ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of debridement and single-incision vertebral screw-rod fixation combined with pedicle screw-rod fixation and autograft bone fusion in treatment of thoracolumbar tuberculosis. MethodsBetween January 2008 and October 2010, 22 patients with thoracolumbar tuberculosis were treated by debridement and single-incision vertebral screw-rod fixation combined with pedicle screw-rod fixation and autograft bone fusion, and were given anti-tuberculosis therapy after operation. Of 22 patients, 14 were male and 8 were female with an average age of 42 years (range, 18-66 years). The disease duration was 2-16 months (mean, 6 months). Sixteen double-segment lesions included T7, 8 in 3 cases, T8, 9 in 1 case, T9, 10 in 3 cases, T11, 12 in 2 cases, L1, 2 in 4 cases, and L3, 4 in 3 cases; 6 three-segment lesions included T7-9 in 2 cases, T11-L1 in 1 case, and L2-4 in 3 cases. Preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 7.50 ± 0.63. According to Frankel classification of America Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), 2 cases were rated as grade B, 4 cases as grade C, 9 cases as grade D, and 7 cases as grade E. ResultsTwenty-two patients were followed up 15-36 months (mean, 25.2 months). Wound infection occurred in 1 case and was cured after corresponding treatment; incision healed by first intention in other patients. No loosening or breakage of internal fixator was found; the patients had no deteriorations in spinal cord injury or cerebrospinal fluid leakage. X-ray films and CT showed obvious bone fusion in the intervertebral space. The time of bone fusion was 3-6 months (mean, 5.2 months). The erythrocyte sedimentation rate after operation was significantly lower than that before operation (P lt; 0.05). The VAS scores were significantly improved to 2.90 ± 1.00 at 2 weeks after operation and 2.60 ± 0.81 at last follow-up (P lt; 0.05). At last follow-up, nerve function was significantly improved. According to Frankel classification, 2 cases were rated as grade C, 5 cases as grade D, and 15 cases as grade E. ConclusionSingle-incision vertebral screw-rod fixation combined with pedicle screw-rod fixation for thoracolumbar tuberculosis is a stable and minimally invasive method. However, the long-term effectiveness need further follow-up.
Objective To explore the positive rate of emphysema in groups under Low-dose CT screening, then take the regression analysis on related risk factors for emphysema. Methods A total of 1 175 volunteers involved in low-dose CT screening and completing the questionnaire were collected and taken the CT quantitative assessment for emphysema, then the positive rate of emphysema was calculated. Questionnaire data were collected and non-conditional Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors in the questionnaire. Results Ninety-seven cases of emphysema had been detected in 1 175 volunteers, and the positive rate was 8.26%. The positive rate for the males and the females was 9.90% (71/717) and 5.68% (26/458), respectively. Three risk factors (smoking, second-hand smoking, history of chronic bronchitis) were screened out by Logistic regression. Conclusions According to the results of the regression analysis, smoking, second-hand smoking and history of chronic bronchitis are main risk factors for emphysema. Some effective measures could be made against emphysema in high risk population. In that way the morbidity and perniciousness of emphysema could be reduced.
Objective To understand the current situation of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in comprehensive hospitals with a number of beds≥900, and provide a reference for the next step in formulating HAI prevention and control measures. Methods The data on the prevalence rate of HAI in comprehensive hospitals with a number of beds≥900 of Yunnan Province between 2020 and 2022 were retrospective collected. The HAI situation and trend in each year were analyzed. Results A total of 119 comprehensive hospitals were included, with 166 745 patients surveyed and 3 237 cases of HAI. Lower respiratory tract infection and urinary tract infection were the most common sites. The department with the highest incidence of hospital infections was the intensive care unit, followed by neurosurgery and hematology. The prevalence rates of HAI showed a downward trend from 2020 to 2022 (2.08% vs. 1.99% vs. 1.79%, χ2=14.301, P<0.001). A total of 1 315 strains of hospital-acquired pathogens were detected, all of which were mainly Gram-negative bacteria, with Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae being more common. The rate of antibiotics use and the rate of pathogen testing showed an upward trend from 2020 to 2022 (χ2=79.233, 23.866, P<0.001), the infection rate of incision site and the prophylactic use rate of antimicrobial drugs in patients with class Ⅰ surgery both showed a decreasing trend (χ2=15.551, 6.311, P<0.05). Conclusions The prevalence of infection in comprehensive hospitals of Yunnan Province is decreasing. But the supervision of key departments, the implementation of pathogen prevention and control measures, and the rational use of antibiotics in inpatients are still the focus of future work.
