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Objective To study the association between brachial-ankle index (BAI) and severe subclavian artery stenosis.Methods Seventy severe subclavian artery stenosis patients with a stenosis rate ≥70％ admitted to our hospital served as a stenosis group and 70 subclavian artery stenosis-free patients served as a control group in this study.Their BAI,pulse wave upstroke time (UT) and pulse wave form were recorded with a noninvasive automatic peripheral arterial device.The sensitivity,specificity,accuracy,positive and negative prediction value of BAI in diagnosis of subclavian artery stenosis were calculated.Results The BAI of stenosis-involved extrmities was significantly lower while the pulse wave UT was significantly longer in stenosis group than in control group (0.6±0.1 vs 0.9±0.1 and 0.9±0.1,261.0±11.8 vs 188.0±12.1 ms and 186.0±12.6 ms,P＜0.01).The low obtuse pulse wave form and low plain pulse wave form were detected respectively in stenosis involved extrmities of 58 patients (82.9％) and 11 patients (15.7％) of stenosis group.The sensitivity,specifity,accuracy,positive and negative prediction value of BAI in diagnosis of severe subclavian artery stenosis were 44.3％,92.9％,68.6％,86.1％ and 62.5％ respectively.Conclusion The specifity,positive prediction value and accuracy of BAI＜ 0.70 are rather high in diagnosis of severe subclavian artery stenosis.
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Objective To investigate the optimal workflow and protocol for integrated PET/MR by comparison with PET/CT.Methods A total of 228 patients were enrolled in this study for PET/CT and PET/MR evaluation on the same day.Six PET/MR protocols with different MR sequences but the same PET acquisition protocol were investigated and the optimal protocol was identified based on image quality,acquisition time and diagnostic performance.Results PET/MR workflow was similar to PET/CT,however,some special issues needed to be considered for PET/MR.Among the 6 protocols,protocol No.6 outperformed others for body and head regions.Types of artifacts were found more often in PET/MR than in PET/CT.Conclusions By optimizing the protocol,PET/MR could achieve almost the same diagnostic performance as PET/CT.However,the issues of long acquisition time and artifacts on PET/MR need to be further improved.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT) in evaluating the stability of carotid atherosclerosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventeen patients with 21 carotid artery plaques received examinations with CEUS. According to the nature of the plaques, the patients were divided into soft and mixed plaque group and hard and calcified plaque group. The maximal enhancement intensity of the plaques (I(MAX)) and maximal plaque density (D(MAX)) were measured to quantify the neovasculature. The patients also underwent concurrent ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, and ¹⁸F-FDG uptake was quantified by the mean standard uptake values (SUV(mean)), an index reflecting the inflammatory activity in the plaque. The findings in CEUS and PET/CT were comparatively analyzed for these cases.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The D(MAX) of the plaque in soft and mixed plaque group was significantly greater than that in hard and calcified plaque group (4.26±3.65 vs 1.41±1.47, P<0.05); the I(MAX) was also greater in the former group, but this difference was not statistically significant (26.83±19.61 vs 24.73±29.85, P=0.869). The soft and mixed plaques tended to have higher SUVmean than the hard and calcified plaques (1.70±0.45 vs 1.47±0.12, P=0.099). The values of I(MAX) and D(MAX) were not found to correlate to SUV(mean) in these patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CEUS can sensitively show the status of neovascularization within the carotid atherosclerosis plaques, and PET/CT reflects the inflammatory activity in the plaques. The combination of these two imaging modalities allows the evaluation of plaque stability in terms of neoangiogenesis and inflammatory activity.</p>
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Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Carotid Stenosis , Diagnostic Imaging , Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 , Positron-Emission Tomography , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Objective To explore the value of an advanced reciprocating gait orthosis (ARGO) combined with comprehensive rehabilitation treatment in rehabliltating complete spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Methods Twelve patients with complete SCI at the T4~L2 level were fitted with an ARGO. Before and after fitting the ARGO,comprehensive rehabilitative excecises were conducted. After training, ambulation was evaluated, and competence in the activities of daily living was evaluated using the Barthel index and Functional Independence Measure. Results The patients' ambulation improved markedly after fitting the ARGO and training. Barthel index and FIM scres improved significantly. All 12 patients achieved therapeutic or functional ambulation. Conclusion With the aid of an ARGO, patients suffering from complete SCI below the T4 level can achieve functional walking and improve their quality of life.
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@#Objective To investigate the effect of occupational therapy on motor function of upper limbs and activities of daily living(ADL)of patients with hemiplegia.Methods 51 patients with hemiplegia were randomly divided into the treatment group(n=26)and control group(n=25).Both two groups were received routine training,and besides,patients in the treatment group were added with occupational therapy.The motor function of upper limbs was evaluated by Fugl-Meyer scale before and after treatment,and ADL and hand function were also evaluated at same time.Results After treatment,the scores of Fugl-Meyer scale,ADL and hand function of all patients in two groups improved(P<0.05),but the therapeutic effect of the treatment group was superior to the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion The occupational therapy can strengthen the upper limbs and hands function,and effectively improve fine motors.
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@# ObjectiveTo observe the curative effect of lumbar traction and Huantiao point-injection in the same side on lower limb pain induced by prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.Methods86 patients with lower limb pain induced by prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc were randomly divided into the treatment group and control group with 43 cases in each group. Patients of the treatment group were treated by Huantiao point-injection in the same side and lumbar traction, and cases of the control group were treated by lumbar traction only.ResultsThe recovery rate of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.01) after 3 weeks treatment.ConclusionThe effect of lumbar traction and Huantiao point-injection in the same side on lower limb pain induced by prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc is better than lumbar traction only.