OBJECTIVETo evaluate stress changes of intervertebral space and adjacent intervertebral space after artificial disc replacement with angles.

METHODSArtificial disc replacement with angles were designed according to existing data. Axial pressure, flexion/extension, lateral bending and torsion loading were applied on finite element models of normal cervical discs on C4,5 segments, C4,5 segments with 0 degrees artificial cervical discs and C4,5 segments with 10 degrees artificial cervical discs, then stress changes of C4,5 space was observed. The same loadings were applied on finite element models of normal cervical discs on C4-C6 segments, C4,5 segments with 0 degrees, C4,5 segments with 10 degrees, then stress changes of replaced segments space and adjacent segment space were observed.

RESULTSFor C4,5 segments, 80 MPa/0 degrees artificial discs and 80 MPa/10 degrees artificial discs had the similar equivalent shear stress (Se), and were both larger than that of normal discs, when lateral bending were performed, 80 MPa/0 degrees artificial discs were closed to normal discs when axial pressure and flexion/extension were carried out, while 80 MPa/10 degrees artificial discs had a larger Se than that of normal ones,when torsion loading were applied, Szx/Szy stress of 80 MPa/0 degrees and 80 MPa/10 degrees artificial discs were closed to normal ones. For C4-C6 segments, the axial pressure, flexion/extension and lateral bending of C5,6 were all lower than normal discs after C4,5 discs were replaced by 80 MPa/10 degrees artificial discs, while Szx/Szy of torsion loading were closed to normal ones.

CONCLUSIONArtificial discs with 10 degrees have less influences on stress of adjacent intervertebral space and closer to mechanical property after being implanted into intervertebral space.

Cervical Vertebrae ; surgery ; Humans ; Stress, Mechanical ; Total Disc Replacement ; methods

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of ganciclovir therapy for congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in newborn infants.

METHODSThe randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs on ganciclovir therapy for congenital CMV were reviewed in the following electronic databases: PubMed (January 1988 to January 2009), EMbase (January 1988 to January 2009), the Cochrane library (Issue 3, 2003 and Issue 1, 2009), the Chinese Journals Full-text Database (January 1994 to January 2009), the Chinese Biological Medical Disc (January 1994 to January 2009) and the Chinese Medical Current Contents (January 1994 to January 2009). Quality assessment, data extraction, and meta analysis were performed.

RESULTSTen papers were included. Meta analysis showed that the ganciclovir therapy increased the improvement rate (91.4% vs 34.0%; p<0.01) and led CMV infection indexes to become negative in more patients (87.6% vs 15.3%; p<0.01) and decreased incidence of hearing disturbance (4.7% vs 37.2%; p<0.01) as compared with the non-ganciclovir therapy control group. The incidence of the ganciclovir-therapy-related side effects was low.

CONCLUSIONSGanciclovir treatment may increase the improvement rate and the rate of CMV infection indexes becoming negative, and decrease incidence of hearing disturbance, with few side effects, in newborn infants with CMV infection. However the supporting evidence is not strong due to few trials and more high-quality research is needed.

Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; complications ; congenital ; drug therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Ganciclovir ; therapeutic use ; Hearing Disorders ; etiology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of monitoring the renal pelvic pressure( RPP) and regulating the manual perfusion pressure in flexible ureteroscope holmium laser lithotripsy. Methods A total of 189 patients with upper urinary tract calculi treated by RIRS in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed from August 2014 to August 2017. The renal pelvic pressure was monitored during RIRS in 136 cases( monitored group) whereas no monitoring occurred in the rest 53 cases( unmonitored group) . The monitored group was divided into two sub-groups of 49 cases named high-pressure group(the cumulative time of renal pelvis pressure upon 40 cmH2O≥1 min) and 87 ca-ses named low-pressure group respectively. The morbidity of postoperative fever ( T≥38. 5℃) was evaluated statistically between monitored group and unmonitored group,meanwhile between high-pressure group and low-pressure group. Results Postoperative fever did not correlate to age,sex,involved kidney,and postoperative urinary tract infection. Whether renal pelvic pressure was monitored or not,infection calculi, duration of operation and whether the cumulative time of renal pelvis pressure upon 40cmH2O≥1 min contributed to postoperative fever. The rate of postoperative fever in unmonitored group was higher than monitored group while the same between high-pressure group and low-pres-sure group,with statistically significant difference(P<0. 05). Conclusion Monitoring the intraoperative RRP and regulating the manual perfusion pressure during RIRS has positive significance in postoperative recovery and contribute to reducing postoperative fever.

Purpose: This study was performed to establish and validate a nomogram for predicting the overall survival in children with neuroblastoma. Methods: The latest clinical data of neuroblastoma in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was extracted from 2000 to 2016. The cases included were randomly divided into training and validation cohorts. The survival curves were drawn with a Kaplan-Meier estimator to investigate the influences of certain single factors on overall survival. Also, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression was applied to further select the prognostic variables for neuroblastoma. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration curves were used to evaluate the accuracy of the nomogram. Results: In total, 1,262 patients were collected and 8 independent prognostic factors were achieved, including patients’ age, sex, race, tumor grade, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, tumor site, and tumor size. Then we constructed a nomogram by using the data of the training cohort with 886 cases. Subsequently, the nomogram was validated internally and externally with 886 and 376 cases, respectively. The internal validation revealed that the area under the curves (AUC) of ROC curves of 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival were 0.69, 0.78, and 0.81, respectively. Accordingly, the external validation also showed that the AUC of 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival were all ≥0.69. Both methods of validation demonstrated that the predictive calibration curves were consistent with standard curves. Conclusion The nomogram possess the potential to be a new tool in predicting the survival rate of neuroblastoma patients.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome