Objective To analyze the CT features of hepatic artery and morphology changes of the liver in patients with cavernous transformation of the portal vein (CTPV). Methods Thirteen patients of CTPV without malignant hepatic tumor or other diseases being able to cause changes of hepatic artery such as cirrhosis and hepatophyma were collected. CT data was analyzed, and the arterial and morphology changes of the liver were observed. Results Left and (or) right hepatic arteries were found dilated in 10 patients (76.92%), and unusual flake like enhancement was found in artery phase in 3 patients (23.08%). Atrophy-hypertrophy complex (AHC) could be found only in 1 patient (7.69%). Conclusion Dilatation of hepatic artery manifests more hepatic artery blood supply, while obvious AHC is hardly found in CTPV.

Objective To determinate whether the first post-operative day serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) is more effective than serum calcium in predicting hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy.Methods According to PTH level on the first post-operative day,104 patients after total thyroidectomy were divided into different groups.Patient's serum calcium was measured,the number of patients who developed hypocalcemia and the time for calcium supplement were recored.Results Serum PTH was more accurate in predicting hypocalcemia than serum calcium.There were 26 patients whose PTH value was ＜ 5 pg/ml,among whom 7 patients had transient hypocalcemia and symptoms,while 5 of them developed hypocalcemia for long time and needed long-term calcium supplement.The positive predictive value of group PTH value ＜ 5 pg/ml was 28％,and the accurate rate was 46％,higher than other groups.Besides,the positive predictive value and the accurate rate of PTH value ＜ 5 pg/ml was higher than serum calcium.Conclusion Serum PTH is more effective in determining hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy than serum calcium,and PTH value ＜ 5 pg/ml on the first post-operative day is a reliable marker in predicting hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of covered metallic stents in the management of proximal esophageal strictures.Methods Retrievable covered self-expanding metallic stents were inserted individually in 43 patients with malignant strictures of the proximal esophagus.Main outcome measures included improvement of dysphagia,sealing of fistula and complications were evaluated.Results A total of 45 stents were placed in 43 patients,with a success rate of 95.6％ (43/45) at the first stent placement attempt.The dysphagia score improved significantly from 3.3 ± 0.6 to 1.8 ± 0.9 (P ＜ 0.001),with 18 having an excellent response and 25 having a good response.Improvement rate of dysphagia was 95.6％ (43/45).Fistula sealing was achieved in 7 of 9 patients (77.8％).Early complications included severe pain (n =5),mediastinal emphysema (n =1),moderate fever (n =9) and collapse of the proximal end of the stent (n =1),while late complications included migration (n =3) and tissue overgrowth (n =6).Conclusion Retrievable covered metallic stent placement is effective and safe for the palliation of obstructive dysphagia and sealing of fistulas in malignant proximal esophageal strictures.

Objective To study the effects of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene transfection on endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) transplantation in the process of injured vascular endothelium repair. Methods EPCs were cultured and expanded in vitro. EPCs were transduced with pseudotyped retroviral vectors expressing eNOS gene (pMCV-eNOS-EPCs) or green fluorescent protein gene (pMCV-GFP-EPCs). EPCs with expressing eNOS, GFP or saline were injected respectively into rat injured artery model by tail vein injection after balloon injury and again 24 hours. 14 days after transplantation. eNOS expression in injured artery was detected by RT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemical methods. The morphology of arterial intima and media was studied by optical microscopy and image analysis system. Results Compared with GFP-EPCs group and control group, the mRNA and protein of eNOS were obviously high expressed in eNOS-EPCs group. EPCs transplantation reduce lumen stenosis and inhibit neointimalhyperplasia (eNOS-EPCs group vs.control group, 0.58±0.05 vs. 1.56±0.21, P < 0.01;GFP-EPCs group vs. control group, 0.84±0.09 vs.1.56±0.21, P < 0.05). eNOS gene transfection could further enhance this anti-proliferative effects (eNOS-EPCs group vs. GFP-EPCsgroup,0.58±0.05 vs. 0.84±0.09, P < 0.05). Furthermore, eNOS modified EPCs could improve the endothelial function of injured vascular endothelium. Conclusions eNOS gene transfection could increase the anti-proliferative effect of EPCs transplantation on injured artery and obviously ameliorate endothelial function.

Objective:To review the treatment of life threatening head and neck space infection.Methods:Retrospective was con-ducted to analyse the patient characterization,signs and symptoms at the time of presentation,presence of concomitant systemic co-morbidities,treatment,prognosis and bacteriology.Results:32 patients from 2007.01 to 2013.01(mean age was 57.71 years)were included.The cases were increased year by year.1 1 (34.37%)patients had breathing difficulty requiring tracheostomy and 19 (59.3%)had concomitant systemic comorbidities.23 cases recovered completely,8 with severe mediastinal infection were trans-ferred to the department of thoracic surgery or the department of respiratory medicine.1 patient died.Pus submission rate was 96.87%,the bacteria detection rate was 37.50%.Pus culture showed mixed infection dominated by streptococci.Staphylococcus au-reus,pseudomonas aeruginosa,enterococcus faecalis,prevotella and neisseria were detected.Conclusion:Annually incidence of life threatening head and neck space infection is increasing.Treatment of the infection should include:①Ensuring the airway patency;②Surgical incision and drainage as early as possible;③ Hypoglycemic control,maintenance of hemodynamic,nutritional support,and multi-disciplinary approach are the key points in the management of such infections;④ Systemic antibiotics.

