【Abstract】 Objective To investigate the effectiveness of a percutaneous release with L shaped hollow needle knife in treating trigger finger. Methods Between September 2007 and September 2009, 160 patients with trigger fingers (202 fingers) were treated by percutaneous release with L shaped hollow needle knife. There were 47 males and 113 females with a mean age of 55 years (range, 12-68 years). The disease duration was 2 weeks to 1 year. Affected fingers included 58 thumbs, 20 index fingers, 46 middle fingers, 60 ring fingers, and 18 little fingers. According to Quinnell grading, 63 fingers were classified as grade III, 126 fingers as grade IV, and 13 fingers as grade V. A1 pulley was released during operation and steroid was injected after release procedure using the same needle. Results The mean operation time was 8.2 minutes (range, 5-19 minutes), and no complication occurred. All the patients were followed up 1 year to 3 years and 6 months (mean, 1.6 years). The patients still felt pain in 36 fingers at 1 week after operation, which were relieved after oral administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Twenty-five fingers had snapping or locking in flexion-extension motion; 5 fingers recovered at 1 month after operation and 20 fingers had no obvious improvement; of 20 fingers, symptom was alleviated in 10 fingers, and was not alleviated in 10 fingers after re-release with L shaped hollow needle knife. According to Quinnell grading for efficacy evaluation at 6 months after operation, the results were excellent in 165 fingers, good in 27 fingers, poor in 10 fingers with an excellent and good rate of 95.0%. Conclusion The percutaneous release with L shaped hollow needle knife is a safe and effective procedure in treating trigger finger with low complications.
Objective To identify the potential factors for psychological burdens and to better understand how the patients’ psychological status affect their treatment preferences. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among 996 patients with pulmonary nodules who visited the Thoracic Surgery Clinic of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from January to November 2021, including 381 males and 615 females, aged 47.26±11.53 years. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to investigate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to evaluate the psychological status of the patients, with a score>7 points of each subscale indicating potential anxiety or depression. Results Among the 996 patients with pulmonary nodules, the incidence of anxiety was 42.4% and the incidence of depression was 26.4%, while the incidence of both anxiety and depression was 24.7%. There was a significant correlation between anxiety and depression (ρ=0.834, P<0.05). Age, purpose of CT examination, number of pulmonary nodules and symptoms were independent factors for anxiety, while symptoms and number of pulmonary nodules were independent factors for depression (P<0.05). For treatment preferences, there was a statistical difference in educational level, symptoms, nodule size and anxiety level (P<0.05). Conclusion Anxiety and depression are common in patients with pulmonary nodules. Symptoms are associated with anxiety and depression, which also make an impact on treatment preferences.
ObjectiveTo explore the distribution pattern of respiratory symptoms and relevant factors in patients with pulmonary nodules. MethodsDemographic and clinical information were collected from patients who visited the Thoracic Surgery Outpatient Clinic of Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital from January 2021 to January 2022. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess their anxiety and depression level. ResultsA total of 1173 patients were enrolled, including 449 males and 724 females, with an average age of 46.94±11.43 years. Among the patients with pulmonary nodules, 37.7% of them had at least one respiratory symptom; 24.4% had cough, 14.0% had expectoration, 1.3% had hemoptysis and 14.9% had chest pain. Old age, male, exposure to second-hand smoking or environmental smoke, hair coloring and history of tuberculosis were major risk factors for respiratory symptoms (P<0.05). Middle age, old age, male, exposure to environmental smoke were major risk factors for cough (P<0.05); old age, smoking, larger maximum nodules diameters, exposure to environmental smoke and history of pneumonia were major risk factors for expectoration (P<0.05); male, multiple nodules, hair coloring, exposure to second-hand smoking and history of tuberculosis were major risk factors for chest pain (P<0.05). Symptomatic patients showed generally higher HADS scores than asymptomatic patients (P<0.001). ConclusionCough, expectoration and chest pain are the predominant respiratory symptoms for patients with pulmonary nodules. The presentation of respiratory symptoms increases patients' anxiety and depression.