions, including drowsiness, stomach upsets, headache and liver function abnormality, occurred in 7 patients in the combined treatment group, as well as in 3 in the acrivastine alone group. Conclusion:Acrivastine is safe and effective for the treatment of chronic refractory urticaria, and acrivastine combined with loratadine can markedly improve the efficacy.

The application of left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy to surgical repair of subarterial ventricular septal defect in children / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To summarize the application and clinical effect of left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy to surgical repair of subarterial ventricular septal defect (VSD) in children. Methods    From October 2015 to April 2019, 21 children with subarterial VSD underwent surgical repair via left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy. There were 13 males and 8 females, aged 5-13 (9.1±2.2) years, and weighing 22-55 (35.6±9.5) kg. The diameter of subarterial VSD was 4-15 (9.1±3.3) mm. Eight patients had right coronary valve prolapse, and 4 aortic valve regurgitation (3 mild and 1 mild-to-moderate). The minimally invasive surgery was performed via left parasternal thoracotomy through the second or third intercostal space. The peripheral perfusion was performed with femoral arterial and venous cannulation. After aortic cross-clamp (ACC), subarterial VSD was performed with direct suture of patch closure through an incision on the root of pulmonary artery. Results    All patients successfully underwent surgical repair (patch closure, n=15; direct suture, n=6) of subarterial VSD through left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy. The cardiopulmonary bypass time was 45-68 (57.1±6.3) min. The ACC time was 23-40 (32.6±4.7) min. The postoperative ventilation time was 5-9 (6.3±1.3) h, postoperative in-hospital time was 5-8 (5.7±1.0) d and drainage volume was 33-105 (57.5±17.7) mL in postoperative 24 h. No death, residual VSD shunt, atrioventricular block, wound infection or thoracic deformity occurred during the perioperation or follow-up. Only one patient still had trivial aortic valve regurgitation. Conclusion    Left anterior minimally invasive thoracotomy could be safely and effectively applied to surgical repair of subarterial VSD in children, with satisfactory early- and mid-term outcomes.

Clinical results of Mini Maze procedure in atrial fibrillation patients with impaired left ventricular systolic function / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To study the clinical results of Mini Maze procedure in atrial fibrillation patients with impaired left ventricular systolic function. Methods    From June 2010 to December 2017, 86 atrial fibrillation patients with impaired left ventricular systolic function received Mini Maze procedure including 54 males and 32 females, with an average age of 60.7±5.9 years. Among them, 12 were with paroxysmal, 27 were with persistent and 47 were with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation. The mean atrial fibrillation duration was 6.5±4.8 years. CHA2DS2-VASc score was 2.2±1.1. The mean diameter of left atrium was 46.9±3.8 mm. The mean diameter of left ventricle was 51.7±4.6 mm. The preoperative ejection fraction was 42.2%±4.7%. All patients received Mini Maze procedure after general anesthesia. The ablation included 3 annular ablations and 3 linear ablations. The left atrial appendage was excised by Endo-Gia. Ablation of Marshall ligament and epicardial autonomic ganglions were made by an ablation pen. Results    Eighty-six patients successfully completed the procedure without transition to thoracotomy. There was no death during the perioperative period. Seventy-seven patients (89.5%) maintained sinus rhythm at discharge. Eighty patients were followed up for 27.2±12.1 months and 72 patients maintained sinus rhythm. The overall postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction was 47.1%±6.2%. The ejection fraction of the postoperative sinus rhythm group was 48.2%±5.8%, and the ejection fraction of the non-sinus group was 41.6%±5.8% (P<0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed a left atrial diameter (HR=1.485, 95%CI 1.157-1.906, P<0.05) and an increase in ejection fraction over 10% (HR=18.800, 95%CI 1.674-189.289, P<0.05) were closely related to postoperative recurrence. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that the recurrence rate of atrial fibrillation was significantly lower in patients with an increase in postoperative ejection fraction over 10% (P<0.05). Conclusion    Mini Maze procedure is safe and effective in the treatment of atrial fibrillation patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction, which helps to improve left ventricular function to prevent the vicious circle of atrial fibrillation and heart failure.

