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Objective To analyze the characteristics of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among sonographers in Guangdong Province, and to explore the disease pattern of the cases. Methods A total of 512 sonographers from 31 hospitals in Guangdong Province were selected as the research subjects using stratified cluster sampling method. The prevalence of WMSDs in the past year was investigated using the Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire, and the characteristics of WMSDs were analyzed. Latent class analysis was used to identify the disease pattern of WMSDs. Results The overall prevalence of WMSDs was 94.3%. The top five affected body parts were right shoulder, neck, right hand/wrist, lower back and right forearm/elbow, with the prevalence of 80.3%, 75.4%, 61.1%, 55.5% and 45.3%, respectively. The prevalence of WMSDs was higher on the right side for the shoulder, hand/wrist, forearm/elbow, hip/leg and knee compared with the left side (80.3% vs 31.3%, 61.1% vs 13.9%, 45.3% vs 10.0%, 17.4% vs 8.6%, 13.1% vs 8.4%, all P<0.05). The prevalence of WMSDs increased with work years, as well the prevalence of WMSDs in the top five affected body parts among the sonographers (all P<0.05). However, there were no statistical differences in prevalence of WMSDs between general hospitals and maternal and child health hospitals, tertiary hospitals and non-tertiary hospitals, Pearl River Delta hospitals and non-Pearl River Delta hospitals; there was also no statistical difference between different genders and age groups of the sonographers (all P>0.05). The best-fit latent disease pattern for sonographers WMSDs comprised three categories： symptom of neck-right shoulder, symptom of neck-lower back-right shoulder-right elbow-right hand/wrist, and symptom of multi-parts above the knees, with the latent probabilities of 0.438, 0.427 and 0.135, respectively. Conclusion The prevalence of WMSDs in sonographers is extremely high, with a dose-effect relationship with work years. The most common affected parts are neck, lower back and right shoulder, right hand/wrist, and right forearm/elbow. The prevalence of WMSDs in the right side of limb was higher than that in the left. WMSDs primarily occur in multiple parts simultaneously. The most common symptoms occur in the neck-right shoulder and neck-lower back-right shoulder-right elbow-right hand/wrist.
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Objective:To explore the value of high frequency ultrasound combined with serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the accurate qualitative diagnosis of pediatric testicular tumors.Methods:The ultrasound characteristics (physical properties, calcification, alder blood flow classification) and AFP levels of 47 testicular tumors confirmed by operation and pathology were analyzed retrospectively. The tumors were further divided into two ways: malignant tumor group and benign tumor group, yolk sac tumor group and non yolk sac tumor group. The characteristics of ultrasound and the accurate qualitative diagnosis efficiency of AFP in testicular tumors were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).Results:18 cases of yolk sac tumor showed solid or almost solid mass, which may be accompanied by several small anechoic areas without calcification. The Alder blood flow grade were grade 3. 29 cases of nonyolk sac tumor showed cystic, solid or mixed mass, most of them have calcification and some of them showed honeycomb echo. Alder blood flow grade were 0-3 grade. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve, sensitivity and specificity of the ultrasound characteristics and AFP in the diagnosis of pediatric testicular malignancies were: solid or almost solid mass (0.894, 83.3%, 95.5%), and no calcification (0.904, 94.4%, 86.4%), Alder blood flow level 3 (0.941, 88.9%, 95.5%), AFP by best cut-off value 18.8 ng/ml (0.972, 100%, 95.5%), ultrasound features combined with AFP (0.992, 100%, 90.9%). All the testicular malignancies, such as yolk sac tumor, immature teratoma, teratoma combined with yolk sac tumor, can be identified by ultrasound features combined with AFP. Further analysis showed that the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis of yolk sac tumor with combined solid or almost solid and no calcification were both 100.0%, which can accurately distinguish all cases of yolk sac tumor.Conclusions:Pediatric testicular yolk sac tumor has specific ultrasound performance, high-frequency ultrasound can make a relatively accurate diagnosis, combined with serum AFP can further make a relatively accurate qualitative diagnosis of other malignant tumors of the testis in children.
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Purpose To explore the clinical value of ultrasound in charactering brain anomalies in open spina bifida at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation.Materials and Methods Abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound was performed in 125 cases of normal fetus and 4 cases of confirmed open spina bifida at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation to compare the morphology of intracranial translucency (IT), diencephalon and midbrain.Results Fetal IT was readily recognized in all 125 normal cases, with diencephalons and midbrain showing number 8 shape. In 4 cases of open spina bifida, fetal IT cannot be identified, and the expected 8 shape of diencephalon and midbrain was distorted.Conclusion Fetal brain characteristics including intracranial translucency and the shape of diencephalon and midbrain in 11-13+6 weeks gestation are valuable ultrasound screening indicators for open spina bifida.