Objective To observation the changes of left atrium and pulmonary veins(PV)in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF) by transthoracic two-and three-dimensional echocardiography. Methods Transthoracic echocardiography were applied in 126 patients,which were divided into sinus rhythm(SR) group(64 cases)and AF group(62 cases),AF group were further divided into two subgroups:the paroxysmal AF and non-paroxysmal AF group.Left atrial area(LAA),left atrial volume(LAV),left atrial diameter(LAD)were measured by 2-dimensional echocardiography imaging.PV diameters were measured by three-dimensional echocardiography. Results Compared with SR group,PV diameters were significantly increased in AF group(P＜0.05).In patients with AF,PV diameters in non-paroxysmal AF group were larger than paroxysmal AF group.The four PV diameters in SR,paroxysmal AF and non-paroxysmal AF group did not show statisticant difference(P＞0.05).Compared with SR group,LAD,LAA,LAV were increased in AF group.LAD,LAA,LAV were larger in non-paroxysmal AF group than SR group and paroxysmal AF group(P＜0.05).Conclusions Left atrium and PV dilate significantly in patients with AF,transthoracic echocardiography could be a non-invasive method to observe left atrium and PV.

Objective Repair of aortic arch aneurysm is technically demanding and usually requiring complex circulatory management. Operative morbidity and mortality may be prohibitive with traditional surgical intervention. We described our experience with 5 hybrid endovascular procedure for aorta repair with different kinds of bypass followed by concomitant placement of stent graft in the aorta. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 5 consecutive patients presenting with aortic aneurysm or dissection from 2007 to 2008 treated by the hybrid aorta repair. Complete surgical rerouting of the supra-aortic vessels was followed by endovascular repair of aortic arch aneurysm with a Zenith TX2 stent graft. Hybrid left carotid-subclavian bypass with Zenith stent graft deployment covering the ostium of the LSA was performed in a Debakey type Ⅲ aortic dissection case. Procedures were successfully completed with exclusion of the aortic aneurysm. All stent grafts were deployed retrograde from the femoral artery in these patients. Results Technical success with complete aneurysmal exclusion was achieved in all patients (100%). At a follow-up period of 2-10 months, there was no incidence of endoleak. Documented perioperative neurelogic events did not occurred in all patients. Postoperatively one patient suffered from ARDS and cardiac failure and recovered. One patient died of myocardial infarction. Conclusions Hybrid arch repair provides an alternative to patients otherwise considered prohibitively high risk for traditional open arch and thoracoabdominal aorta repair.

Objective To assess the prognostic value of tissue Doppler imaging(TDI) parameters in aeute myocardial infarction(AMI) patients. Methods After one week of AMI,102 patients underwent twodimensional/Doppler echocardiography and TDI examination.Early and late transmitral flow velocity E,A,deceleration time(DT)were measured. The average velocity of mitral valve at septal and lateral weremeasured including the systolic velocity(Sm),early diastolic velocity(Em)and late diastolic velocity(Am),Em/Am,E/Em were calculated.After 1 year follow up,the patients were divided into two groups according to whether hospitalizated due to heart failure(HF)or not. Stepwise multivariate COX regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of the cardiac event. Results In patients with H F,Sm,Em were lower than those of no HF group(P＜0.05),E,E/Em were higher than those of no HF group(P＜0.05 and0.01 respectively). Stepwise multivariate COX analysis identified that the E/Em was the only independent predictors of HF.E/Em≥12 was a useful HF predictors with a sensitivity of 84.2%,specificity of 77.1%.Conclusions E/Em ratio may assist in the risk stratification in AMI,and is a powerful predictor of HF.

Objective To investigate the security and efficacy of one stage and bilateral resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by uniportal-video-assisted thoracic surgery(VATS) to cure patients with myasthenia gravis(MG).Methods A number of 131 patients with MG who underwent resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by VATS in one single center from February 2009 to December 2013 were selected in this retrospective study.76 patients underwent unilateral resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by three portal VATS from February 2009 to March 2012 and 55 patients underwent one stage and bilateral resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by small uniportal-VATS from April 2012 to December 2013.The time for operation,the bleeding volume during operation,the volume of postoperative drainage and drainage time,the improvement of symptoms,the postoperative pain,hospital stays and the occurrence of myasthenia gravis crisis were compared between the two groups.Results The general condition and pathological type did not have significant statistical differences between the two groups.The operating time in the uniportal-VATS group was significantly longer than that in three portal VATS group,but the pain was lighter,and the hospital stay was shorter.There were no significant differences between groups in terms of blood loss,postoperative drainage time,and volume of drainage.The follow-up was from 32 to 90 months,and 118 (90.08％)patients completed the follow up.94.5 ％ of the patients in uniportalVATS group acquired complete stable remission(CSR),while it was 84.2％ in three portal VATS group(P ＜ 0.05),and the uniportal-VATS group had lower rate of myasthenic crisis (P ＜0.05).Conclusion One stage and bilateral resection of thymic tissue and clearance of mediastinal fat by small uniportal-VATS is safe and effective with shorter hospital stay and less pain,and it can get higher CSR and less myasthenic crisis,its efficacy is superior to traditional three portal VATS.