Effects of Acorus tatarinowii Schott and its active component -5- hydroxymethylfurfural on ERK/CREB signal in hippocampus of exercise-induced fatigue rats / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of Acorus tatarinowii Schott and its active component 5- hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) on learning and memory and ERK/CREB signal in hippocampus of rats with exercise-induced fatigue.@*METHODS@#SD rats were randomly divided into normal group (A), exercise group (B), exercise + HMF low, middle and high dose treatment group (C, D, E), exercise + acorus tatarinowii Schott low, middle and high dose treatment group (F, G, H), with ten rats in each group. The rats in group C, D and E were treated with HMF at the doses of 0.10, 1.00 and 3.00 mg. kg by ig. The rats in group F, G and H were treated with the extracts of Acorus tatarinowii Schott at the doses of 0.12, 1.20 and 4.80 g. kg by ig. Learning and memory of rats were tested by the method of water maze experiment, and the expression levels of p-ERK1/2 and p-CREB protein in hippocampus of rats were tested by the method of Western blot in the end of the experiment.@*RESULTS@#The escape latencies of E and H groups were lower than those of groups B, C, D, F and G; and the numbers of plateau crossing were more than those of groups B, C, D, F and G and the expression levels of p-ERK1/2, p-CREB protein were higher than those of groups B, C, D, F and G , respectively(P ＜ 0.01). There was no significant difference in the above indexes among groups A, E and H(P＞0.05) except that the expression levels of p-ERK2 protein in group E were lower than those in group A and H (P＜0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Acorus tatarinowii and its active component- HMF can improve the learning and memory of rats with exercise-induced fatigue, and the mechanism is related to the up-regulation of ERK / CREB signal in hippocampus of rats with exercise-induced fatigue.

Disease burden and quality of life in patients with psoriasis: an internet-based questionnaire survey / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective@#To investigate direct and indirect economic burden, psychological impact, and quality of life in patients with psoriasis.@*Methods@#Patients with psoriasis were recruited nationwide from "the psoriasis patient mutual assistance network" , a WeChat official account of "psoriasis patient mutual assistance platform" , and WeChat groups of psoriasis patients in different regions between July and September in 2018. An internet-based online questionnaire survey was carried out on these patients by using a self-designed questionnaire and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scale. Comparison of enumeration data was carried out by using chi-square test, and comparison of measurement data by using Mann-Whitney U test.@*Results@#A total of 497 valid questionnaires were collected, and 497 patients with psoriasis were enrolled into this survey, including 190 patients with mild to moderate psoriasis and 307 patients with severe psoriasis. These patients were from 8 geographic regions of China, and mainly in east China and north China. The total annual expenditure for psoriasis per patient accounted for 20% (8%, 50%) (M[P25, P75]) of the total annual income, the annual hospitalization rate was 21.3%, the annual sick leave or absence duration was 15.0 (1.0, 40.0) days, and the unemployment rate due to psoriasis was 37.0%. Of the 497 patients, 443 (89.1%) suffered from mental stress due to psoriasis, 169 (34.0%) had suicide intention, and 23 (4.6%) had ever attempted suicide. The DLQI score for all the patients was 14 (8, 19) , 307 (61.8%) patients reported a severe or extremely severe impact on the quality of life (DLQI > 10, severe psoriasis group) , and 190 (38.2%) patients reported a mild or moderate impact on the quality of life (0 ≤ DLQI ≤ 10, mild to moderate psoriasis group) . Compared with the mild to moderate psoriasis group, the severe psoriasis group showed a significantly higher ratio of total annual expenditure to total annual income (30% vs. 10.0%, P < 0.01) , hospitalization rate (26.4% vs. 13.2%, P < 0.01) , annual sick leave or absence duration (20.0 days vs. 5.5 days, P < 0.01) , unemployment rate (47.9% vs. 19.5%, P < 0.01) , proportion of patients with mental stress (99.0% vs. 73.2%, P < 0.01) , proportion of patients with suicide intention (46.3% vs. 14.2%, P < 0.01) and proportion of patients who had suicide behavior (6.8% vs. 1.1%, P < 0.01) .@*Conclusions@#Psoriasis imposes heavy economic and psychological burden on patients, and decreases their quality of life. Meanwhile, patients with severely or extremely severely affected quality of life have higher disease burden compared with those with mildly to moderately affected quality of life.

