This report presented a case of disseminated infection with nocardia in lupus erythematosus (SLE) and reviewed the current literature. Nocardiosis was a rare, sometimes life-threatening opportunistic infection in SLE patients. The isolation and identification of pathogen was fundamental for the diagnosis of nocardiosis. Sulfonamides were traditionally the agent of choice for treatment of nocardiosis; while it must be given for several months even more than one year, particularly in patients with suppressed immune function. Issues regarding the drug resistance and the toxicity of sulfonamides in long-term therapy needed to be considered. Linezolid could be an effective agent for the treatment of nocardiosis, whether it could reduce the treatment course need to be further studied.

Scene teaching is to simulate the clinical scene in class.To cultivate the studnts’abilities of thinking,search and practice in clinical practice,the second clinical college ap-plied the problem-base learning(PBL) in surgery teaching,creating the scene with the standard-ized patients and teachers and drawing out the content from the problems.This article is to summarize the teaching practice.

Objective To observe the effect of scalp nerve block ( SNB ) with ropivacaine hydrochloride at different time points on pain management after craniotomy. Methods Ninety patients undergoing craniotomy were randomly divided into 3 groups:group A, SNB conducted before surgery;group B, SNB conducted after surgery;group C, SNB conducted both before and after surgery, with 0. 5% of ropivacaine hydrochloride in each group. All patients received the same general anesthesia and diclofenac sodium were administered rectally as rescue analgesics. Sites and duration of surgeries, end-tidal sevoflurane concentration during incision, HR and SBP levels during the course of surgery and postoperative period, the VAS scores, GCS and Ramsay scores at 0. 5, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48 h postoperatively, time of the first rescue appication analgesics and total consumption of rescue analgesics, the adverse effects, awareness under anesthesia were analyzed respectively, as well as local anesthesia relevant adverse events and time of wound healing. Results The end-tidal sevoflurane concentration was significantly decreased in group B (3. 19±0. 36)% as compared with group A (1. 81±0. 24)% and C (1. 77±0. 33)% (P<0. 05);The VAS scores of group A (3. 77±2. 27, 4. 20±2. 09) at 2 and 4 h were higher than those in group B (2. 77±1. 98, 3. 20±2. 20) and C (2. 97±1. 77,2. 27±1. 93) (P<0. 05), while at other time points the differences were not significant (P>0. 05);Compared with group A (600 mg), the consumption of rescue analgesics of group B (300 mg) and C (250 mg) were statistically lower (P<0. 05);Vital signs, GCS, Ramsay scores, time of the first rescue analgesics postoperatively used, and time of wound healing among the three groups were not various significantly (P>0. 05);The relevant side effects were not different statistically, and there were no patients suffering from obvious awareness under anesthesia, pruritus, respiratory depression or local anesthesia relevant adverse effects. Conclusion SNB conducted before surgery can decrease the consumption of sevoflurane during incision, but has limited analgesic effects postoperatively. SNB conducted after surgery may provide transitional analgesia for neurosurgical patients undergoing craniotomy, while SNB conducted both before and after surgery does not show significantly longer analgesic time in postoperative pain management.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of splenectomy on cellular immune function of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) related cirrhotic portal hypertension.MethodsTwelve patients with HCV-related cirrhotic portal hypertension undergoing splenectomy + pericardial devascularization in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University between December 2011 and December 2013 were enrolled in this prospective study. Among the 12 patients, 4 were males and 8 were females withthe average age of (55±8) years old. Moreover, 12 healthy people were enrolled in the control group. The informed consents of all patients were obtained and the local ethical committee approval had been received. Percentage of natural killer (NK) cell, natural killer T (NKT) cell, CD4+ cell, CD8+T cell and CD4+/CD8+ ratio in peripheral blood before and 2, 6 weeks after splenectomy were observed. The comparison on different lymphocyte subsets was conducted using Wilcoxon rank-sum test.ResultsThe percentage of CD3-CD56+CD16+ NK cell 6 weeks after splenectomy was 7.7%, which was signiifcantly higher than 6.2% before splenectomy (T=1.992,P<0.05). And the percentage of CD56dim NK cell 2 and 6 weeks after splenectomy was respectively 94.9% and 96.4%, which was signiifcantly higher than 87.9%before splenectomy (T=2.747, 2.201;P<0.05). The percentage of CD56bright NK cell 2 and 6 weeks after splenectomy was respectively 3.8% and 2.4%, which was signiifcantly lower than 9.2% before splenectomy (T=2.747, 2.201;P<0.05). The percentage of CD3+CD56+ NKT cell 2 and 6 weeks after splenectomy was respectively 7.3% and 7.0%, which was significantly higher than 6.5% before splenectomy (T=2.275, 1.572;P<0.05). Percentage of CD4+ T cell 2 weeks after splenectomy was 41.7%, which was signiifcantly lower than 45.7% before splenectomy (T=3.059,P<0.05), and further decreased to 26.7% 6 weeks after splenectomy (T=2.201,P<0.05), while percentage of CD8+ T cell increased from 21.1% before splenectomy to 24.8% 2 weeks after splenectomy (T=2.432,P<0.05), and further increased to 35.3% 6 weeks after splenectomy (T=1.992,P<0.05). The CD4+/CD8+ ratio before splenectomy was 2.0 and decreased to 1.4 and 0.8 respectively 2 and 6 weeks after splenectomy (T=2.981, 1.992;P<0.05).ConclusionThe cellular immune function of patients with HCV related cirrhotic portal hypertension after splenectomy improves signiifcantly.

