Objective To analyze the efficacy of high-frequency ultrasound in the clinical diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS),and to study the suitable diagnostic indicators and criteria of CTS for Chinese population.Methods High-frequency ultrasound was used to scan the median nerves of 67 CTS wrists and 67 normal wrists at the entrance,the middle and the outlet of carpal tunnels,and measured the cross-sectional area,diameter and flattening rate.Statistical analysis was used to evaluate the sensitivity,specificity,and AUC of ROC curve of the different parts of carpal tunnels.Results Compared with normal subjects,the CTS patients has larger cross-sectional area,diameter and flattening value of the median nerve in different parts of the carpal tunnel,and the differences are statistically significant (all P＞0.05).Among the measured indicators,the cross-sectional area of the median nerve at the entrance of the carpal tunnel has a better AUC value and good diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.Conclusion High-frequency ultrasonography has potential clinical significance for CTS diagnosis.The cross-sectional area of the median nerve at the entrance of the carpal tunnel can be used as a CTS diagnostic indicator for Chinese population,and it has good diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.

Atherosclerosis(AS), characterized with the accumulation of lipids on the vessel wall, is an immune-related inflammatory disease which promotes the progression of cardiovascular diseases(CVD). The imbalance of Treg/Th17 accelerates the progression of AS. Yangyin Huoxue Prescription(YHF)is an efficient traditional Chinese medicine used in the treatment of AS, but the effects of YHF on the balance of immunity have still not been clarified. This project was designed to investigate the effects of YHF on the imbalance of Treg/Th17 and AS in ApoE-/- mice induced by high-fat diet(HFD). ApoE-/- mice were given HFD to induce AS and administered low-dose YHF(18 g/kg)or high-dose YHF(36 g/kg)for 20 weeks. Atherosclerotic plaque area was analyzed by oil red O staining. Serum lipids were measured by biochemical kits. Treg or Th17 cells in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry. mRNA and protein expression of Foxp3 and RORγt of aortas were determined by qRT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Splenic CD4+T cells of mice were isolated and activated by anti-CD3/CD28, and then treated with lipopolysaccharide(LPS)and YHF. The expression of mRNA and protein of Foxp3 and RORγt were detected by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence. It was found that YHF reduced the plaque area, decreased lipid level and increased the ratio of Treg cells in peripheral blood. Moreover, YHF increased mRNA or protein expression of Foxp3 in aortas in vivo or CD4+T cells in vitro while decreasing mRNA or protein expression of RORγt. These results suggested that YHF can regulate the imbalance of Treg/Th17 in ApoE-/- mice induced by HFD, and reduce the inflammatory stimulation of LPS on CD4+T cells, thereby improving AS.

Objective: To study the current development of thoracic surgery in China. Methods: Chinese Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Chinese Association for Thoracic Surgeons jointly conducted a network survey to directors of thoracic surgery departments in the tertiary hospitals in China from November to December 2018. The contents of the survey included the basic information of the hospital and the status of thoracic surgery department in the hospital. Rank sum test was used to compare the data between different regional hospitals Results: A total of 636 tertiary hospitals participated in the survey. The total number of beds for thoracic surgery departments was 30 646, with M(Q_R) of 40(20) (range: 3 to 393) for each hospital. The total number of thoracic surgeons was 6 747, with M(Q_R) of 9(6) (range: 1 to 75) in each hospital. In 2015, a total of 312 425 operations were performed in the 636 hospitals, with M(Q_R) of 268(484.5) (range: 4 to 8 320) for each hospital. The total number of lung cancer surgeries was 146 601 in 2015, with M(Q_R) of 100(216) (range: 0 to 6 911) operations in each hospital. The total number of esophageal cancer operations was 67 076, with M(Q_R) of 40(95) (range: 0 to 1 550) in each hospital. Minimal invasive thoracic surgery was performed in 94.3% (601/636) of the hospitals, with 86.6% (551/636) of hospitals carried out video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lobectomy. Among the hospitals performing VATS lobectomy, 89.3% (492/551) of them started to perform the technique after 2006, and 93.1% (513/551) of them do single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy. A total of 403 640 VATS lobectomies had been performed until 2015, including 163 682 cases of single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy. In 2015, 73.74% (108 116/146 601) lung cancer operations and 37.44% (25 110/67 076) of esophageal cancer resections were performed by minimally invasive technique. The development level of hospitals among eastern, middle and Western China was different significantly on number of doctors, number of total operations, number of lung cancer surgeries, proportion of minimally invasive lung cancer surgery, number of esophageal cancer surgeries, and proportion of minimally invasive esophageal cancer surgery (χ²∶7.65 to 60.8, all P<0.05). Conclusions The discipline of thoracic surgery, especially the minimally invasive thoracic surgery in China is now experiencing a rapid development. The proportion of minimally invasive lung cancer surgery is higher than that of in the developed countries. However, unbalanced development among different regions is still a great challenge in China.

The goal of gastrointestinal endoscopy anesthesia management is to effectively calm and re-lieve pain while minimizing related adverse reactions and ensuring patient safety.Hypoxemia is the most com-mon adverse event during painless gastrointestinalendoscopy,and severe hypoxemia can cause cardiac and brain accidents.Therefore,how to prevent and reduce the occurrence of hypoxemia isa hot topic in clinical re-search.This article reviews the methods of preventing and reducing hypoxemia in general painless gastrointes-tinal endoscopy,and provides a reference for the selection of appropriate sedation and ventilation strategies for general painless gastrointestinal endoscopy anesthesia.