Objective To explore the axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) could be safely exempted in younger breast cancer patients (≤40 years of age) who receiving breast-conserving surgery combined with radiotherapy in metastasis of 1–2 sentinel lymph node (SLN) and T1–T2 stage. Methods The data of pathological diagnosis of invasive breast cancer from 2004 to 2015 in SEER database were extracted. Patients were divided into SLN biopsy group (SLNB group) and ALND group according to axillary treatment. Propensity matching score (PSM) method was used to match and equalize the clinicopathological features between two groups at 1∶1. Multivariate Cox proportional risk model was used to analyze the relationship between axillary management and breast cancer specific survival (BCSS), and stratified analysis was performed according to clinicopathological features. Results A total of 1 236 patients with a median age of 37 years (quartile: 34, 39 years) were included in the analysis, including 418 patients (33.8%) in the SLNB group and 818 patients (66.2%) in the ALND group. The median follow-up period was 82 months (quartile: 44, 121 months), and 111 cases (9.0%) died of breast cancer, including 33 cases (7.9%) in the SLNB group and 78 cases (9.5%) in the ALND group. The cumulative 5-year BCSS of the SLNB group and the ALND group were 90.8% and 93.4%, respectively, and the log-rank test showed no significant difference (χ2=0.70, P=0.401). After PSM, there were 406 cases in both the SLNB group and the ALND group. The cumulative 5-year BCSS rate in the ALND group was 4.1% higher than that in the SLNB group (94.8% vs. 90.7%). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that ALND could further improve BCSS rate in younger breast cancer patients [HR=0.578, 95%CI (0.335, 0.998), P=0.049]. Stratified analyses showed that ALND improved BCSS in patients diagnosed before 2012 or with a character of lymph node macrometastases, histological grade G3/4, ER negative or PR negative. Conclusions It should be cautious to consider the elimination of ALND in the stage T1–T2 younger patients receiving breast-conserving surgery combined with radiotherapy when 1–2 SLNs positive, especially in patients with high degree of malignant tumor biological behavior or high lymph node tumor burden. Further prospective trials are needed to verify the question.
Objective To assess the effects of lung transplantation (LT) in the treatment of end-stage pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and evaluated its impact on quality of life (QoL). Methods A total of 54 patients with end-stage PAH admitted to the LT center of Wuxi People’s Hospital between January 2007 and June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into surgical and non-surgical groups. Clinical data were compared between the groups. The clinical data such as symptoms, signs, biochemistry, survival rate and quality of life were compared between the two groups. The effects of lung transplantation on survival and quality of life were analyzed. The quality of life was scored by SF-36 scale. Results A total of 54 patients with end-stage pulmonary arterial hypertension who met the indications for lung transplantation were enrolled. Among them, 36 patients underwent lung transplantation and 18 patients did not undergo surgery. There were no statistical differences in gender, course of disease, disease type, symptoms between the two groups. The uric acid of the non-operation group was significantly higher than that of the lung transplantation group (P=0.014). The systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP) of the non-operation group was significantly lower than that of the lung transplantation group (P=0.046). Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the survival rate of the operation group was higher than that of the non-operation group (P=0.0087). The quality of life assessment showed that after lung transplantation, the physical component summary and mental component summary scores of operation group were higher than those before operation (P<0.01), and also higher than non-operation group in the same period (P<0.05). Preoperative low systemic circulation blood pressure, poor cardiac function, high NT-proBNP and high uric acid may be the risk factors for early death of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension after lung transplantation. Conclusions Lung transplantation can effectively improve survival and also QoL for patients with end-stage PH. Early detection of risk factors and preoperative assessment can help improve the perioperative survival.