OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of combination of thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) and enhanced flow (e-Flow) in the qualitative diagnosis of thyroid nodules; and to compare the diagnostic efficiency between e-Flow and color doppler flow imaging (CDFI. METHOD: The study chose 133 patients with 179 nodules (127 benign, 52 malignant nodules) who had per-operative ultrasound examination of their thyroid using grey-scale ultrasound, CDFI, e-Flow, and their noudles were graded by TI-RADS. Then the ultrasound diagnostic value were compared with their surgical pathology results by TI-RADS; TI-RADS and CDFI; TI-RADS and e-Flow, and diagnostic efficiency between e-Flow and CDFI were compared. RESULT: The results revealed that combination of TI-RADS and e-Flow had a higher sensitivity (94.23%, P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between TI-RADS and the combination of TI-RADS and CDFI. Likewise, there was no significant difference between the combination of TI-RADS and e-Flow and the combination of TI-RADS and CDFI. The e-Flow showed a higher sensitivity, specificity and accuracy compare to the CDFI. CONCLUSION Combining e-Flow and TI-RADS could improve the sensitivity in qualitative diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Also, e-Flow has a better diagnostic efficiency of thyroid nodules.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Humans ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Nodule ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Ultrasonography

AIM: To search for the potent telomerase inhibitors with structures of cationic porphyrins to improve the interactions between G-quadruplex and porphyrins by systematically varying the meso substituents. METHOD: Porphyrins bearing mixed 3-quinolyl/3-pyridyl meso groups were synthesized using the Adler-Longo method by condensation of aldehydes with pyrrole, followed by methylation and ion-exchange. The compounds were tested for the telomerase inhibitory activity and c-Myc inhibitory activity. RESULT: All compounds were found to be potent and approximately equivalent in terms of their ability to inhibit the action of telomerase in a cell-free assay. Compound 4 had the best inhibitory activity on c-Myc.

AIM:To search for the potent telomerase inhibitors with structures of cationic porphyrins to improve the interactions between G-quadruplex and porphyrins by systematically varying the meso substituents.METHODS:Porphyrins bearing mixed 3-quinolyl/4-pyridyl meso groups were synthesized using the Adler-Longo method by condensation of aldehydes with pyrrole,and then followed by methylation and ion exchange.The compounds were tested for the telomerase inhibitory activity and c-Myc inhibitory activity.RESULTS:All compounds were found to be potent and approximately equivalent in terms of their ability to inhibit the action of telomerase in a cell-free assay.Compound 4 had the best inhibitory activity on c-Myc.CONCLUSION:Cationic porphyrins would be the potential anticancer candidates.

The paper elaborates on the construction concept ofHealthy Henan Health Service Cloud and introduces the project goals and system architecture.This platform effectively promotes the application and popularization of achievements in health informatization in Henan,enables the basic mass to experience the efficiency and convenience brought about by health informatization,and facilitates the monitoring and management by health administrative departments.

Objective To assess the effectiveness of the clinical pathway for the treatment of advanced schistosomiasis he-patic fibrosis. Methods The duration of hospital stay,gross hospitalization expense,individual-paid expense,interior diame-ter of portal vein,levels of four serum hepatic fibrosis-related parameters(PIIIP,CIV,HA,and LN),and activities of ALT, AST andγ-GT were assessed and compared between the advanced schistosomiasis patients receiving the clinical pathway and ones receiving non-clinical pathway. Results There were 142 advanced schistosomiasis patients with hepatic fibrosis receiving the clinical pathway of anti-hepatic fibrosis. Compared with the patients receiving non-clinical pathway ,the gross hospitalization expenses reduced by 11.2％(t=6.310,P<0.05),and the individual-paid expenses reduced by 16.1％(t=4.326,P<0.05). The mean HA level was twice higher than the normal range,with a positive rising from 70.4％to 83.1％,and the abnormal rates of CIV andγ-GT were 64.1％and 28.9％respectively. Conclusions The clinical pathway can drastically reduce the treatment expenses in advanced schistosomiasis patients with hepatic fibrosis. However,the patients have a trend towards the persistent disease progression. Therefore,the researches of more effective therapeutic methods for advanced schistosomiasis hepatic fibro-sis are urgently needed.

Objective To assess the diagnostic value of ultrasonographic elastography for identifying suspected malignant thyroid nodules. Methods Fifty-one patients with small single solid thyroid nodule underwent two-dimensional and color power Doppler ultrasonography. The size, shape, boundary, internal echo and halo, calcification of thyroid nodule were observed with two-dimensional ultrasound. Then color Doppler ultrasonography was used to detect blood signal and distribution in the nodules. Longitudinal scanning of elastography was performed, and the findings on elastography were classified into Ⅰ-Ⅴ grades. The ultrasonographic results were compared with pathologic findings. Results Six patients were found with grade Ⅰ and Ⅱ benign lesions;9 with grade Ⅲ ( 6 benign and 3 malignant), 36 with Ⅳ and Ⅴ (2 benign and 34 malignant) lesions on ultrasonographic elastography. Taking the elasticity grade Ⅳ or Ⅴ as malignant standard, the diagnostic sensitivity was 91.89%, specificity was 85.71%, accuracy was 90.20%, while the positive and negative predictive value was 94.44% and 80.00%, respectively. Conclusion Real-time ultrasound elastography is a promising imaging technique that can assist in the differential diagnosis of malignant thyroid small single solid nodule.

Objective To explore the feasibility and safety ofventricular peritoneal shunt (VPS) in treating patients with intracranial hypertension combined with cryptococcal meningitis.Methods Twelve patients with cryptococcal meningitis,admitted to our hospital from January 2012 to January 2014 and underwent VPS for intracranial hypertension,were chosen in our study; the clinical manifestations and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) results before and after operation,and mannitol dosage before and after operation were compared; follow up for 2-25 months was performed.Results Except 1 patient had no improvement of consciousness,the other 11 patients had disappeared or mitigated headache,disappeared vomiting symptoms,and improved vision and hearing; two patients with disturbance of consciousness got improvement; one patient with eyes abduction got recovery; one patient had abnormal tongue and mouth did not achieve improvement.Different degrees of fever were noted in 10 patients after operation,9 recovered after treatment.The mannitol dosage for all patients were significantly reduced or discontinued.Postoperative cerebrospinal fluid pressure,amount of cryptococcus neoformans in 11 patients were decreased significantly (P＜0.05).Conclusion Early aggressive VPS on cryptococcal meningitis patients with intracranial hypertension is effective and safe.

Promoting uric acid excretion is an important approach for the treatment of gout and hyperuricemia. There are two main approaches included in the mechanism: one is inhibiting the function of renal tubular uric acid transporter to reduce the absorption of uric acid, and promoting excretion; the other is using uricase to catalyze the oxidation of uric acid to a more water-soluble allantoin that can also increase excretion. The mechanisms and progress of the uricosuric drugs are reviewed in this paper, providing reference for the further research and development.

Objective:To investigate the value of prostate biopsy guided by transrectal real-time ultrasonic elastography (TRTE) combined with peak strain index (PSI) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer and the correlation with TRTE score and pathological Gleason score.Methods:A total of 80 patients with suspected prostate cancer who underwent TRTE in the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University from January 2019 to December 2019 were selected. The PSI for suspicious lesions was measured, and targeted puncture biopsy guided by TRTE combined with PSI was performed on the patients, and then followed by systematic puncture biopsy. The outcomes of targeted biopsy and systematic biopsy were analyzed. Taking pathological biopsy results as the gold standard, the detection rates of prostate cancer and benign prostate lesions detected by both biopsies methods were compared; the prostate volume, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level and PSI were compared between patients with prostate cancer and benign prostatic lesions. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to determine the best cut-off value of PSI in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The values of conventional ultrasound versus TRTE combined with PSI in the diagnosis of prostate cancer were assessed. The positive rate of biopsy puncture points under the guidance of TRTE combined with PSI was compared with that of systematic biopsy. The correlation between TRTE score and pathological Gleason score of prostate malignant lesions was analyzed.Results:Among 80 patients, 45 patients (56.25%) were diagnosed as prostate cancer by prostate puncture biopsy, and 35 patients (43.75%) were benign prostate lesions. Among 45 patients with prostate cancer, 42 cases (93.33%) of prostate cancer were detected by using TRTE combined with PSI-guided targeted puncture biopsy, and 38 cases (84.44%) of prostate cancer were detected by using systematic puncture biopsy; there was no significant difference in the detection rate of prostate cancer by both biopsies methods ( χ2 = 1.80, P = 0.180). The level of serum PSA and PSI value in the prostate cancer group were higher than those in the benign prostate lesion group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t value was 65.28 and 14.93, all P < 0.05). The clinical value of PSI value in the diagnosis of prostate cancer was analyzed by using ROC curve. The results showed that the AUC was 0.857 (95% CI 0.772-0.941), and the optimal cut-off value of PSI was 5.68; PSI ≥ 5.68 was treated as the malignant cancer and PSI < 5.68 was treated as the benign cancer. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of TRTE combined with PSI in the diagnosis of prostate cancer were 91.11%, 94.29%, and 92.50%, respectively, which were higher than those of conventional ultrasound (73.33%, 68.57% and 71.25%), and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). A total of 89 suspected lesions were detected in 80 patients through TRTE combined with PSI, and each suspected lesion was detected by using 2-needle targeted puncture biopsy. There were 178 needles in total including 88 needles of prostate cancer and the positive rate of puncture points was 49.44% (88/178); there were 800 needles in total detected by using 10-needle systematic puncture biopsy including 203 needles of prostate cancer and the positive rate of puncture points was 25.38% (203/800); the positive rate of puncture points guided by TRTE combined with PSI puncture biopsy was higher than that by systematic puncture biopsy, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2 = 40.337, P < 0.05). For prostate malignant lesions, the Spearman correlation analysis showed that TRTE score was positively correlated with pathological Gleason score ( r = 0.618, P < 0.05). Conclusion:TRTE combined with PSI-guided targeted puncture biopsy plays an important role in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, and it can effectively improve the positive rate of puncture points.

Objective To evaluate the change of clinicopathological features and prognosis of papillary thyroid cancer over a 15-year period.Methods The clinicopathological features and outcomes of papillary thyroid cancer patients were analyzed in three groups according to the time of diagnosis:group Ⅰ (1997-2001),group Ⅱ (2002-2006),and group Ⅲ (2007-2011).Results As time advanced,the average age of papillary thyroid cancer patients increased,tumor stage,like size,extrathyroid invasion and lymph node metastasis decreased dramatically (P ＜ 0.01).The percentage of multifocality and bilaterality increased.The long-term follow up data (median follow up time was 6.6 years),indicated that the 15-year over all survival was 97.8％ and the 15-year disease-free survival was 90.2％.Tumor ≥3 cm,bilaterality,extrathyroid invasion,lymph node metastasis and AJCC stage were correlated with tumor recurrence.By multivariate COX-regression analysis only lymph node metastasis and bilaterality were independent risk factors.Conclusion The clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid cancer changed over 15 years,with the percentage of early-staged patients increased.Lymph node metastasis and bilaterality are two risk factors for tumor recurrence.