To investigate the computed tomographc(CT)features of mild/moderate and severe/critical cases of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)in the recovery phase. Totally 63 discharged patients in Wuhan,China,who underwent both chest CT and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)from February 1 to February 29,2020,were included.With RT-PCR as a gold standard,the performance of chest CT in diagnosing COVID-19 was assessed.Patients were divided into mild/moderate and severe/critical groups according to the disease conditions,and clinical features such as sex,age,symptoms,hospital stay,comorbidities,and oxygen therapy were collected.CT images in the recovery phase were reviewed in terms of time from onset,CT features,location of lesions,lobe score,and total CT score. There were 37 patients in the mild/moderate group and 26 in the severe/critical group. Compared with the mild/moderate patients,the severe/critical patients had older age [(43±16) years (52±16) years; =2.10, =0.040], longer hospital stay [(15±6)d (19±7)d; =2.70, =0.009], higher dyspnea ratio (5.41% 53.85%; =18.90, <0.001), lower nasal oxygen therapy ratio (81.08% 19.23%;=23.66, <0.001), and higher bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation ratio (0 57.69%; =25.62, <0.001). Time from onset was (23±6) days in severe/critical group, significantly longer than that in mild/moderate group [(18±7) days] (=3.40, <0.001). Severe/critical patients had significantly higher crazy-paving pattern ratio (46.15% 10.81%;=4.24, =0.039) and lower ground-glass opacities ratio (15.38% 67.57%; =16.74, <0.001) than the mild/moderate patients. The proportion of lesions in peripheral lung was significantly higher in mild/moderate group than in severe/critical group (78.38% 34.61%; =13.43, <0.001), and the proportion of diffusely distributed lesions was significantly higher in severe/critical group than in mild/moderate group (65.38% 10.81%; =20.47, <0.001). Total CT score in severe/critical group was also significantly higher in severe/critical group than in mild/moderate group [11 (8,17) points 7 (4,9) points; =3.81, <0.001]. The CT features in the recovery stage differ between mild/moderate and severe/critical COVID-19 patients.The lung infiltration is remarkably more severe in the latter.
Adult ; Aged ; Betacoronavirus ; China ; Coronavirus Infections ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; diagnostic imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective : To explore the therapeutic efficacy of chairside CEREC all-ceramic restorations in children with first permanent molars with severe defects and to summarize the clinical methods and procedures. Methods: Forty teeth of 7-15 years old thirty-four children with first permanent molars with severe defects were selected. After careful tooth preparation, a total of 40 all-ceramic restorations (8 inlays, 32 onlays) were designed and manufactured using the CEREC 3D system, and all prostheses were bonded with composite resin cement. Immediately after treatment and after 24 months, the subjective satisfaction of the patients was assessed. The clinical efficacy was analyzed using modified USPHS criteria at 12 months and 24 months. Evaluations included secondary caries, marginal adaptation, surface texture, color matching, fracture, anatomical form, adjacency relationship and gingival health. Results : For the 40 all-ceramic restorations of the first permanent molars, after 24 months, 100% of the teeth were grade A for secondary caries, surface texture and fracture of the prosthesis, and 85% of the teeth were up to grade A for the other indexes at 12 and 24 months. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between 12 months and 24 months. Immediately after treatment and after 24 months, the subjective satisfaction of the patients was greater than 94%. Conclusion Application of the CEREC 3D system had a clear curative effect and resulted in high satisfaction in the repair of permanent molars with severe defects in children.

Objective    To investigate CT image features of ground glass opacity (GGO)-like 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV, SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia (COVID-19) and early-stage lung carcinoma for control and therapy of this acute severe respiratory disease. Methods    We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 71 GGO-like COVID-19 patients who received therapy in Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology between January 17th and February 13th, 2020. These 71 GGO-like COVID-19 patients were as a COVID-19 group. And 80 GGO-like early-stage lung carcinoma patients who underwent resection were as a lung carcinoma group. Clinical features such as sex, age, symptoms including fever, cough, fatigue, myalgia and dyspnea, detailed exposure history, confirmatory test (SARS-CoV-2 quantitative RT-PCR) and pathologic diagnosis were analyzed. Results    Significantly different symptoms and exposure history between the two groups were detected (P<0.001). More lesions (61 patients at percentage of 85.92%, P<0.001), relative peripheral locations (69 patients at percentage of 97.18%, P<0.001) and larger opacities (65 patients at percentage of 91.55%, P<0.001) were found in chest radiographs of GGO-like COVID-19 compared with GGO-like early-stage lung carcinoma. Similar features appeared in early-stage of COVID-19 and lung carcinoma, while pneumonia developed into more extensive and basal predominant lung consolidation. Coexistence of GGO-like COVID-19 and early-stage lung carcinoma might occur. Conclusion    Considering these similar and unique features of GGO-like COVID-19 and early-stage lung carcinoma, it is necessary to understand short time re-examination of chest radiographs and other diagnostic methods of these two diseases. We believe that the findings reported here are important for diagnosis and control of COVID-19 in China.