Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of short segment fixation with percutaneous pedicle screws or traditional open surgery for the type A1-A3 thoracolumbar compression fracture.Methods A retrospective case control study was conducted on the clinical data of 64 patients with thoracolumbar compression fracture admitted to Shanxi Dayi Hospital between January 2012 and February 2017.There were 44 males and 20 females,aged 21-65 years [(45.4 ± 11.1) years].There was one patient with injured segment at T11,29 at T12,27 at L1 and seven at L2.According to AO typing,there were 39 patients classified as Type A1,two as Type A2 and 23 as Type A3.The patients were divided into minimally invasive surgery group (n =37) and open surgery group (n =27).Minimally invasive surgery group was treated with minimally invasive percutaneous pedicle screw fixation and open reduction.The open surgery group was treated with traditional open pedicle screw short segment fixation and open reduction.The operation time,intraoperative blood loss,total hospitalization time,postoperative hospitalization time,visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after operation,local kyphosis of the fractured vertebra,segmental kyphosis and complications in two groups were recorded.Results All patients were followed up for 12-29 months,with an average of 13.2 months.Between the minimally invasive surgery group and open surgery group,no significant difference was found in the operation time [(106.4± 37.3) minutes vs.(131.3 ± 33.6) minutes] (P ＞ 0.05),and significant differences were found in intraoperative blood loss [(71.2 ± 34.9) ml vs.(409.3 ± 267.5) ml],total hospitalization time [(11.7 ± 7.2) days vs.(21.6 ± 12.8) days] and postoperative hospitalization time [(8.1 ± 7.4) days vs.(16.6 ± 10.6) days] (P ＜ 0.05).In the minimally invasive surgery group,VAS was (6.5 ±1.1) points preoperatively and was (2.3 ± 0.7) points and (1.0 ± 0.3) points immediately after operation and at final follow-up.In the open surgery group,VAS was (6.9 ± 1.0)points preoperatively and was (4.2 ± 1.0) points and (0.9 ± 0.4) points immediately after operation and at final follow-up (P ＜0.05).Compared with the preoperative VAS,those immediately after operation and at final follow-up were significantly decreased within the two groups (P ＜ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the preoperative VAS and VAS at final follow-up between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05),but significant difference was found in VAS immediately after operation between the two groups (P ＜ 0.05).In the minimally invasive surgery group,the local kyphosis of the fractured vertebra was (19.3 ± 3.8) °preoperatively,(3.4 ± 1.7) ° immediately after operation,and (4.6 ± 1.9) ° at final follow-up.In the open surgery group,the local kyphosis of the fractured vertebra was (19.6 ± 6.8) ° before operation,(1.6 ± 0.8) ° immediately after operation,and (2.4 ± 1.1) ° at final follow-up.The kyphosis of fractured vertebra immediately after operation and at final follow-up were significantly decreased within the two groups compared with the preoperative kyphosis(P ＜0.05),but no significant differences were found between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).In the minimally invasive surgery group,the segmental kyphosis Cobb angle was (16.1 ± 9.1) ° before operation,(3.0-± 1.8) ° immediately after operation,and (5.9 ±1.8) ° at final follow-up.In the open surgery group,the segmental kyphosis Cobb angle was (15.2±12.0) ° before operation,(3.1 ± 1.4) ° immediately after operation,and (5.6 ± 2.1) ° at final follow-up.The segmental kyphosis Cobb angle immediately after operation and at final follow-up were significantly decreased within the two groups compared with the preoperative Cobb angle (P ＜ 0.05),but no significant differences were found between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).No spinal cord injuries because of pedicle screws were observed after operation in either group.In the open surgery group,there was one patient with wound infection who recovered after dressing change,and no infection case was found in the minimally invasive surgery group.Conclusion For type A1-A3 thoracolumbar compression fractures,both the minimally invasive posterior pedicle screw fixation and the traditional open pedicle screw fixation can achieve satisfactory near-term results,and the former is better in intraoperative blood loss,immediate relief of pain after operation and shorter hospital stay than the latter.