Application of thoracoscopic unidirectional posterolateral basal segmentectomy via inferior pulmonary ligament / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#To share the clinical experience of thoracoscopic unidirectional posterolateral basal segmentectomy via inferior pulmonary ligament. Methods    All the patients were in the healthy lateral position, with endoscopy holes in the 8th intercostal space of the middle axillary line and 2-3 cm operation holes in the 5th intercostal space of the front axillary line. Anatomical segmentectomy of the posterolateral basal vein, bronchus and artery was performed through the inferior pulmonary ligament upward in turn. The clinical data of this group were analyzed retrospectively. Results    From December 2015 to October 2018, 32 patients underwent thoracoscopic unidirectional posterolateral basal segmentectomy, including 8 males and 24 females, aged 13-71 (52.6±13.7) years. All patients successfully completed the operation, including 9 patients of left lower pulmonary posterolateral basal segmentectomy, 23 patients of right lower pulmonary posterolateral basal segmentectomy. The operation time was 80-295 (133.4 ±40.5) minutes, intraoperative bleeding volume was 20-300 (52.6±33.8) mL, drainage time was 2-14 (4.2±2.3) days, hospitalization time was 4-15 (6.9 ±2.4) days. No death occurred during hospitalization. Postoperative complications included atelectasis in 1 patient and persistent pulmonary leakage over 3 days (4 or 6 days respectively) in 2 patients , chylothorax in 1 patient. All of them recovered smoothly after non-operative treatments. Postoperative pathology showed that 29 patients of primary adenocarcinoma or atypical adenomatoid hyperplasia, including 5 patients of adenocarcinoma in situ, 9 patients of micro-invasive adenocarcinoma, 12 patients of invasive adenocarcinoma, 3 patients of atypical adenomatoid hyperplasia. One patient was of intestinal metastatic adenocarcinoma, 1 patient of inflammatory lesion and 1 patient of bronchiectasis. 3-21(9.6±4.6) lymph nodes were resected in the patients with primary pulmonary malignant tumors. And no metastasis was found. Conclusion    The operation of thoracoscopic unidirectional posterolateral basal segmentectomy via inferior pulmonary ligament is easy. There is no need to open intersegmental tissue. It can protect lung tissue better. The operative method is worthy of clinical promotion.

Changes of left ventricular structure and function after minimally invasive repair of mitral valve prolapse / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To evaluate the changes of left ventricular structure and function by echocardiography and its grading of left ventricular diastolic function in patients with mitral valve prolapse treated by minimally invasive mitral valve repair. Methods    By retrospective analysis, 37 patients including 25 males and 12 females aged 53.49±11.02 years with mitral valve prolapse who underwent minimally invasive mitral valve repair were as an operation group, and 34 healthy persons including 19 males and 15 females aged 54.26±8.33 years matched by age and sex were selected as a control group. Ultrasound parameters of every participant were routinely collected before operation, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after operation, and left ventricular diastolic function was graded. The ultrasound parameters between the two groups were compared. Results    The diameters of left ventricular end systolic and diastolic phase, left atrial diameter and left ventricular volume in the operation group were significantly smaller than those before operation. The diameters of left ventricle and left atrium after operation were significantly shorter than those before operation, but they were still larger than those of the control group. The ejection fraction value decreased significantly at one month after the operation and then returned to normal level. The incidence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction at 6 months and 1 year after operation was significantly lower than that before operation (P<0.05). Conclusion    Minimally invasive repair for patients with mitral valve prolapse can significantly improve systolic and diastolic functions of left ventricle while reconstructing left atrial and left ventricular structures.

