ABSTRACT
Zhuye Shigaotang， first recorded in ZHANG Zhongjing's Synopsis of the Golden Chamber （《金匮要略》）， is a commonly used prescription for treating heat syndrome in modern times. However， physicians of the past dynasties have different opinions on the mechanism of Zhuye Shigaotang in disease treatment. Based on HUANG Yuanyu's theory of Qi circulation， this paper holds that the root cause of the diseases treated by Zhuye Shigaotang is the deficiency of spleen and stomach in the middle energizer and the dysfunction of ascending and descending. The failure of Yin ascending leads to the failure of Yang transformation， and the failure of Yang descending causes the failure of Yin generation. As a result， heat and fire become predominant in the heart， lung， and stomach， which causes Qi counterflow and fluid consumption. Based on this pathogenesis， Zhuye Shigaotang is mainly composed of pungent， warm， sweet， and cold herbs. The combination of these herbs can protect the spleen and stomach and recover the Qi movement in the middle energizer， thereby clearing heat and fire， descending Qi， and promoting the generation of Qi and fluid. In clinical practice， this prescription can be applied to treating the syndromes of deficiency in spleen and stomach， dysfunction of middle energizer in transportation， dysfunction of ascending and descending， excessive heat and fire， and Qi counterflow and fluid consumption. The interpretation of Zhuye Shigaotang from the theory of Qi circulation can provide a new idea for differentiating syndromes， seeking causes， and developing prescriptions， which broadens the scope of clinical application of this prescription and provides a reference for interpreting ZHANG Zhongjing's method of compatibility.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To analyze the distribution characteristics of plasma renin concentration (PRC) in patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and its impact on diagnosis.Methods:In this retrospective case series, clinical data from 200 patients with APA (80 men and 120 women; mean age 45.6 years) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from November 2013 to January 2022 were evaluated. PRC was determined by automated chemiluminescence immunoassay. The distribution characteristics of PRC were analyzed, and 8.2 mU/L was used as the low renin cutoff to evaluate whether renin was suppressed.Results:The median PRC was 1.6 mU/L (range, 0.4-41.5 mU/L). There were 116 patients with APA with PRC of ≤2 mU/L, 41 patients with 2<PRC≤4 mU/L. PRC was not suppressed (PRC>8.2 mU/L) in 8.0% (16/200) of the patients with APA. And PRC was not suppressed in 2.5% (5/200) of the patients with APA, resulting in a primary aldosteronism negative screening outcome.Conclusions:Although most patients with APA have low PRC, there are a small number (8%) of patients whose PRC has not been fully suppressed, which can lead to missed diagnoses during primary aldosteronism screening. While primary aldosteronism is highly suspected, further investigations are required to determine the diagnosis, even if PRC is not fully suppressed at screening.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy (RLA) and transperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy (TLA) in the treatment of localized adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC).Methods:The data of 22 patients with stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ ACC underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy in our institution from January 2009 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different surgical approaches, these patients were divided into RLA and TLA groups. Eleven patients underwent RLA and 11 patients underwent TLA. There were no significant differences between the RLA group and the TLA group in terms of age at first diagnosis[44 (35, 54) vs. 46(41, 55) years, P= 0.793], sex (male/female: 3/8 vs. 4/7, P = 1.00), secreting tumor ratio (3/11 vs. 4/11, P = 1.00), tumor location (left/right: 6/6 vs. 7/4, P = 1.00), with hypertension or diabetes mellitus (4/11 vs. 3/11, P = 1.00). However, RLA has significantly smaller tumor size [3.0(2.5, 8.4) cm vs. 7.7(5.2, 8.4)cm, P= 0.001], and more stage Ⅰ patients [90.9%(10/11) vs. 18.2%(2/11), P=0.002], compared with those in TLA group. The perioperative indicators and oncology prognosis outcomes were collected and compared between the two groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was performed