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of posterior unilateral short segment screw fixation and bone graft fusion in the treatment of special upper cervical spine injuries. Methods: A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 15 patients with upper cervical spine injury admitted to Shanxi Bethune Hospital from July 2012 to May 2017. There were nine males and six females, aged 10-69 years [(41.9±20.9)years]. There were eight patients with traumatic atlantoaxial dislocation, one with congenital atlantoaxial dislocation, two with atlantoaxial dislocation with nonunion of odontoid process, three with Anderson type II odontoid process fracture, and one with old odontoid process fracture. All patients had cervico-occipital pain to different degrees, slender unilateral pedicle and distinct stenosis of vertebral artery. All patients were treated with posterior unilateral screw fixation and bone graft fusion. The injury of spinal cord and vertebral artery, operation time and intraoperative blood loss were recorded. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to evaluate pain before and after operation, and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score was used to evaluate spinal cord function and postoperative improvement rate before and at the last follow-up. The position of internal fixation and fusion of bone graft were observed by X-ray after operation. Results: All 15 patients were followed up for 6-36 months [(20.4±8.6)months]. All the screws were implanted successfully at the first time, without spinal cord or vertebral artery injury. The operation time was 100-210 minutes [(131.3±32.0)minutes], and the intraoperative blood loss was 100-450 ml [(203.1±104.0)ml]. Preoperative VAS score was (7.9±0.9)points, and postoperative VAS score was (3.7±0.8)points (P<0.01). Preoperative JOA score was (12.1±4.4)points, and the JOA score at postoperative follow-up was (16.1±1.4)points, with the improvement rate of 68%. Postoperative X-ray showed good recovery of cervical spine sequence. One patient developed loosened internal fixation after the neck brace protection was removed one month after surgery, and the patient recovered after timely second surgical fixation and fusion. The remaining 14 patients did not have loosened internal fixation, fracture or loss of reduction, with bone fusion 6-12 months after surgery. Conclusion Posterior cervical unilateral short-segment screw fixation and bone graft fusion can restore cervical stability, relieve pain, and improve function recovery, which can be used as a complementary procedure to treat upper cervical spine injury with anatomic structure variation.

Objective:To explore the relationship between cardiac radiation dose and prognosis of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Methods:From August 2015 to September 2018, the clinical data and cardiac dose parameters of 180 patients with locally advanced NSCLC who received radiotherapy in Tangshan people′s Hospital of Hebei Province were analyzed retrospectively.The relationship between cardiac dose parameters and overall survival rate was analyzed by K-M analysis, and the prognostic factors of NSCLC patients were identified by multivariate Cox regression.Results:The median survival time of NSCLC patients was 33.4 months.Univariate analysis indicated prescription dose≥56Gy ( HR 1.54, 95% CI1.28-2.86, P=0.011), hypertension ( HR 1.42, 95% CI1.34-1.89, P=0.012), mean cardiac dose≥13.9Gy ( HR 1.12, 95% CI1.05-2.61, P=0.031), V5≥70% ( HR 1.08, 95% CI1.01-2.16, P=0.044), and V30≥40% ( HR 1.16, 95% CI1.04-3.01, P=0.041), V50≥20% ( HR 1.23, 95% CI1.11-2.81, P<0.001), and V60≥5% ( HR 1.03, 95% CI1.00-1.89, P=0.037) were the prognostic factors of NSCLC patients.After multi-factor adjustments, receiving chemotherapy was a favorable factor for the prognosis of NSCLC patients ( HR 0.711, 95% CI0.35-0.89, P=0.005); hypertension was a factor of poor prognosis ( HR 1.641, 95% CI1.56-1.86, P=0.034); V50≥20% in cardiac dose ( HR 1.161, 95% CI1.13-3.82, P=0.002) was a poor prognostic factor in NSCLC patients. Conclusion:The cardiac dose V50 is an independent predictor of prognosis in patients with advanced NSCLC.The increase of cardiac radiation dose may increase the potential risk of death.In clinical practice, the prognosis of patients may be improved by reducing the cardiac radiation dose.

