Objective To broaden the current understanding of the usage willingness about artificial intelligence (AI) robots and relevant influence factors for elderly patients. Methods The elderly patients in the inpatient ward, outpatient department and physical examination of the Department of Geriatrics, West China Hospital of Sichuan University were selected by convenient sampling for investigation between February and April 2020, to explore the willingness of elderly patients to use AI robots and related influencing factors. Results A total of 446 elderly patients were included. There were 244 males and 202 females. The willingness to use AI robots was (14.40±3.62) points. There were statistically significant differences among the elderly patients with different ages, marital status, living conditions, educational level, current health status, current vision status, current hearing status, self-care ability and family support in their willingness to use AI robots (P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age, education level and family support were the influencing factors of use intention (P<0.05). Among the elderly patients, 60.76% had heard of AI robots, but only 28.03% knew the medical application of AI robots, and only 13.90% had used AI robot services. Most elderly patients (>60%) thought that some adverse factors may reduce their usage willingness, like “the price is too expensive” and “the use is complex, or I don’t know how to use”. Conclusions Elderly patients’ cognition of AI robots is still at a low level, and their willingness to use AI robots is mainly affected by age, education level and family support. It is suggested to consider the personalized needs of the elderly in terms of different ages, education levels and family support, and promote the cheap and user-friendly AI robots, so as to improve the use of AI robots by elderly patients.
Objective To investigate the effect of ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of shoulder joint combined with hydraulic dilatation in the treatment of frozen shoulder in different clinical stage. Methods The clinical data of patients with frozen shoulder diagnosed in Zigong Fourth People’s Hospital from January 2020 to January 2021 were collected retrospectively. The patients were divided into three groups according to the clinical stage of frozen shoulder (stage Ⅰ, stage Ⅱ and stage Ⅲ). All patients volunteered to receive ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of shoulder joint combined with hydraulic dilatation for 3 consecutive times, with a 2-week interval for each treatment, and followed up for 6 months. Before treatment and 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 2 months, 4 months and 6 months after treatment, the patients were scored with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Active Range of Shoulder Motion (AROM), and the capsule thickness of shoulder were measured, respectively. Results A total of 150 patients were included, including 61 patients in stage Ⅰ, 74 patients in stage Ⅱ and 15 patients in stage Ⅲ. The thickness of shoulder joint capsule on the affected side was thicker than that on the healthy side (t=24.384, P<0.001). After treatment, the thickness of shoulder joint capsule and VAS score decreased (P<0.05), and the AROM score increased (P<0.05). Before treatment, the thickness of shoulder joint capsule in stageⅡpatients was higher than that in stageⅠand Ⅲ patients [(4.3±1.0) vs. (2.9±0.5) vs. (3.1±0.4) mm; F=57.195, P<0.001]. Four weeks, 2 months, 4 months and 6 months after treatment, the decrease of shoulder joint capsule thickness was the largest in stageⅡpatients (P<0.05). Compared with stageⅡand Ⅲ patients, stageⅠpatients had the highest VAS score before treatment (7.7±0.7 vs. 5.1±0.8 vs. 4.5±0.7; F=233.560, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in VAS scores among the three groups 4 weeks (F=1.679, P=0.190), 4 months (F=1.348, P=0.263) or 6 months (F= 0.940, P=0.393) after treatment, while there were significant differences in VAS scores among the three groups 2 weeks (F=66.924, P<0.001) and 2 months (F=9.598, P<0.001) after treatment. Compared with stageⅠand Ⅲ patients, stageⅡpatients had the lowest AROM score before treatment (15.2±1.8 vs. 23.5±1.9 vs. 26.1±3.5; F=343.718, P<0.001). Four weeks (F=0.034, P=0.967), 2 months (F=0.222, P=0.801), 4 months (F=0.634, P=0.532) or 6 months (F=0.001, P=0.999) after treatment, there was no significant difference in AROM scores among the three groups, while there was significant difference in AROM scores among the three groups 2 weeks after treatment (F=177.135, P<0.001).Conclusions Ultrasound-guided intra-articular injection of shoulder joint combined with hydraulic dilation has good efficacy in the treatment of frozen shoulder in different clinical stage. Early injection treatment can shorten the course of the disease and relieve the pain of patients during the course of the disease.