Early- and mid-term results of emergent aortic arch replacement using moderate hypothermic circulatory arrest and unilateral selective antegrade cerebral perfusion / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To investigate the results of emergent aortic arch replacement using moderate hypothermic circulatory arrest and unilateral antegrade cerebral perfusion (MHCA+UACP). Methods    We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 146 patients who underwent emergent aortic arch replacement using MHCA+UACP in our institution from January 2008 to June 2018. There were 111 males and 35 females aged 60.3±7.2 years. According to different surgical approaches, patients were divided into two groups: a total arch replacement (TAR) group (n=104) and a semi arch replacement (SAR) group (n=42). Right axillary artery was cannulated for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and cerebral perfusion. Core temperature at the onset of MHCA was 23.4±1.4 ℃. UACP was initiated at 18-22 ℃ with the flow of 5-10 ml/(kg·min). Flow was adjusted to maintain cerebral perfusion pressure of 50–60 mm Hg. Results    CPB time was 235.0±42.0 min. Aortic clamp time was 154.0±29.0 min. Circulatory arrest (CA) time was 48.1±13.0 min. The CPB time and CA time of the TAR group were longer than those of SAR group. Overall mortality rate was 9.6%. Complications included permanent neurological dysfunction (PND), temporary neurological dysfunction (TND), acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring dialysis and delayed extubation (mechanical ventilation time > 72 hours). Overall incidence of PND and TND was 2.7% and 6.8%, respectively. The incidence of AKI requiring dialysis was 4.1%. The incidence of delayed extubation was 21.9%. No difference of mortality rate or incidence of complications was found between the two groups. The average follow-up was 63.0±33.1 months. The 5-year survival rate was 72.6% in the TAR group and 85.5% in the SAR group. Conclusion    Emergent aortic arch replacement using MHCA+UACP can be accomplished with excellent results.

Effects of selectively resecting the lower half of stellate ganglion on fast ventricular rate in canines with persistent atrial fibrillation / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective To determine the effects of resecting the lower half of left stellate ganglion (LSG) on fast ventricular rate (VR) in persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) and its mechanism. Methods Twelve mature healthy male beagle dogs (15–25 kg) were studied. They were randomly divided into two groups (an experimental group and a control group, 6 dogs in each group). The control group were merely performed with rapid left atrial pacing to induce persistent AF. The experimental group were disposed with rapid left atrial pacing and received resection of the lower half of LSG after the persistent AF was documented. Simultaneously the ventricular rates were monitored separately before anesthesia, after anesthesia, 30 minutes and one month after LSG resection. The forward passing effective refractory period (ERP) of the canine atrioventricular node (AVN) was also measured. Results Each dog was documented with persistent AF after 3–6 weeks’ left atrial pacing. After resecting the lower half of LSG for 30 minutes (the control group was only observed for 30 minutes without LSG resection), the average VR of the control group attained 144.5±4.2 beats/min, while that of the experimental group was 121.5±8.7 beats/min (P<0.001). After resecting the lower half of LSG for one month (the control group was observed for one month without LSG resection), the average VR of the control group was 139.2±5.6 beats/min, while that of the experimental group was 106.5±4.9 beats/min (P<0.001). Meantime, the forward passing ERP of AVN of the experimental group was significantly prolonged than that of the control group (265.6±7.8 msvs.251.1±4.6 ms, P=0.003). Conclusion Resection of the lower half of LSG is efficient in reducing VR in canines with persistent AF, one of the mechanisms of which may be prolonging the forward passing ERP of AVN.

Single utility port video-assisted thoracoscopic anatomic segmentectomy for lung diseases: 155 cases report / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective To evaluate the feasibility and safety of single utility port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) anatomic segmentectomy for lung diseases. Methods We performed a retrospective review of 155 patients undergoing single utility port VATS anatomic segmentectomy from January 2015 to December 2016. There were 62 males and 93 females with a mean age of 53 (24–82) years. Two ports were used. The camera was through the port for observation which was about 1.5 cm in length and located at the 7th or 6th intercostal space. The instruments were through port for operation that was about 3–4 cm in length and located at the 4th or 3th intercostal space. Pulmonary segment vessel and segmental bronchi were cut and stitched by Hemolock or linear cut stapler. Different segments were separated by linear cut stapler. Perioperative data were collected and analyzed. Results One patient was performed suture under the auxiliary operating hole (three holes) because of pulmonary artery bleeding. The remaining 154 patients underwent single utility port VATS anatomic segmentectomy successfully. No conversion to open procedure or lobectomy was found and there was no perioperative mortality. The median operative time was 102 (65–150) min and the median blood loss in operation was 118 (50–300) ml. The thoracic drainage time was 3.8 (2–7) d and the median hospital stay after operation was 5.6 (3–9) d . Major morbidity occurred in 8 patients (5.2%) including hemoptysis (in 2 patients), pneumonia (in 2 patients), aerodermectasia (in 1 patient), pleural effussion (in 1 patient) and local atelectasis (in 1 patient). All of them above healed after symptomatic treatment. Patholocal examination showed there were 139 patients of primary lung carcinoma (pathologically staged as Tis-T1bN0M0), 9 patients of benign diseases and 7 patients of metastasis tumor. Conclusion Single utility port VATS anatomic segmentectomy procedure is safe and feasible. It can be utilized as an option for those with non-small cell lung cancer staged Ⅰa and those unable to tolerate pulmonary lobectomy.