Adult ; Benzene ; poisoning ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Occupational Diseases

Objective To investigate the influence of interferon-a therapy on CD8 T memory subsets in patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB) and correlation between the effect of IFN-α and CD8 T memory subsets. Methods Blood samples from 57 patients with CHB were collected before treatment (0 week), at 12 weeks and 24 weeks of treatment with pegylated IFN-α. Assays were performed on freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PBMCs). For phenotype analysis, All data were acquired on a flow cytometer instrument and prepared for analysis. Results A significantly higher frequency of CD8+ TEM and lower frequency of CD8+ TCM in inactive HBsAg carriers than that in CHB patients prior to treatment was observed (P <0.05). The proportion of CD8 + TCM was higher in group nonresponders than in group respond-ers, and the proportion of CD8 + TEM was lower in group nonresponders than in group responders (P < 0.05 ). The average dosage of IFN-α applied to patients with response was significantly higher than nonresponders. Conclusion The dominance of circulating effector memory T cells may be associated with elimination of viral infection, and possibly benefit for response to therapy with IFN-α.

Adult ; Benzene ; poisoning ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Humans ; Occupational Diseases ; diagnosis

Objective:Esophageal cancer has high morbidity in China, and surgery is the main treatment for this disease. Postop-erative nutrition is also important for the patients. In this article, we discuss the possibility of retrosternal route gastrostomy feeding (RGF). Methods: The data of 127 esophageal cancer patients between 2011 and 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. RGF was per-formed in all the patients, and post-operation complications were studied. Results: Bowel obstruction, catheter displacement, and wound infection did not occur. Conclusion:RGF is a safe and effective nutrition method for patients who underwent retrosternal recon-struction.

Objective:To investigate the value of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted quantitative measurement in evaluation of the dynamic changes of CT for COVID-19 pneumonia.Methods:The clinical and chest CT dynamic imaging data of 99 patients with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia who were hospitalized in Wuhan Central Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 15, 2020 to March 10, 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the definitive diagnosis, the 99 patients were classified into common ( n=36), severe ( n=33) and critical ( n=30) type, the CT imaging findings of each type were analyzed, including CT basic signs, total volume of pneumonia lesions and percentage of pneumonia lesions of the total lung volume (volume ratio). AI software was used to quantitatively evaluate the dynamic changes of chest CT images. The quantitative indicators included CT peak time of lesions, total volume of lesions peak, volume ratio of lesions peak, maximum growth rate of total volume and maximum growth rate of volume ratio. Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was used to compare the difference of quantitative indexes between the 3 types, and χ 2 test or Fisher exact probability test was used to compare the difference of qualitative indexes between the 3 types. Sequence measurement and scatter plots were used to show the evolution trend of the volume ratio of the three types of COVID-19 pneumonia lesions. The ROC curve was used to analyze the value of the volume ratio of pneumonia lesions and its maximum growth rate in predicting the conversion of common pneumonia to severe or critical pneumonia. Results:There were statistically significant differences in age and gender distribution among patients with common, severe and critical COVID-19 ( P<0.05), the age of severe and critical types were significantly higher than that of common type ( P<0.01). Compared with common [2.5 (1.0, 5.0) d] and critical type[2.5 (1.0, 4.0) d], the time from onset to the first chest CT scan of severe type was prolonged [5.0 (2.5, 8.0) d, P<0.01]. There were statistically significant differences in involvement of multiple lung lobes (20 cases, 29 cases, 25 cases, χ2=10.403, P=0.006) in patients with common, severe and critical COVID-19 at the first scan, the incidence of the involvement of multiple lung lobes in severe and critical types was significantly higher than that of common type ( P=0.002). The volume ratios of patients with common, severe and critical COVID-19 at the first scan were statistically significant [1.0% (0.2%, 4.7%), 9.30% (1.63%, 26.83%), 2.10% (0.64%, 8.61%), Z=14.236, P=0.001], and the volume ratio of severe type was significantly higher than that of common type ( P<0.001), there was no statistically significant difference between common type and critical type ( P=0.062). Follow-up CT showed that the pneumonia lesions showed a dynamic transformation of progress and recovery, and it was seen that the coexistence of multiphase lesions. The trend line in the scatter plot of the three types of COVID-19 pneumonia lesions showed that the lesions in the advanced stage developed from less to more. The lesion peak volume ratios of the common, severe and critical types were 9.75% (4.83%, 13.18%), 29.80% (23.99%, 42.36%) and 61.81% (43.73%, 72.82%), respectively, the difference was statistically significant ( Z=74.147, P<0.001). The maximum growth rates of lesion volume ratio were 1.27% (0.50%, 1.81%)/d, 4.39% (3.16%, 5.54%)/d and 6.02% (4.77%, 9.96%)/d, respectively, the difference was statistically significant ( Z=52.453, P<0.001). The peak times of lesions were 12.0 (9.0, 15.0) d, 13.0 (10.0, 16.0) d and 16.5 (12.0, 25.0)d, respectively, the difference was statistically significant ( Z=9.524, P=0.009). Taking the volume ratio of pneumonia lesion 22.60% and the maximum growth rate of the volume ratio 1.875%/d as the boundary value, the sensitivity of diagnosing common type to severe or critical type was 92.10% and 96.83%, and the specificity was 100% and 80.56%, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.987 and 0.925, respectively. Conclusions:The lesions of COVID-19 pneumonia show a similar parabolic change on CT imaging. The use of AI technology to dynamitcally and accurately measure the CT pneumonia lesion volume ratio is helpful to evaluate the severity of the disease and predict the development trend of the disease. Patients with a rapid growth of volume ratio are more likely to become severe or critical type.