Objective To compare the intraoperative opioids-sparing effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) of Lieque (LU7)-Quchi (LI11)-Neiguan (PC6)-Hegu (LI4) versus Xinshu (BL15)-Feishu (BL13)-PC6-LI4 in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy.Methods Sixty ASA physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients,aged 34-83 yr,weighing 50-93 kg,scheduled for elective video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy,were randomly divided into 3 groups (n =20 each):control group (group C),LU7-LI11-PC6-LI4 group (group S1),and BL15-BL13-PC6-LI4 group (group S2).TEAS was applied to the corresponding acupoints on the operated side starting from 30 min before induction of anesthesia until the end of operation in S1 and S2 groups.The wave length was 0.6 ms when the frequency was 2 Hz,and the wave length was 0.2 ms when the frequency was 100 Hz.The intensity was the maximum current that could be tolerated,and the intensity was 6-18 mA for LU7,LI11,PC6 and LI4,or 20-35 mA for BL15 and BL13.Anesthesia was induced with iv injection of midazolam,propofol,sufentanil and cisatracurium and maintained with target-controlled infusion of remifentanil and propofol,iv infusion of cisatracurium,and iv boluses of sufentanil when necessary.The plasma concentration of propofol was adjusted to maintain BIS value at 40-60 during operation.The initial effect-site concentration of remifentanil was set at 1 ng/ml and then adjusted to 4 ng/ml at skin incision,and the concentration of remifentanil and consumption of sufentanil was adjusted to maintain Analgesia Nociception Index (ANI) value at 50-70.If the concentration of remifentanil was increased to 4 ng/ml,ANI value was still less than 50,and then sufentanil 0.1 μg/kg was injected intravenously.The time of operation and intraoperative consumption ofremifentanil and propofol were recorded.Results Compared with group C,the intraoperative consumption of remifentanil was significantly decreased in S1 and S2 groups (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in the intraoperative consumption of remifentanil between group S1 and group S2 (P ＞ 0.05).There was no significant difference in the time of operation and intraoperative consumption of propofol between the three groups (P ＞0.05).Conclusion TEAS of LU7-LI1 1-PC6-LI4 provides similar opioids-sparing effects during operation as TEAS of BL15-BL13-PC6-LI4 in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy.

Objective To investigate the effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on early postoperative lung function in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic pneumonectomy.Methods Sixty ASA physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients whose preoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) ＞ 1.5 L,scheduled for elective video-assisted thoracoscopic pneumonectomy under general anesthesia,were randomly divided into 3 groups (n =20 each) using a random number table:control group (group C),Lieque (LU7)-Quchi (LI11)-Neiguan (PC6)-Hegu (LI4) group (group S1),and Xinshu (BL1S)-Feishu (BL13)-PC6-LI4 group (group S2).TEAS was applied to the corresponding acupoints on the operated side for 30 min once a day starting from 30 min before induction of anesthesia until the end of surgery,and on 1 st and 2nd days after surgery in S1 and S2 groups.The frequency was 2/100 Hz,the intensity was the maximum current that could be tolerated,and the intensity was about 6-18 mA for LU7,LI11,PC6 and LI4,or about 20-35 mA for BL15 and BLI3.Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia was performed to maintain the score for the intensity of pain ＜ 4.Before and after surgery,forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1 were measured after the chest tube was withdrawn and the changing rate was calculated.Results FEV1 and FVC were significantly lower after surgery than before surgery in all the groups (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in FEV1 and FVC before and after surgery and the changing rate between the three groups (P ＞ 0.05).Conelusion TEAS (applied during surgery and within 2 days after surgery,30 min/d,2/100 Hz) provides no obvious improvement in early postoperative lung function for the patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic pneumonectomy.