Protective effects of spirulina on hippocampal injury in exercise-fatigue mice and its mechanism / 中国应用生理学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the roles of BDNF/TrkB neurotrophic signaling in hippocampal injury for fatigue rats induced by incremental load exercise and the protective effects and mechanism of spirulina supplement.@*METHODS@#Sixty SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group (NC), normal plus spirulina group(NS), exercise model group (EM), exercise plus spirulina group (ES), and positive control group (PC), 12 rats in each group.Group EM, Group ES and Group PC were applied by treadmill running with high-intensity increasing for three weeks, and Group NC had not any intervention measures.Group ES and Group NS were treated with spirulina at a dose of 300 mg/kg.bw.by intragastric administration.Group PC was gavaged at the same volume of ginseng extract of 1.92 g/kg for three weeks.The expressions of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), tyrosine kinase recptor (TrkB), phospho-tyrosine kinase recptor (p-TrkB) were tested by Western blot and immunohistochemical method, and micromorphology changes of hippocampal CA1 were observed by light microscope at the end of the experiment.The general situations of rats such as body weights were recorded during the experiment.@*RESULTS@#Compared with Group NC, Group EM showed significantly decrease in body weight and hippocampal CA1 neurons of the group loosely arrayed and disarrayed and some neurons were shrinked, and even some neurons disappeared.The expressions of BDNF, TrkB and p-TrkB in group EM were increased significantly(<0.01).Compared with Group EM, body weight of Group ES was increased significantly, and the above mentioned injuries of neurons were improved significantly:the number of neurons and nissl bodies were significantly increased and the neurons arrayed regularly and its morphology was more complete.The expressions of BDNF, TrkB and p-TrkB in the group were increased significantly(<0.05 or <0.01).And there was no difference between Group ES and Group PC.@*CONCLUSIONS@#BDNF/TrkB neurotrophic signal pathway could be involved in the repair process of hippocampal nervous damage caused by incremental load exercise for fatigue rats.Spirulina supplement had a protective effect on the damaged nervous through increasing the expressions of BDNF, TrkB and p-TrkB.

Association of Estrogen Receptor 1 Genetic Polymorphisms with Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion Risk / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Background@#Estrogen is one of the most important reproductive steroidal hormones and plays a critical role in the maintenance of pregnancy, and its function is mediated by estrogen receptor 1(ESR1). The polymorphisms of ESR1 were involved in recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA); however, the association between ESR1 polymorphisms and RSA remains controversial. The present meta-analysis was aimed to clarify the association between ESR1 PvuII (-397C/T, rs2234693) and XbaI (-351A/G, rs9340799) polymorphisms and the risk of RSA.@*Methods@#All the included articles were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Med Online Database up to January 3, 2018. Data were processed in the Stata 12.0 software. The odds ratios (OR s) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI s) were calculated using fixed-effects models (FEM)/random-effects models (REM).@*Results@#Seven case-control studies with 836 cases and 1164 controls were included in the study. Generally, the ESR1 polymorphisms were not associated with RSA in any of the genetic analysis models. However, it was found that as rs9340799 polymorphism was related to increased risk of RSA in non-Asian group in the homozygous genetic model (OR = 2.40, 95% CI = 1.05-5.50, P = 0.039). Moreover, in Asian group, rs9340799 polymorphism was found to be related to decreased RSA risk in both the heterozygous model (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.33-0.85, P = 0.009) and the dominant genetic model (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.30-0.98, P = 0.042).@*Conclusions@#Generally, there was no significant association between the polymorphisms of ESR1 and the risk of RSA. However, subgroup analysis indicated that ESR1 rs9340799 polymorphism was related to increased RSA risk in the non-Asian group while associated with decreased RSA risk in Asian group.

