ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the clinical application value of sound touch elastography (STE) in the evaluation of the curative effect of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of stroke patients with upper limb spasm.Methods:Fifty-five patients with upper limb spasm after stroke were selected as stroke group, and thirty healthy volunteers matched with age, gender and body mass index (BMI) were selected as control group between September 2020 and March 2021. The shear wave velocity (SWV) of biceps brachii and triceps brachii were measured in both groups. In stroke group, the SWVs of biceps brachii and triceps brachii on spastic side and non-spastic side were measured before and after acupuncture treatment, and the correlations between SWV and spastic grade (X), muscle response angle (R1), passive range of motion (R2), spastic angle (R2-R1) of modified Tardieu scale (MTS) were analyzed.Results:At 0 degree, the SWV of spastic biceps brachii (3.85±0.62)m/s was significantly higher than those of the non-spastic side [(3.34±0.35)m/s] and control group [(3.15±2.66)m/s] (all P<0.001), and decreased [ (3.45±0.47)m/s] after acupuncture treatment ( P<0.001). At 90 degree, the SWV of non-spastic biceps brachii was larger than those of spastic side and control group [1.98(1.92, 2.14)m/s vs 1.98(1.92, 2.11) m/s, 1.95(1.86, 2.05)m/s, all P<0.05], and there was no significant difference between the SWV of spastic side and control group ( P>0.05). There were no significant differences in SWV of triceps brachii between the spastic side and control group at both 0 degree or 90 degree ( P>0.05). At 0 degree, SWV positively correlated with MTS (x) ( rs=0.639, P<0.001) and negatively with R1 ( rs=-0.527, P<0.001) and R2 ( rs=-0.825, P<0.001) on the spastic biceps brachii. Conclusions:STE can provide quantitative index for the objective evaluation of the curative effect of acupuncture in upper limb spasm after stroke, and it is proposed to be an effective means of clinical diagnosis and efficacy evaluation in patients with upper limb spasm after stroke.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the application value of sound touch quantification (STQ) in screening high risk group of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH).Methods:From February 2019 to January 2020, 98 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and 36 healthy volunteers were included in this study. NAFLD patients were divided into NASH high risk group and NASH low risk group. The liver Young′s modulus were measured by STQ and compared among the three groups. The ROC curve was used to analyze the effectiveness of STQ in screening NASH high risk population. When the maximum value of Jordan index was selected, the best boundary threshold was selected to analyze its sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Liver biopsy was performed in 15 patients with abnormal liver function as validation group.Results:There were significant differences in the mean values of Young′s modulus among high risk group, low risk group and control group ( F=33.068, P<0.01). The Young′s modulus of NASH high risk group was significantly higher than those in NASH low risk group and control group ( P<0.05). The Young′s modulus between NASH Low risk group and control group was not significantly different( P=0.443). The best screening threshold was 6.46 kPa, the sensitivity was 89.2%, the specificity was 85.2%, and the accuracy was 88.6%. In the verification group, when the Young′s modulus≥6.46 kPa, the accuracy was 73.3%, the sensitivity was 75.0%, and the specificity was 66.7%. Conclusions:As a screening index, STQ elastic imaging technology has certain value in screening NASH high risk group.