Progress on the characteristics, prevention and treatment of neonatal central nervous system ureaplasma infection / 中国小儿急救医学

Ureaplasma is an opportunistic pathogen with a high population carrying rate.Maternal ureaplasma infection is related to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as premature birth etc.Ureaplasma infection in neonates can cause central nervous system inflammation and eventually lead to poor nervous system prognosis.Although the incidence of invasive central nervous system infection in newborns is low, due to the presence of immune escape in the body, atypical clinical manifestations after ureaplasma infection, and insensitivity to routine detection methods, the central ureaplasma infection in newborns is often unable to diagnose and treat properly in time, so it can easily lead to delayed treatment, which can lead to serious complications.This review aimed to explain the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and complications of central nervous system inflammation caused by ureaplasma infection, and share diagnosis methods, as well as successful treatment experience in related cases, so as to provide the basis for early diagnosis and reasonable treatment, thereby reducing the occurrence of adverse neurological outcomes caused by ureaplasma infection.

Target and dose design of 125I seed brachytherapy for treatment of pediatric borderline tumor in head neck region / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To summarize and evaluate the target and dose design of 125I seed brachytherapy treatment plan of pediatric borderline tumor in head neck region. Methods:Eleven patients underwent definitive 125I brachytherapy or combined with surgery in Peking University Hospital of Stomatology from January 2010 to December 2018 were retrospective analyzed. The target region was set by extending the tumor gross region by 0.5 to 1.0 cm. The prescription dose and activity ranged from 80 to 120 Gy and 18.5 MBq, respectively. The treatments were performed according to the plan under general anesthesia. Response and toxic reaction were recorded during follow-up. The preoperative and postoperative dosimetric results were compared; and the local control rate, objective response rate, complete response rate and acute toxic reaction rate were calculated. Results:There was no statistically significant difference between preoperative and postoperative dosimetric results ( P>0.05). The follow-up time ranged from 33 to 131 months, with a median of 48 months. The local control rate, objective response rate, complete response rate and acute toxic reaction rate were 100%, 100%, 71.4% and 81.8%, respectively. Conclusions:Under well-designed target and dose, 125I brachytherapy for treatment of pediatric borderline tumor in head neck region would bring ideal therapeutic and toxic outcomes, and could be regarded as a feasible therapy.

Application of digital surgical techniques in radioactive 125I seed implantation for brachytherapy of deep head and neck tumors / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To explore and evaluate the accuracy, conformity, and clinical application value of digital surgical techniques in guiding 125I seed implantation in the brachytherapy of deep head and neck tumors. Methods:Twelve patients with deep head and neck tumors who received brachytherapy of radioactive 125I seed implantation were selected for the study.The locations of the implantation needles and seeds were designed based on CT images before the operation.A digital positioning model was built according to the treatment plan to accurately import the planned locations of implantation needles into the surgical navigation system.Meanwhile, an individualized puncture guidance template was designed and printed according to the patients′ facial profiles as well as the locations and directions of the implantation needles.During the operation, the template was put in place under the guidance of the navigation system and meanwhile, the implantation needle puncture and radioactive seed implantation were conducted under the joint guidance of the visual needle path and real-time implantation needle locations in the navigation system and template guidance holes.The locations of the implantation needle and the seeds were validated by CT scan and the dose distribution in target areas was calculated.Adverse reactions such as hematoma, pain, infection, nonunion of puncture sites, and tumor cell implantation were observed during and after the operation. Results:All 12 patients successfully received implantation needle puncture and radioactive seed implantation under the guidance of the digital surgical techniques, achieving excellent effects of real-time visualization guidance.Meanwhile, the locations and number of the implantation needles and seeds were consistent with the treatment plan and were distributed evenly.Furthermore, according to postoperative verification, D90 ranged from 83.7 Gy to 131.0 Gy, with an average of 107.5 Gy; V100 was 89.6%-99.3%, with an average of 94.6%, and V150 ranged from 40.2% to 58.9%, averaging 47.8%.No serious adverse reactions were observed during and after the operation. Conclusions:With digital surgical techniques, the surgical navigation system and 3D-printed individualized puncture guidance template jointly guided the implantation needle puncture and 125I seed implantation, improving the accuracy and conformity of the brachytherapy.Therefore, they have clinical application value in head and neck brachytherapy, especially in deep areas with complex anatomical structures.

