OBJECTIVE Using electrophysiological method to evaluate the severity of incomplete obstetric paralysis brachial plexus injuries, and establish an electrophysiological criteria for selection of operative procedure in the treatment of cases of late stage. METHODS Neurolysis was performed in 16 patients, and during the operation, the neuroma at the upper trunk was discovered. The electrophysiological study was carried out before and during operation to evaluate the conducting function of neuroma. In the follow-up the operative result was analysed by Mallet test. RESULTS The preoperative study showed that the compound muscular active potential (CMAP) amplitude of supraspinatus deltoid and biceps were decreased more than 60% in comparison with that of the healthy side. After external neurolysis of the neuroma, by stimulation of the proximal and distal ends of the neuroma the average decrease of CMAP amplitude of the above three muscles was 37.45% +/- 20.97%, 47.85% +/- 26.23%, 47.05% +/- 21.23%, respectively and no significant improvement was observed in the shoulder and elbow function in all of the 16 cases. CONCLUSION When the preoperative electrophysiological study found that the CMAP amplitude decreased more than 60% in comparison with that of the healthy side, transposition of nerve or nerve grafting was indicated.
Objective To study the clinical characteristics of mulifocal motor neuropathy. Methods Patients records in China Biological Medicine Database (CBM-disc 1980-2005)and WanFang Database were searched. Demographic data, clinical manifestations, electrophysiology, and laboratory findings on multifocal motor neuropathy were analyzed. Results Of the total 80 patients, 61 cases were males, and 19 were females. A single limb weakness began in all the patients. Weakness was usually accentuated distally(95.3%), accompanied by muscle amyotrophy(76.3%) and fasciculation(46.3%). Reflexes were reduced (96.4%). Sensory impairment and cranial involvement were rare. 92.1% of the patients showed conduction block of motor nerve. Results Of the total 80 patients, 61 cases were males, and 19 were females. A single limb weakness began in all the patients. Weakness was usually accentuated distally(95.3%), accompanied by muscle amyotrophy(76.3%) and fasciculation(46.3%). Reflexes were reduced (96.4%). Sensory impairment and cranial involvement were rare. 92.1% of the patients showed conduction block of motor nerve. Conclusions Clinical features about multifocal motor neuropathy are a single distal limb weakness, muscle amyotrophy, and conduction block of motor nerve. MMN should be differentiated from motor neuron disease and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.
In order to improve the understanding of pragmatic randomized controlled trial (pRCT), to promote high-quality implementation of such trials, and to provide technical guidance for researchers to conduct such trials scientifically, the working group of China REal world data and studies ALliance (ChinaREAL) hereby develop a technical guidance. The guidance provides technical specifications of pRCT in terms of the concept and scope of application, planning and study design, conduct, data management and quality control, statistical analysis, and ethical issues. It emphasizes that the trial sites and settings, patient population, interventions, controls, outcomes, follow-ups and other factors should be considered when planning and designing. Meanwhile, the guidance recommends that estimation of sample sizes for different types of trial designs should be based on individual pRCTs, and it also provides suggestions for data management, quality control, principles of statistical analysis, analysis requirements for each type of trial designs, and ethical considerations.
ObjectiveTo analyze the characteristics and cardiac anatomy of patients with conduction block after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with Venus-A valve.MethodsRetrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent TAVR with Venus-A valve in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Military Medical University from October 2017 to May 2020. According to the occurrence of heart conduction block after TAVR, the patients were divided into the blocked group and the unblocked group, and the differences in characteristics and cardiac anatomy between the two groups were compared.ResultsForty-nine patients with severe aortic stenosis were included in the analysis, including 29 in the blocked group and 20 in the unblocked group. The incidence of atrial fibrillation in the blocked group was higher than that in the unblocked group (P=0.015), and there was no statistically significant difference in other preoperative indicators (P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative indicators between the blocked group and the unblocked group (P>0.05). Among bicuspid aortic valve, the ellipticity of left ventricular outflow tract and annulus in the blocked group were higher than those in the unblocked group (P<0.05), and the ratio of the short diameter of the left ventricular outflow tract to the bottom diameter of the implanted valve was smaller than that of the unblocked group (t=2.225, P=0.043). There was no significant difference in other cardiac anatomical indicators (P>0.05). As to tricuspid aortic valve cases, there was no significant difference in cardiac anatomic parameters between the blocked group and the unblocked group (P>0.05).ConclusionsFor bicuspid aortic valve patients with severe aortic stenosis and implanted with Venus-A valve, larger elliptic rate of annulus or left ventricular outflow tract, smaller proportion of left ventricular outflow tract diameter to the bottom diameter of implanted valve are associated with conduction block after TAVR. These anatomical patterns might be used as potential clinical indicators to predict postoperative conduction block.
As a tool for building consensus among groups, Delphi technique has been widely used in healthcare research which is appropriate for clinical questions where quantitative methods are unlikely to yield results that can be successfully implemented in practice. Researchers in palliative care developed standards for conducting and reporting Delphi studies (CREDES). This paper introduces and interprets the specific content of CREDES standards, with a view to providing reference for the evaluation of Delphi research design quality and report transparency.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a widely used neuroregulatory technique, has been proven to be effective in treating neurological and psychiatric disorders. The therapeutic effect is closely related to the intracranial electric field caused by TMS, thus accurate measurement of the intracranial electric field generated by TMS is of great significance. However, direct intracranial measurement in human brain faces various technical, safety, ethical and other limitations. Therefore, we have constructed a brain phantom that can simulate the electrical conductivity and anatomical structure of the real brain, in order to replace the clinical trial to achieve intracranial electric field measurement. We selected and prepared suitable conductive materials based on the electrical conductivity of various layers of the real brain tissue, and performed image segmentation, three-dimensional reconstruction and three-dimensional printing processes on each layer of tissue based on magnetic resonance images. The production of each layer of tissue in the brain phantom was completed, and each layer of tissue was combined to form a complete brain phantom. The induced electric field generated by the TMS coil applied to the brain phantom was measured to further verify the conductivity of the brain phantom. Our study provides an effective experimental tool for studying the distribution of intracranial electric fields caused by TMS.