Objective To investigate the value of quantitative analysis in the diagnosis of renal lesions with contrast-enhanced ultrasound.Methods Sixty cases with renal lesions confirmed by surgery and pathology underwent contrast-enhanced ultrasound preoperatively and quantitative analysis retrospectively.The Sonoliver software was applied in the analysis of CEUS imaging and in the recoustruction of quantitative parameter,s.Five parameters were calculated,including the maximum intensity (IMAX),rise time (RT),time to peak (TTP),mean transit time (mTT) and area under the curve (AUC).Results There were statistically differences in parameters RT,mTT and AUC ( P ＜ 0.05) and significant differences in parameter IMAX ( P ＜0.01).In malignant tumors,the RT and mTT were less than that of the benign while IMAX and AUC were more than that of the benign.Conclusions Contrast-enhanced ultrasound using a quantitative parametric analysis offers more information and is a promising tool in the diagnosis and differentiation of renal masses.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of three-dimensional contrast-enhanced ultrasound (3D-CEUS) in showing vascular patterns of renal tumors.Methods The images of 3D-CEUS examination were retrospectively analyzed in one hundred and twenty one renal tumors which were confirmed sequentially by pathology.3D-CEUS was performed after conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).The 3D-CEUS images were reconstructed by QLAB workstation and classified into 4 grades based on the blood supply characteristics.Results All the tumors were confirmed by pathology and operations,including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) (n=91),papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) (n=5),chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (CRCC) (n=5),renal angiomyolipoma (RAML) (n=19),and cystic nephroma (n=1).Three-dimensional reconstruction could provide clear stereoscopic views of the interested structures and morphological characteristics of lesions.The three-dimensional ultrasonography of a particular renal tumor could be a mixture of different basic grades.There were significant differences between benign and malignant renal tumors in 3D-CEUS.The image quality was the best in early parenchymal phase comparing to other phases.In early parenchymal phase,84 RCCs (83.17%) were tortuous expansive reticular or irregular messy dendritic,61 cases (60.40%) with filling defect areas and 15 cases (14.85%) with pseudocapsules.Grade Ⅲ and Grade Ⅳ were the main vascular patterns in maglinant tumors.In early parenchymal phase,6 RAMLs (31.58%) were nebulous with dendritic in part,12 cases(63.16%) were reticular on the basis of nebulous with homogeneous internal structures.The vascular pattern was shown better in 3D-CEUS than CEUS.Conclusions 3D-CEUS can provide clear stereoscopic structures and morphological characteristics of the lesions,it is a useful adjuvant of CEUS for the diagnosis of renal tumors.

Objective To investigate the effect of gene transfection to mice's muscle combining polyethyleneimine (PEI) with ultrasound (US)-targeted microbubble (MB) destruction (UTMD).Methods Twenty-five female Balb/c mice were divided into 5 groups (5 mice per group) randomly.Plasmid DNA (20 μg) encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used as expresion vector.The transfection materials were injected into the bilateral tibialis anterior muscles of mice respectively and delivered as follows:(a) untreated control,(b) plasmid + US,(c) plasmid + US + MB,(d) plasmid + PEI,(e) plasmid + PEI + US,(f) plasmid + PEI + MB+ US.SonoVue MB was used at a final concentration of 30％ (v/v).The acoustic intensity and duty cycle were optimized before the study and set at 2.0 W/cm2 and 50％ respectively.Transfection efficiency was assessed by counting the number of GFP-positive fibers under fluorescence microscopy 10 days after gene delivery.Hematoxylin-Eosin staining was performed on separate specimen and examined with light microscopy for tissue damage.Results No GFP-positive fiber was found in the untreated control group.There were 14 ± 3,58 ± 6,96 ± 7,119 ± 11 and 158 ± 18 GFP-positive fibers respectively found in plasmid+ US,plasmid + MB + US,plasmid + PEI,plasmid + PEI + US,and plasmid + PEI + MB + US groups.The plasmid + PEI + MB + US group had the maximal GFP-positive fibers,the differences were significant compared with other groups (P ＜0.05).No evidence of inflammation or necrosis was revealed in histological examination with hematoxylin-eosin staining.Conclusions PEI combining with UTMD can significantly improve efficiency of gene transfection in vivo and has great potential in gene therapy.

Objective To investigate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography(CEUS) for differential diagnosis of focal splenic solid lesions.Methods Thirty-two patients with 32 focal splenic lesions were examined with CEUS.The enhancement phases and perfusion were observed.Each group has 16 patients.Results The contrast media extincted more quickly in malignant lesions than in benign ones.The peak time and initial decreasing time of the malignant lesions were (19.7±4.5)s and (29.7±10.9)s.The opposite time of the benign lesions were (24.2±4.4)s and (50.9±22.8)s.The initial decreasing time of the malignant lesions was earlier than that of the benign ones.The enhancement pattern was similar between the two groups.More lesions can be detected after CEUS.The number of the lesions was 111 before CEUS and 142 after CEUS.Conclusions CEUS is useful in the differential diagnosis of splenic lesions.

