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Objective To evaluate the role of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal tuberculosis. Methods We had conducted video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and acute pathological examinations for diagnosing and treating esophageal tuberculosis in 8 patients from June 1996 to April 2004. Results All the 8 patents were clarified as having secondary esophageal tuberculosis (Six of them had been misdiagnosed as having esophageal tumors preoperatively). A lymphoidectomy was carried out in 5 patents and a focus debridement, in 3 patents. The duration of procedure was 30~50 min (mean, 45 min). The intraoperative blood loss was 50~100 ml (mean, 80 ml). Postoperatively, pleural effusion occurred in 2 patients and wound infection took place in 1. Follow-up for 5~27 months (mean, 15 months) in 7 patients revealed a remarkable relief of dysphagia and no recurrence. Conclusions VATS in combination with acute pathological examinations is a rapid, safe, accurate and minimally invasive alternative for the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal tuberculosis.
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Objective To evaluate the sera level of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin) in patients with rheumatic diseases and to explore the correlation between the sera level of soluble adhesion molecules (sAM) and clinical findings. Methods The concentrations of sICAM-1 and sE-selectin in the sera of patients with rheumatic diseases (SLE, RA, PM/DM) and patients without rheumatic diseases, as well as the healthy controls were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). After that, the correlation of the concentrations of sAM and clinical data as well as other laboratory parameters (RF, CK, anti-dsDNA) were analyzed. Results The concentrations of sICAM-1 and sE-selectin in all three group patients were significantly higher than those of non-autoimmune rheumatic diseases and healthy controls (P
ABSTRACT
Objective To study the imaging findings of atypical thymoma.Methods 16 patients with atypical thymomas confirmed by pathology were involved in this study.Results In 16 cases,the all tumors appeared as soft tissue masses in anterior mediastinum,other imaging findings included lobulated sign in 12,calcification with in the tumors in 9,directly invasion to adjacent fatty tissue in 13 and mediastinum pleural and anterior chest wall in 7.The ipsilateral mediastinum pleural planting in 8,vascular involvement in 7 and pleural effusion in 6,pericardium effusion in 3 were showed.The tumors with smooth margins and clear surrounding fatty tissue were seen in 3,that were really simulating the benign thymoma.Conclusion Atypical thymoma are of certain imaging characteristics.