ObjectiveTo evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced harmonic EUS (CEH-EUS) by using a second-generation contrast medium in differential diagnosis of pancreatic occupying lesions.MethodsPatients with suspected pancreatic neoplasms or chronic pancreatitis were enrolled and underwent CEH-EUS by using ultrasonic contrast medium Sonovue.Cytological and/or histological diagnoses were made by EUS-FNA and the final follow-up results.Characteristics of enhancement of the target areas,such as enhancement sequence,time features,pattern grade and venous elution degree were investigated.ResultsA total of 23 patients were enrolled,in which 13 were diagnosed with FNA as having pancreatic cancer,7 with chronic pancreatitis,2 with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms and 1 with microcystic serous cystadenoma.The accuracy of CEH-EUS was 95.65％,which was significantly higher than that of conventional EUS (78.2％).Enhancement of pancreatic cancer by CEH-EUS was later than or simultaneous with the nearby tissues,with heterogeneous low enhancement or fulfillment defect areas,and early subsidence without obvious peak.Enhancement of benign pancreatic diseases was simultaneous with the surrounding tissues,with homogenous fulfillment and simultaneous subsidence.ConclusionCEH-EUS is safe,convenient and accurate in diagnosis of pancreatic occupying lesions and can be used as an additional diagnostic method to EUSFNA.

Purpose: Whether COVID-19 reduces male fertility remains requires further investigation. This meta-analysis and systematic review evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on male fertility. Materials and Methods: The literature in PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to January 01, 2022 was systematically searched, and a meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on male fertility. Totally 17 studies with a total of 1,627 patients and 1,535 control subjects were included in our meta-analysis. Results: Regarding sperm quality, COVID-19 decreased the total sperm count (p=0.012), sperm concentration (p=0.001), total motility (p=0.001), progressive sperm motility (p=0.048), and viability (p=0.031). Subgroup analyses showed that different control group populations did not change the results. It was found that during the illness stage of COVID-19, semen volume decreased, and during the recovery stage of COVID-19, sperm concentration and total motility decreased <90 days. We found that sperm concentration and total motility decreased during recovery for ≥90 days. Fever because of COVID-19 significantly reduced sperm concentration and progressive sperm motility, and COVID-19 without fever ≥90 days, the sperm total motility and progressive sperm motility decreased. Regarding disease severity, the moderate type of COVID-19 significantly reduced sperm total motility, but not the mild type. Regarding sex hormones, COVID-19 increased prolactin and estradiol. Subgroup analyses showed that during the illness stage, COVID-19 decreased testosterone (T) levels and increased luteinizing hormone levels. A potential publication bias may have existed in our meta-analysis. Conclusions COVID-19 in men significantly reduced sperm quality and caused sex hormone disruption. COVID-19 had long-term effects on sperm quality, especially on sperm concentration and total motility. It is critical to conduct larger multicenter studies to determine the consequences of COVID-19 on male fertility.

Objective To investigate the expression of proline rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2) in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer,and analyze its correlation to clinicopathologic features and prognosis of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.Methods 114 surgical specimens and 50 normal bladder mucosa specimens were collected from 114 non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients who underwent TURBT at our hospital,from June 2013 to March 2018.Of the 114 patients,63 were male and 51 were female,aged 42-87 years,average age of (63.6 ± 13.8) years,73 cases of tumor ＜3 cm,41 cases of tumor ≥3 cm,83 cases were single and 31 cases were multiple tumor,53 cases were high grade and 61 cases were low grade,59 cases were Ta and 55 cases were T1 stage.Pyk2 protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot.The correlation of the expression of Pyk2 with clinicopathologic features,including gender,age,tumor size,the number of tumors,histological grade and clinical stage were analyzed.Survival analysis was calculated by using the Kaplan-Meier method,and the difference in survival curve was analyzed by using the log-rank test.Association of Pyk2 expression with prognosis of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer analyzed by using the Cox proportional hazards regression model.Results Compared with normal bladder tissues,expression of Pyk2 protein was increased in bladder cancer tissue significantly(0.571 ±0.230 vs.0.253 ± 0.152,P ＜0.01).The expression of Pyk2 protein was closely related to clinical stage(P =0.027) and grade(P =0.010),rather than gender (P =0.275),age (P =0.419),tumor size (P =0.317),and tumor number(P =0.208).The recurrence rate in the Pyk2 positive group and negative group were 46.1％ (35/76)and 28.9％ (11/38)respectively.The progression rate in the Pyk2 positive group and negative group were 35.5％ (27/76) and 10.5 ％ (4/38) respectively.Survival analysis suggested expression of Pyk2 in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer had a significant relation to recurrence-free survival rate(P ＜0.001) and progression-free survival rate(P =0.003).In the multivariable Cox analysis,we found that Pyk2 protein was an independent predictor of recurrence-free survival rate(HR 0.245,95％ CI 0.078-0.768,P =0.016) and progression-free survival rate (HR 0.095,95％ CI 0.012-0.764,P =0.027).Conclusions The expression of Pyk2 in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer was significantly increased.The expression of Pyk2 has a significant relation to recurrence and progression of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.High Pyk2 expression is an independent prognostic factor in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Objective:To evaluate the performance, efficacy and safety of a novel portable endoscopy system for upper gastrointestinal examination.Methods:A multicentered, open-label, randomized, non-inferiority controlled study was conducted in 3 clinical research centers from June 2019 to June 2020, and a total of 90 outpatients admitted to Department of Gastroenterology were randomly assigned to the trial group ( n=44) undergoing portable endoscopy and the control group ( n=46) undergoing Olympus endoscopy. The examination success rate, image quality, performance, overall operation satisfaction rate, biopsy success rate and adverse events of the two groups were compared. Results:The examination success rates of the trial group and the control group were 97.73% (43/44) and 100.00% (46/46) respectively with a difference of -2.27% (95% CI: -6.68%-2.13%), higher than the set non-inferiority margin of -10%. Rates of good and excellent image quality were 100% in both groups, and the difference of 0 was higher than the set non-inferiority margin of -10%. There was no significant difference in the rate of good and excellent performance of the operating system between the two groups [97.67% (42/43) VS 100.00% (46/46), P=0.483]. There was significant difference in the overall satisfactory rate of the operation between the two groups [86.05% (37/43) VS 100.00% (46/46), P=0.011]. A total of 9 cases underwent endoscopic biopsy, including 5 cases in the trial group and 4 cases in the control group. The biopsy channels in both groups were smooth and the biopsy were successfully completed. There was no significant difference in adverse event rate between the two groups [25.00% (11/44) VS 10.87%(5/46), χ2=3.07, P=0.080]. All adverse events disappeared in 48 hours, and no severe adverse events or device defect events occurred. Conclusion:The novel portable endoscopic system is comparable to Olympus endoscopic system in terms of the operating performance, the image quality and safety. Therefore, this system is safe and effective for upper gastrointestinal examination.