Objective To analyze the hemodynamic changes with color Doppler flow imaging(CDFI) after liver transplantation. Methods One hundred fifty-six patients with transplanted livers were included. Hepatic morphology and parenehyma was investigated with B-mode ultrasound, and the patency of hepatic anastomosis was assessed with CDFI. Hemodynamic parameters were also measured. Results It showed increased parenchyma echogenicity during the early period after liver transplantation. Hepatic hemodynamies changed as follows: peak systolic velocity of portal vein was high in the first day after operation, and then it progressively decreased; the peak systolic velocity of hepatic artery was not changed during the follow-up period;the resistance index of hepatic artery was a little higher in the first day after liver transplantation, then it decreased ( P<0.05 ). Conclusions CDFI is valuable in evaluating hepatic hemodynamic changes after liver transplantation.

Objective To evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with high mechanical index(MI) in the diagnosis of renal artery stenosis(RAS). Methods Twenty-one patients with RAS including 3 patients after renal transplantation were studied. Ultrasound contrast agent SonoVue was used and MI was set at about 1 when the CEUS was performed. All patients were examined with conventional color Doppler sonography and CEUS. The diagnostic results of ultrasound were compared with those of intravenous digital subtraction angiography ( DSA), CT angiography(CTA) and MR angiography (MRA). Results The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of conventional color Doppler sonography were 85. 7%, 57. 1 % , 80. 0% , 66. 7% and 76. 2%, respectively, those of CEUS were 100%, 66.7%, 88.2%, 100% and 90.5%, respectively. Conclusions CEUS with high MI which improves the imaging of renal artery depicts the margin of the vascular lumen directly and clearly. It may be more helpful in the diagnosis of RAS.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of Yingqiling for Graves disease(GD)and to explore its therapeutic mechanism.Methods Eighty GD patients were equally randomized into two groups.The treatment group received oral use of Yingqiling Tablets(mainly composed of Radix Pseudostellafiae,Radix Astragali,Radix Ophiopogonis,Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis,Spica Prunellae,Semen Ziziphi Spinosae,Concha Ostreae, Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii,Radix Ranunculi Ternati,Radix Scrophulariae,Radix Paeoniae Rubra and Thiamazole 1 mg),and the control group received Thiamazole Tablets.After treatment for 2 months,the therapeutic effect was evaluated and the changes of serum levels of thyroglobulin antibodies(TGAb),thyroid peroxidase antibody(TPO-Ab),and the apoptosis-associated factors of soluble Fas(sFas)and bcl-2 were observed before and after treatment.Results Twenty-one patients were clinically effective,13 markedly effective,6 effective,0 ineffective,and the total effective rate was 100% in the treatment group;14 patients were clinically effective,13 markedly effective,7 effective,6 ineffective,and the total effective rate was 85.0% in the control group.The effect in the treatment group was superior to the control group(P

Objective To probe the correlation between the short-axis diameter(SD) of coagulation necosis and the microwave power(P) using a new type of internally cooled microwave antenna in ex vivo and in vivo liver model.Methods Fourteen microwave ablations were performed in swine livers ex vivo and canine livers in vivo under the microwave powers of 30-90W and the durations of 10 min and 20 min, respectively.The short-axis diameter(SD) and the long-axis diameter(LD) of the coagulation were measured.The difference of SD, LD and SD/LD in swine liver ex vivo and canine liver in vivo were compared.The relationship between the SD and microwave power was analysised using linear regression model.Results Under the same conditions,the SDs and LDs of the coagulations of canine livers in vivo were smaller than those of swine livers in ex vivo (P <0.01).There was such a higher linear relationship(r = 0.96-0.99, P <0.01) between the SD of coagulation and the power in vivo liver model as the results acquired in ex vivo.Conclusions Although the blood flow decreased the SDs of the coagulation of microwave ablation in liver in vivo, but there was still a higher linear relationship between SD and microwave power.