Minimally invasive surgery through right lateral thoracotomy for atrial septal defect combined with atrial fibrillation in adults / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective     To explore the technique of performing minimally invasive Cox Maze Ⅳ procedure by bipolar clamp through right lateral minithoracotomy for atrial septal defect (ASD) combined with atrial fibrillation (AF) in adults. Methods     Thirty-five patients (21 males, 14 females with age ranging from 45 to 73 years) with ASD and persistent or long-standing persistent AF received minimally invasive Cox Maze Ⅳ procedure and ASD closure from August 2012 to April 2016 at Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Xinhua Hospital. Diameter of left atrium ranged from 39 to 60 mm and left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) ranged from 48% to 62%. Diameter of ASD ranged from 20 to 35 mm. Cox-maze Ⅳ procedure was performed through right minithoracotomy entirely by bipolar radiofrequency clamp. Then, mitral or tricuspid valvuloplasty and surgical ASD closure was performed through right minithoracotomy.   Results     All patients successfully underwent this minimally invasive surgery. No patient needed conversion to sternotomy. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 120.1±14.1 min. The mean aortic cross-clamp time was 79.5±12.2 min. There was no early death or pacemaker implantation perioperatively. The average length of hospital stay was 10.1±2.7 d. At a mean follow-up of 22.8±12.2 months, sinus rhythm was restored in 32 patients (32/35, 91.4%). Cumulative maintenance of normal sinus rhythm without AF recurrence at 2 years postoperatively was 89.1%±6.0%. Conclusion     The minimally invasive Cox Maze Ⅳprocedure performed by bipolar clamp through right minithoracotomy is safe, feasible, and effective for adult patients with ASD combined with AF.

Efficacy of novel modified Nuss procedure in treatment of pectus excavatum after congenital heart disease operation: A case control study / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To explore the feasibility and efficacy in therapy of pectus excavatum using novel modified Nuss procedure after congenital heart disease (CHD) operation. Methods    Thirty-six children (including 22 males and 14 females with an average age of 4.5±2.2 years ranging 2.8-18.0 years) with pectus excavatum after CHD operation from January 2011 to March 2015 were selected as an observation group. Thirty-eight pectus excavatum children (including 24 males and 14 females with an average age of 4.0±2.5 years ranging 2.8-20.0 years) without CHD from July to September 2013 were selected as a control group. The novel modified Nuss procedure was performed on the patients in both groups. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay as well as postoperative complications between two groups were reviewed and analyzed. Results    In the observation group, the operation time was 50-72 (60.50±3.60) min and hospital stay was 4-6 (4.41±0.80) d. Meanwhile, the intraoperative blood loss was 5-10 (5.82±0.35) ml. In the control group, the operation time was 12-45 (20.15±0.68) min, hospital stay was 4-7 (4.61±0.63) d and the intraoperative blood loss was 3-8 (4.62±0.28) ml. The operation time was significantly longer in the observation group than that in the control group (P<0.05). But there was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss or hospital stay between the two groups (P>0.05). No cardiac rupture happened in the two groups. Conclusion    The novel modified Nuss procedure is safe and feasible for pectus excavatum after CHD operation with optimal outcomes.

Progressive volume deflation followed by rate reduction in weaning intra-aortic balloon pump / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To investigate the changes of hemodynamics in patients weaning intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) by using progressive volume deflation followed by rate reduction. Methods    We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 36 patients aged 68.9±4.7 years, 22 males and 14 females, who underwent progressive volume deflation followed by rate reduction for IABP weaning in Xinhua Hospital between September 2006 and January 2016. Progressive volume deflation followed by rate reduction was used to wean IABP and collect hemodynamics parameters of each time point. Results    All the patients successfully weaned IABP. One patient got re-IABP assistant 36 hours after the first successful weaning. One early death and three patients (8%) with postoperative IABP-related complications were embolization of the toe artery. One was in ipsilateral limb, and two of contralateral limb. One patient with acute hepatic insufficiency and one patient with acute renal insufficiency cured after treatment. Conclusion    Intra-aortic balloon pump weaning is successful by using volume deflation followed by rate reduction which allowed better hemodynamic parameters.