Objeetive To investigate the outcome of microvascular reconstruction of the tongue with anterolateral thigh flaps in the treatment of middle-late stage tongue cancer patients. Methods From December 2003 to March 2007,nine patients underwent simultaneous reconstruction of the tongue and oral floor defects with anterolateral thigh flaps after resection of squamous cell carcinoma of tongue.The flaps ranged from 7 cm×10 cm to 10 cm×12 cm in size,and were adjusted to the defect of the tongue and oral floor.The vascular pedicle included descending branch of the lateral femoral circumflex artery and the accompanying veins.The outcome of reconstruction was evaluated by follow-up examinations,considering the contour and mobility of the reconstructed tongues,the swallowing function and the speech function.Results All of the donor sites were closed directly,with minimal donor-site morbidity. All patients recovered unevenffully from surgery,with no immediate postoperative complications:no flap necrosis,no wound infection or wound dehiscence.The transplanted flaps survived well.The average follow-up period was 18 months.During the follow-up period there was no tumor recurrence and the contour of the reconstructed tongues showed sufficient bulk.The patients demonstrated good mobility of the reconstructed tongue.The swallowing and speech function recovered satisfactory.Two months postoperatively the patients were able to ingest a solid or semisolid diet,and six months postoperatively the patients developed intelligibe language.Conclusion The anterolateral thigh flaps are suitable and reliable for the microsurgical reconstruction of the large defects caused by middle-late stage tongue cancer.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness of a helium-oxygen mixture (79%He- 21%O(2)) as an aerosolizing compressed gas for beta(2)-agonist therapy in patients with an asthma exacerbation.

METHODSTwenty-four patients in the outpatient department with a mild to moderate exacerbation of asthma were enrolled. The patients were randomly divided into an experimental group (13 cases) and a control group (11 cases). The experimental group inhaled Berotec with heliox-driven, and the control group inhaled Berotec with compressed air-driven. Eight hospitalized patients in the respiratory department with severe exacerbation of asthma were enrolled. The patients inhaled Berotec with heliox-driven or compressed air-driven in a random order.

RESULTSThe results of spirometric parameters and arterial blood-gas analysis were measured. In the mild to moderate asthma patients, no statistical differences between the two groups for forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expired volume in one second (FEV(1)), and expiratory flow in 50% forced vital capacity (FEF(50)) were presented. But the severe patients showed significant differences between heliox-driven and compressed air-driven for FVC, FEV(1), FEF(50) and partial pressure of oxygen (PaO(2)).

CONCLUSIONSCompared with the traditional inhalation of beta(2)-agonist therapy using compressed air-driven, the method of inhaling beta(2)-agonist with heliox-driven has more obvious benefits for those suffering from severe asthma. This is likely due to the cooperative effects between inhaling heliox on its physical gas properties and improving delivery of beta(2)-agonist in the treatment of exacerbation of severe asthma.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists ; administration & dosage ; Adult ; Asthma ; therapy ; Bronchodilator Agents ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Fenoterol ; administration & dosage ; Helium ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oxygen ; administration & dosage

Objective: To determine the clinical significance of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) isolated from respiratory specimens. Methods: Clinical data of patients with NTM strains isolated from the respiratory tract between January 2014 and February 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical significance of NTM isolated strains was evaluated based on diagnostic criteria of NTM pulmonary diseases from American Thoracic Society (ATS). Quantitative data of two groups were analyzed by independent t test. Categorical data were analyzed by Pearson χ² test or Fisher exact test. Results: Totally 352 NTM strains from 257 patients had been isolated between January 2014 and February 2017. Among 15 identified NTM species, M. intracellular (51.7%, 182/352), M. abscessus (25.6%, 90/352), and M. avium (10.8%, 38/352) were predominant. Of the 157 patients with full clinical data involved in the analysis, 58 (36.9%) patients were determined to have definite disease, and 34 patients (21.7%) were designated as probable disease candidates, and 16 (10.2%) patients were regarded as uncertain disease, and 49(31.2%) patients were diagnosed as unlikely disease. The age of 58 patients with definite disease was (63.9±12.7) years, and 48.3% (28/58) were female. M. intracellulare (55.2%, 32/58) was the main cause of pulmonary NTM disease, followed by M. abscessus (25.9%, 15/58) and M. avium (12.1%, 7/58), while other NTM species only accounted for 6.8% (4/58). Definite cases with M. intracellulare, M. abscessus, M. avium, M. kansasii, M. marseillense, and M. columbia accounted for 35.2% (32/91), 57.7% (15/26), 7/15, 2/3, 1/3 and 1/2, respectively, among patients with corresponding isolations, while patients with other species of isolation did not meet the diagnostic criteria. Patients with clinical significant isolation of NTM were older than those without clinical significance (χ²=3.603, P=0.000), and proportion of anti-acid staining positivity of patients with clinical significance was higher than that of patients without clinical significance (χ²=18.815, P=0.000). The proportion of M. abscessus in patients with clinical significance was higher than that in patients without clinical significance (χ²=6.313, P=0.012). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the isolation of M. Gordon (Fisher exact test, P=0.028). The proportion of M. abscessus lung disease in women was 11/15, which was higher than that of M. intracellulare lung disease (41.5%, 17/41), and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ²=4.462, P=0.035). There was no significant difference of clinical symptoms and underlying diseases in NTM lung disease among different groups (all P>0.05). In these patients with definite disease, 39.7% (23/58) of them manifested the upper lobe cavitary form, 53.4% (31/58) exhibited nodular bronchiectatic form, and only 6.9% (4/58) exhibited unclassified form. The upper lobe cavitary form (43.8%, 14/32) and the nodular bronchiectatic form (53.1%, 17/32) dominated in patients with M. intracellulare lung disease. M. abscessus lung disease was dominated by the nodular bronchiectatic form (11/15) while the upper lobe cavitary form only accounts for 3/15. There was no significant difference of image characteristics between NTM lung disease and other different groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions 36.9% of the patients with NTM isolates met the ATS diagnostic criteria for NTM lung disease. Different species have different clinical significance. M. intracellulare and M. abscessus are the most predominant NTM isolated species that cause NTM lung disease. Majority of patients manifest as the upper lobe cavitary form, followed by the nodular bronchiectatic form.