to calculate the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Results:Compared with TLA, RLA had shorter operation time[90(70, 100) vs. 110 (90, 120) min, P = 0.005] and postoperative drainage tube removal time [2 (2, 3) vs. 3 (2, 6) day, P = 0.002), and the difference was statistically significant. In the TLA group, one patient was converted to open operation due to intraoperative tumor capsule rupture. For postoperative complications, one patient in the TLA group suffered with wound infection. There were no perioperative deaths in either group. All postoperative pathological examinations confirmed ACC, and there was no significant difference in Ki-67 index between the two groups [10%(3%, 35%) vs. 10%(9%, 25%), P = 0.484]. The median follow-up was similar in the two groups [48(26, 98) vs. 31(18, 49) months, P=0.237]. The local recurrence and metastasis rates were 36.4% for RLA group and 63.6% for TLA group ( P = 0.395). Survival analysis showed no statistically significant difference in DFS [5-year DFS rate: 33.6% vs. 73.2%, P = 0.118] between the two groups. The 5-year OS rates for RLA group versus TLA group were 58.3% vs. 45.5% ( P=0.485). Conclusions:For localized (stage Ⅰ/Ⅱ) ACC, both RLA and TLA seem safe and feasible, based on the similar long-term oncological prognosis. However, compared with TLA, RLA has the advantage of shorter operation time and postoperative drainage tube removal time. Due to the small number of cases included in this study, further multi-center, large-sample studies are required to demonstrate clear benefit of one surgical approach in the future.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effects of preoperative 8 am plasma total cortisol level (PTC) on the prognosis of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC).Methods A total of 44 patients from January 2009 to October 2017 with ACC were included,PTC level within one week before surgery,clinical and pathological data were collected.The mean age of the patients was (45.2 ± 15.2) years.There were 27 females and 17 males.The mean tumor diameter was (63.6 ± 20.7) mm.There were 20 cases with functional ACC,in which 18 patients presented symptoms associated with Cushing syndrome.According to ENSAT stage,9 patients were staged as stage Ⅰ,and 35 were staged as stage Ⅱ.The median pre-operative 8 am PTC was 572.6 nmol/L,range from 89.3 to 1 118.7 nmol/L.Open adrenalectomy was employed in 23 patients and laparoscopic approach in 21 patients.The optimal cut-off value of pre-operative PTC was determined by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and patients were divided into two groups with high PTC and low PTC values.Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw the survival curve,univariate and multivariate Cox regression were used to explore factors influencing the prognosis of ACC patients.Results The median follow-up duration was 42 months,range from 3-104 months.The optimal cut-off value was determined as 476.2 nmol/L,baseline and clinic-pathologic characteristics differences between two groups were not statistical significant (P ＞ 0.05).The overall survival (OS) in the high PTC group was shorter than that in the low PTC group [median 18months (20-104 months) vs.40 months (5-98 months),P =0.014],and the recurrence free survival (RFS) of patients in the high PTC group was also shorter than that in the low PTC [median 26 months (0-104 months) vs.50 months (5-98 months),P =0.028).In univariate analysis,age,gender,tumor stage,preoperative PTC,and symptoms were correlated with postoperative OS and RFS (P ＜ 0.05).After adjusting for age,gender,tumor stage,symptoms,multivariate Cox regression showed that pre-operative high PTC was an independent prognostic factor associated with a decreased OS (HR =2.086,95 ％ CI 1.495-2.287,P =0.014) and decreased RFS (HR =2.234,95％ CI 1.546-2.334,P =0.045).Conclusion The preoperative morning PTC is an independent risk factor for the prognosis of ACC.
ABSTRACT
In this paper the adverse reactions of acupoint embedding and its treatment are summarized, including fever, infection, callosity, blood stasis, red swelling, numb swelling, pain, fester, ulcer, etc. It is consi-dered that adverse reactions are induced by the inappropriate operation, special constitution and embedding material. Thus we need to pay attention to standard manipulation, the contraindication, and cautious usage. Symptomatic treatment needs to be implemented timely once adverse reactions occur.