Target delineation and dosimetry analysis of 125I interstitial brachytherapy for recurrent adenoid cystic carcinoma in the parotid gland / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To analyze the target design and dosimetric parameters of patients with recurrent adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) in the parotid gland who were treated with 125I interstitial brachytherapy alone. Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted for 25 patients with recurrent adenoid cystic carcinoma in parotid gland who were histopathologically diagnosed between January 2015 and October 2019. These patients were treated with 125I interstitial brachytherapy alone, with prescribed doses of 100-120 Gy. The target volume was designed according to the pathological characteristics of ACC and recurrence sites. The pre- and post-operation dosimetric parameters (i.e., local control rates) were calculated using the treatment planning system. Results:In this study, the local recurrence sites included the superficial lobe (10/25) and deep lobe (7/25) of the parotid gland primarily and the skull base region (four patients) and mastoid posterior region (four patients) secondarily. The number of 125I seeds ranged from 16 to 111, with a median number of 59. The activity of radioactive particles was 18.5-25.9 MBq. The 3- and 5-year local control rates were 81.5% and 61.5%, respectively. No significant differences were found between pre- and post-operative dosimetric parameters such as D90, V100, and V150. There was no significant difference in local control rates among the four different recurrence sites. Conclusions:125I interstitial brachytherapy is proven to be an effective approach in the treatment of recurrent adenoid cystic carcinoma in the parotid gland. Satisfying local control rates can be achieved through target delineation performed according to recurrence sites and perineural invasion characteristics of ACC.

Higher pharyngeal epithelial gene expression of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme-2 in upper respiratory infection patients

We analyzed the expression of ACE2 in pharyngeal epithelium and examined its relationship with clinical features and serological parameters in the upper respiratory infection (URI) patients. The expression of ACE2 were significantly higher in URI patients than in healthy controls individuals, and positively correlated with age and body temperature.

Sample Pooling as a Strategy of SARS-COV-2 Nucleic Acid Screening Increases the False-negative Rate

BackgroundIdentification of less costly and accurate methods for monitoring novel coronavirus disease 2019 (CoViD-19) transmission has attracted much interest in recent times. Here, we evaluated a pooling method to determine if this could improve screening efficiency and reduce costs while maintaining accuracy in Guangzhou, China. MethodsWe evaluated 8097 throat swap samples collected from individuals who came for a health check-up or fever clinic in The Third Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University between March 4, 2020 and April 26, 2020. Samples were screened for CoViD-19 infection using the WHO-approved quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) primers. The positive samples were classified into two groups (high or low) based on viral load in accordance with the CT value of COVID-19 RT-qPCR results. Each positive RNA samples were mixed with COVID-19 negative RNA or ddH2O to form RNA pools. FindingsSamples with high viral load could be detected in pool negative samples (up to 1/1000 dilution fold). In contrast, the detection of RNA sample from positive patients with low viral load in a pool was difficult and not repeatable. InterpretationOur results show that the COVID-19 viral load significantly influences in pooling efficacy. COVID-19 has distinct viral load profile which depends on the timeline of infection. Thus, application of pooling for infection surveillance may lead to false negatives and hamper infection control efforts. FundingNational Natural Science Foundation of China; Hong Kong Scholars Program, Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province; Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou, China. Research in contextO_ST_ABSEvidence before this studyC_ST_ABSSince it emergence in late 2019, CoViD-19 has dramatically increased the burden healthcare system worldwide. A research letter titled "Sample Pooling as a Strategy to Detect Community Transmission of SARS-CoV-2" which was recently published in JAMA journal proposed that sample pooling could be used for SARS-COV-2 community surveillance. Currently, the need for large-scale testing increases the number of 2019-nCOV nucleic acid analysis required for proper policy-making especially as work and normal school resumes. As far as we know, there are many countries and regions in the world, who are beginning to try this strategy for nucleic acid screening of SARS-CoV-2. Added value of this studyWe carried out a study using pooled samples formed from SARS-COV-2 negative samples and positive samples with high or low viral and assessed detection rate for the positive samples. We found that positive sample with high viral load could be detected in pools in a wide range of dilution folds (ranging from1/2 to 1/50). On the contrary, the sample with low viral load could only be detected in RNA "pools" at very low dilution ratio, and the repeatability was unsatisfactory. Our results show the application of the "pooling" strategy for large-scale community surveillance requires careful consideration and depends on the viral load of the positive samples. Implications of all the available evidenceAlthough the number of newly diagnosed cases has been reducing in some parts of the world, the possibility of a second wave of infection has made quick and efficient data gathering essential for policy-making, isolation and treatment of patients. Fast and efficient nucleic acid detection methods are encouraged, but sample pooling as a strategy of SARS-COV-2 nucleic acid screening increased the false-negative rate, especially those with asymptomatic infections have lower viral load. Therefore, the application of the "pooling" strategy for large-scale community surveillance requires careful consideration by policy makers.