Objective:To identify whether splenectomy for treatment of hypersplenism has any impact on development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) among patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatitis.Methods:Patients who underwent splenectomy for hypersplenism secondary to liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension between January 2008 and December 2012 were included from seven hospitals in China, whereas patients receiving medication treatments for liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension (non-splenectomy) at the same time period among the seven hospitals were included as control groups. In the splenectomy group, all the patients received open or laparoscopic splenectomy with or without pericardial devascularization. In contrast, patients in the control group were treated conservatively for liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension with medicines (non-splenectomy) with no invasive treatments, such as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, splenectomy or liver transplantation before HCC development. All the patients were routinely screened for HCC development with abdominal ultrasound, liver function and alpha-fetoprotein every 3 to 6 months. To minimize the selection bias, propensity score matching (PSM) was used to match the baseline data of patients among splenectomy versus non-splenectomy groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the overall survival and cumulative incidence of HCC development, and the Log-rank test was used to compare the survival or disease rates between the two groups. Univariate and Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze the potential risk factors associated with development of HCC.Results:A total of 871 patients with liver cirrhosis and hypertension were included synchronously from 7 tertiary hospitals. Among them, 407 patients had a history of splenectomy for hypersplenism (splenectomy group), whereas 464 patients who received medical treatment but not splenectomy (non-splenectomy group). After PSM,233 pairs of patients were matched in adjusted cohorts. The cumulative incidence of HCC diagnosis at 1,3,5 and 7 years were 1%,6%,7% and 15% in the splenectomy group, which was significantly lower than 1%,6%,15% and 23% in the non-splenectomy group ( HR=0.53,95% CI:0.31 to 0.91, P=0.028). On multivariable analysis, splenectomy was independently associated with decreased risk of HCC development ( HR=0.55, 95%CI:0.32 to 0.95, P=0.031). The cumulative survival rates of all the patients at 1,3,5,and 7 years were 100%,97%,91%,86% in the splenectomy group,which was similar with that of 100%,97%,92%,84% in the non-splenectomy group ( P=0.899). In total,49 patients (12.0%) among splenectomy group and 75 patients (16.2%) in non-splenectomy group developed HCC during the study period, respectively. Compared to patients in non-splenectomy group, patients who developed HCC after splenectomy were unlikely to receive curative resection for HCC (12.2% vs. 33.3%,χ2=7.029, P=0.008). Conclusion:Splenectomy for treatment of hypersplenism may decrease the risk of HCC development among patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

Objective:To identify whether splenectomy for treatment of hypersplenism has any impact on development of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) among patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatitis.Methods:Patients who underwent splenectomy for hypersplenism secondary to liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension between January 2008 and December 2012 were included from seven hospitals in China, whereas patients receiving medication treatments for liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension (non-splenectomy) at the same time period among the seven hospitals were included as control groups. In the splenectomy group, all the patients received open or laparoscopic splenectomy with or without pericardial devascularization. In contrast, patients in the control group were treated conservatively for liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension with medicines (non-splenectomy) with no invasive treatments, such as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, splenectomy or liver transplantation before HCC development. All the patients were routinely screened for HCC development with abdominal ultrasound, liver function and alpha-fetoprotein every 3 to 6 months. To minimize the selection bias, propensity score matching (PSM) was used to match the baseline data of patients among splenectomy versus non-splenectomy groups. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the overall survival and cumulative incidence of HCC development, and the Log-rank test was used to compare the survival or disease rates between the two groups. Univariate and Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze the potential risk factors associated with development of HCC.Results:A total of 871 patients with liver cirrhosis and hypertension were included synchronously from 7 tertiary hospitals. Among them, 407 patients had a history of splenectomy for hypersplenism (splenectomy group), whereas 464 patients who received medical treatment but not splenectomy (non-splenectomy group). After PSM,233 pairs of patients were matched in adjusted cohorts. The cumulative incidence of HCC diagnosis at 1,3,5 and 7 years were 1%,6%,7% and 15% in the splenectomy group, which was significantly lower than 1%,6%,15% and 23% in the non-splenectomy group ( HR=0.53,95% CI:0.31 to 0.91, P=0.028). On multivariable analysis, splenectomy was independently associated with decreased risk of HCC development ( HR=0.55, 95%CI:0.32 to 0.95, P=0.031). The cumulative survival rates of all the patients at 1,3,5,and 7 years were 100%,97%,91%,86% in the splenectomy group,which was similar with that of 100%,97%,92%,84% in the non-splenectomy group ( P=0.899). In total,49 patients (12.0%) among splenectomy group and 75 patients (16.2%) in non-splenectomy group developed HCC during the study period, respectively. Compared to patients in non-splenectomy group, patients who developed HCC after splenectomy were unlikely to receive curative resection for HCC (12.2% vs. 33.3%,χ2=7.029, P=0.008). Conclusion:Splenectomy for treatment of hypersplenism may decrease the risk of HCC development among patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension.