Objective:To retrospectively analyze the clinical efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban alone or in combination with folic acid/methylprednisolone in the treatment of livedoid vasculopathy (LV) .Methods:Clinical data were retrospectively collected from LV patients who were treated with rivaroxaban alone or in combination at the Department of Dermatology, Kaifeng People's Hospital from April 2020 to September 2023. Before treatment, all the patients underwent serum folate and homocysteine tests. Folic acid therapy was given to patients with low folate levels; glucocorticoid therapy was given to patients with generalized skin lesions in the extremities in the acute stage or with dense inflammatory cell infiltration around the dermal vessels on histopathological examination. Clinical symptoms (erythema, ulceration and pain) were scored before and after 8 weeks of treatment. Adverse reactions were recorded during the treatment.Results:A total of 11 patients were collected, including 6 males and 5 females; their ages ranged from 15 to 73 (29.00 ± 17.85) years, and the disease duration ranged from 1 month to 4 years (13.36 ± 15.87 months). Among the 11 patients, 3 were treated with rivaroxaban combined with methylprednisolone and folate, 1 with rivaroxaban combined with methylprednisolone, 5 with rivaroxaban combined with folate, and 2 with rivaroxaban alone. The total score of clinical symptoms was 5.00 ± 2.28 points before treatment, and significantly decreased to 1.18 ± 0.75 points after 8 weeks of treatment with rivaroxaban alone or in combination ( t = 6.90, P = 0.001). In addition, the pain scores of 5 patients who reported pain dropped to 0 point after 8 weeks of treatment. One patient experienced coagulation abnormalities after 2 weeks of treatment, and the coagulation parameters returned to normal without special treatment after 4 weeks. Conclusion:Rivaroxaban alone or in combination with folic acid/methylprednisolone was effective for the treatment of LV with a good safety profile.

Wuwei Ganlu, a formula for medicated bath, consists of medicinal materials of Ephedra sinica, Platycladus orientalis, Myricaria squamosa, Artemisia carvifolia, and Rhododendron anthopogonoides, which is effective in inducing perspiration, resisting inflammation, relieving pain, regulating yellow water disease, and activating blood circulation. On this basis, a variety of formulas for Tibetan medicated bath have been derived for the treatment of diseases in internal organs, joints, nerves, etc. Modern studies have confirmed that Wuwei Ganlu has a good therapeutic efficacy on knee osteoarthritis(KOA). The present study explored the mechanism of Wuwei Ganlu in treating KOA based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Firstly, the chemical components of Wuwei Ganlu were obtained through literature mining and database retrieval, and corresponding potential targets were predicted according to the BATMAN-TCM database. The protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was obtained after the potential targets were input into the STRING database. The network function modules were analyzed by the Molecular Complex Detection(MCODE) algorithm, and the functions of the modules were annotated to analyze the action mode of Wuwei Ganlu. Secondly, the related targets of KOA were collected through the DisGeNET database, and the overlapping targets were confirmed to analyze the mechanism of Wuwei Ganlu in treating KOA. Finally, the key targets were selected for molecular docking with the main components of Wuwei Ganlu to verify the component-target interaction. A total of 550 chemical components and 1 365 potential targets of Wuwei Ganlu were obtained. PPI analysis indicated that this formula could exert the effects of oxidation-reduction, inflammation resistance, bone absorption, bone mineralization, etc. Nineteen common targets were obtained from the intersection of potential targets of Wuwei Ganlu and KOA disease targets. It was found that the Wuwei Ganlu mainly acts on nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB), interleukin-1 beta(IL1β), tumor necrosis factor(TNF), IL6, IL1 receptor antagonist(IL1 RN), and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase-2(PTGS2) to treat KOA. Among the 550 chemical components of Wuwei Ganlu, 252 potential active components were docked with TNF and 163 with PTGS2, indicating good binding of the components with potential key targets. The study preliminarily explored the mechanism of Wuwei Ganlu in treating KOA to provide a reference for the further development and utilization of Tibetan medicated bath that has been included in the UN Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Databases, Factual ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Osteoarthritis, Knee

OBJECTIVE: By comparing the clinical efficacy of short-segment and long-segment fixation for single-segment thoracic and lumbar spine III stage Kümmell disease to explore a more suitable fixed segment for the disease. METHODS: The clinical data of 46 patients with single-segment thoracic and lumbar spine III stage Kümmell disease treated from July 2013 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Forty-six patients were divided into short-segment fixation group(one vertebra above and below the diseased vertebra) and long-segment fixation group(two vertebrae on the upper and lower of the diseased vertebra) according to different methods of cement stick fixation. There were 25 patients in the short-segment fixation group, including 9 males and 16 females, with an average age of (75.3±4.5) years old, lumbar spine bone mineral density T-value of (-3.1±0.3) g/cm³, follow-up time of (13.0±2.3) months; there were 21 patients in long-segment fixation group, 6 males and 15 females, with an average age of (74.5±3.9) years old, lumbar spine bone mineral density T-value of (-3.2±0.3) g/cm³, follow-up time of (14.7±3.6) months.The gender, age, follow-up time, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, cement leakage, and the rate of adjacent vertebrae fractures were compared between two groups, as well as pain VAS score, ODI, and kyphosis angle before and after surgery. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, gender, bone density, pain VAS score, ODI, and kyphosis between two groups before surgery. The operation time and intraoperative blood loss of short-segment fixation group were less than that of long-segment fixation group. The pain VAS score, ODI and kyphosis of the two groups were significantly improved at 7 days after the operation and at the latest follow-up, there was no significant difference between two groups. There were no significant differences in bone cement leakage(9/25 vs 11/21) and adjacent vertebrae fractures(4/25 vs 3/21). CONCLUSIONS Both long-segment fixation and short-segment fixation can effectively relieve pain, correct kyphosis, improve functional index, and achieve better clinical results, but short-segment fixation has less operation time and less intraoperative blood. So single-segment thoracic and lumbar spine III stage Kümmell disease does not need to extend the fixed segment, short-segment fixation is more in line with clinical needs and worthy of further study.
Aged ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; Humans ; Kyphosis ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fractures ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To study effects of postoperative regular training of core muscle strength guided by the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) on the rehabilitation of elderly patients with osteoporotic lumbar vertebral compression fracture after vertebroplasty (PVP) and kyphoplasty(PKP). METHODS: Ninety-four elderly patients with osteoporotic lumbar compression fractures who underwent PKP or PVP from January 2016 to January 2018 and met inclusion criteria were divided into observation group and control group. All the patients were treated with routine anti osteoporosis therapy after operation. There were 47 patients in the observationgroup, including 18 males and 29 females, with an average age of (62.62±3.21) years old;in the control group, there were 47 cases, including 17 males and 30 females, with an average age of (62.38±2.84) years old. The patients in the control group were trained by traditional way, and the patients in observation group were instructed to conduct regular training of core muscle strength according to ERAS concept. The patients were followed up for 1, 3 and 6 months after operation. Patients' conditions were quantitatively evaluated according to Barthel scale, JOA low back pain score and Oswestry Disability Index, and the differences in treatment effects between two groups were statistically analyzed and compared. RESULTS: All the patients were followed up, and the Barthel scale, JOA low back pain score and Oswestry Disability Index score of the observation group were all better than those of the control group on the 1st and the 3rd months after surgery( CONCLUSION Early regular core strength training has a positive effect on early functional recovery and improvement of life ability after PKP or PVP for elderly patients with osteoporotic lumbar compression fractures, which is in line with the concept of accelerated rehabilitation surgery.
Aged ; Enhanced Recovery After Surgery ; Female ; Fractures, Compression/surgery* ; Humans ; Kyphoplasty ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporotic Fractures/surgery* ; Spinal Fractures/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Vertebroplasty

Objective: To explore the independent predictors for disease-specific survival (DSS) rate in patients with stage N_1-3 testicular seminoma (TS), and establish a nomogram to predict individual 5-year DSS. Methods: The data of N_1-3 TS patients registered in the SEER database of National Cancer Institute (USA) from January 2004 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and DSS rate were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method and the differences among different subgroups were assessed using log-rank test. Besides, the independent predictors of DSS were defined using multivariate Cox regression analysis, and nomogram was drawn using R software. Furthermore, the predictive performance of the nomogram was internally validated using the C-index and calibration plot. Results: TNM stage ⅢA (HR=5.604, 95%CI: 1.252-25.083, P=0.024), ⅢB (HR=6.710, 95%CI: 1.923-23.410, P=0.003) and ⅢC (HR=13.189, 95%CI: 3.916-44.420, P<0.001), age at diagnosis ≥45 years old (HR=3.575, 95%CI: 2.014-6.344, P<0.001), and patients without spouse (HR=2.346, 95%CI: 1.406-3.914, P=0.001) were identified as independent risk factors for DSS. On internal validation, the predictive accuracy of our nomogram was 0.751 (C-index: 0.751, 95%CI: 0.694-0.808). Besides, the calibration plot showed that the predicted survival outcomes were highly consistent with the actual survival outcomes. Conclusion The study confirms that age at diagnosis ≥45 years old, TNM stage ≥ⅢA and patients without spouse are the independent risk factors for DSS in TS patients with stage N_1-3, and the nomogram for predicting individual 5-year DSS is established.

OBJECTIVE: From the perspective of clinical application to analyze the effectiveness and reliability of CPC/PMMA bone cement in percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for the treatment of elderly patients with osteoporotic thoracolumbar fractures. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 62 patients with osteoporotic compression fracture of single-vertebral thoracic or lumbar segment who underwent PKP surgery and had a bone density less than or equal to -3.0 SD from February 2016 to December 2016. Among them, 23 patients were in CPC/PMMA group, with an average age of (77.6±2.2) years old, 39 patients in PMMA group, with an average age of (77.1±1.1) years old. The indexes between two groups were compared, including the visual analogue scale (VAS), height ratio of anterior vertebra (AVHR), local Cobb angle, cement leakage, new adjacent vertebral fracture(NAVF). RESULTS: There were no significant difference in gender, age, follow-up time and preoperative VAS, AVHR, local Cobb angle between two groups (>0.05), at the 1 day after operation, VAS, AVHR, local Cobb angle in all patients got obvious improvement (<0.05), which was no significant difference at 1 day after operation and final follow-up (>0.05). At the same time, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of new adjacent vertebral fracture and cement leakage (>0.05). The pain in both groups continued to improve at follow up after operation (<0.05), the local Cobb angle increased (<0.05) and AVHR decreased slightly (<0.05). However, the images of conventional methods (X-ray or CT) could not find signs about CPC degeneration and new bone ingrowth. CONCLUSION CPC/PMMA composite bone cement is safe and reliablein PKP for treatment of elderly patients with osteoporotic thoracolumbar fractures, which can effectively relieve pain and maintain vertebral body stability. It has the same curative effect as PMMA bone cement. It was worthy to research more in future, although no direct evidences support the CPC/PMMA composite bone cement can reduce the incidence of adjacent vertebral fracture, CPC degeneration or new bone ingrowth.
Aged ; Bone Cements ; Dinucleoside Phosphates ; Fractures, Compression ; Humans ; Kyphoplasty ; Osteoporotic Fractures ; Polymethyl Methacrylate ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fractures ; Treatment Outcome ; Vertebroplasty