Surgery combined with 125I seed implantation brachytherapy for treatment of malignant submandibular gland tumors / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective To evaluate the treatment of malignant submandibular gland tumors with surgery combined with 125I radioactive implantation.Methods Thirty-two patients with malignant submandibular gland tumors were treated with surgery combined with 125I seed implantation from December 2005 to December 2012.All of the 32 patients with primary disease were treated by excision of the submandibular gland and neoplasm.None of the patients received wide excision or neck dissection without the evidence of the neck metastases.The planning targets was based on computerized tomography (CT)images,tumors site,extent and pathologic type.The matched peripheral dose (mPD) was 90-110 Gy.Recurrence-free survival (RFS),overall survival (OS) rates and side effects were retrospectively reviewed.Results Totally 32 patients received 1394 radioactive seeds implantation,radioactive seeds and dose distributed were well in all patients.All patients were followed for 15-126 months (mean of 64 months),with 5 recurrence,5 distant metastases,and 4 patients who died of disease.The 3-and 5-year RFS were 93.1％ and 87.9％,and OS rates were 93.3％ and 84.5％,respectively.No severe complications were observed during follow-up.Conclusions The excision of the neoplasm and the submandibular gland,combined with 125I seed implantation brachytherapy was an effective modality for the treatment of malignant submandibular gland tumors.

Clinical investigation on local and regional failure factors of salivary gland carcinoma treated by 125I seeds / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective To summarize clinical features of local and regional failure of salivary gland carcinoma treating by 125I seed,and evaluate the clinical and histologic risk factors for its development.Methods Patients with salivary gland carcinoma treated by 125I seeds between Oct 2001 and Aug 2012 were analyzed retrospectively.The risk factors were analyzed statistically,including age,gender,tumor site,TNM stage,histological differentiation,radiotherapy,treatment,matched peripheral dose and primary or recurrent tumor.Results Ninety-four of 449 patients with salivary gland carcinoma treated by 125I seeds developed local and/or regional area recurrence.Of these,six patients failed in both local and regional area,77 patients failed in local area and eleven patients failed in regional area.The local and regional failure rate was 20.9％.The result of multivariate analysis showed that surgery,radiotherapy and matched peripheral dose were the protective factors(OR =0.458,0.297,0.982,P ＜ 0.05),while age and TNM stage were the risk factors(OR =1.250,1.483,P ＜ O.05).Conclusions The local and regional failure rate was 20.9％.Surgery,radiotherapy and matched peripheral dose were the protective factors;age and TNM stage were the risk factors.

Clinical analysis of 125Ⅰ brachytherapy alone for 24 recurrent parotid gland carcinoma / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of 125Ⅰ brachytherapy alone for the treatment of recurrent parotid gland carcinoma.Methods Recurrent parotid gland carcinoma patients (n =24) treated by 125Ⅰ brachytherapy alone between 2006 and 2013 at Peking University Hospital of Stomatology were enrolled in this retrospective study.All patients underwent surgery or radiotherapy.The local control rate,survival rate,and side effects were evaluated.Results The median follow-up time was 21 months (range,4-59 months).Among the 24 patients,6 had local failure and 10 died during the follow-up period.The 1-and 3-year overall survival rates,progression-free survival rates,local control rates were 74.8％ and 39.3％,74.8％ and 31.5％,82.0％ and 69.4％,respectively.No grade 3 or over radiation injury was found.Conclusions 125Ⅰ seed brachytherapy alone could provide an ahernative treatment method for inoperable recurrent parotid gland carcinoma patients.