Objective:To explore the risk factors of surgical site infection after posterior lumbar interbody fusion and internal fixation in elderly patients with lumbar degenerative diseases.Methods:The clinical data of elderly patients who underwent posterior lumbar interbody fusion and internal fixation for degenerative diseases of lumbar spine in Department of Orthopedics, Shanxi Bethune Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.Eighteen elderly patients with postoperative incision infection were included into the infection group, and according to the ratio of 1∶3, 54 elderly patients without incision infection during the same period were randomly selected and included in the non-infection group.The general data of patients, surgical related data and perioperative laboratory indexes were compared between groups using univariate analysis.The screened out indicators with close correlation with incision infection and with significantly statistical significance were included in binary Logistic regression analysis.Risk factors related to postoperative incision infection were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC).The quantitative data of risk factors related to postoperative incision infection were selected for receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)analysis.Results:When comparing the infected versus non-infected groups, the operative time was(197.1±39.5)min vs.(171.4±37.2)min, preoperative lymphoid count was(1.6±0.5)×10 9/L vs.(1.9±0.6)×10 9/L, and postoperative neutrophil count was[(7.2(6.2-9.5)×10 9/L vs.6.3(4.8-7.2)×10 9/L], percentage of neutrophils(82.5±8.8), % vs.(71.1±6.7), percentage of lymphocytes(1.1±0.6)×10 9/L vs.(1.7±0.7)×10 9/L, percentage of lymphocytes(11.0±5.6)% vs.(19.8±6.0)%, number of neutrophils vs.Lymphocyte count ratio(NLR)[8.5(5.2-15.0) vs.3.6(2.6-4.9)]and serum albumin concentration(31.4±2.5)g/L vs.(33.3±2.4)g/L, all P<0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that diabetes mellitus( OR=6.649, 95% CI: 1.233-35.853), operation time( OR=1.025, 95% CI: 1.004-1.047), and percentage of postoperative neutrophils( OR=1.261, 95% CI: 1.125-1.414)were independent risk factors of incision infection after posterior interbody fusion and internal fixation in patients with lumbar degenerative diseases(all P<0.05).ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve of operation time was 0.680, and the cut-off value was 177.5 min.The area under the curve of the percentage of neutrophils after operation was 0.841, and the cut-off value was 78.85%. Conclusions:In patients with posterior interbody fusion and internal fixation for lumbar degenerative diseases complicated with diabetes, long operation time, and increased percentage of neutrophils after surgery can independently increase the risk of incision infection.

Cationic liposomes,as non-viral vectors,are widely used in gene therapy and gene silencing.Although numerous cationic liposomes have various structures,they can all improve the per-formance of gene delivery.As gene therapy is increasingly studied,it may be foreseen that new cationic lipoplexes will be explored.In this review,we aim to discuss four constituent domains of cationic lipids(headgroup,hydrophobic domain,linker and helper lipids)in gene delivery.This article attempts to demonstrate that various lipid structures show different transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity by sum-marizing the similarities and differences between the four parts of cationic lipids.Furthermore,their major influencing factors are covered.Finally,three clinical cases of ionizable lipids are described to reveal their characteristics and differences from cationic lipids.This paper is intended to provide a conceptual framework for the design of cationic liposomes and for the selection of cationic lipids.

Background: Pyroptosis is involved in the occurrence of acute pancreatitis, but its role in remote organ injury remains unclear. Aims: To investigate the role and mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis in acute pancreatitis- related lung injury. Methods: Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group, severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) group, Z-WEHD-FMK (caspase-1 inhibitor) group and disulfiram (GSDMD inhibitor) group. Experimental SAP was constructed by using 5% sodium taurocholate in the latter 3 groups. Serum levels of amylase, lipase, procalcitonin, and the myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were determined; the severity of pancreatic and lung injuries was assessed by histopathology and lung wet/dry weight ratio; serum levels of pyroptosis-related inflammatory cytokines and the expressions of proteins involved in pyroptosis pathway in lung tissue were measured by ELISA method and immunohisto- chemistry and Western blotting, respectively. Results: Compared with the control group, the serum biochemical indices, MPO activity, and interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-18 levels in SAP group were significantly increased with aggravated pancreatic and lung tissue injuries; meanwhile, the expressions of NLRP3, caspase-1 and GSDMD in lung tissue were significantly up- regulated (all P<0.05). Pretreatment with caspase-1 or GSDMD inhibitors reduced the severity of pancreatic and lung tissue injuries, improved the serum biochemical indices and MPO activity, and ameliorated the increased pyroptosis - related inflammatory cytokines and pyroptosis pathway - related proteins (all P<0.05). Conclusions: NLRP3/caspase - 1/GSDMD pathway mediated pyroptosis plays an important role in acute pancreatitis-related lung injury, and inhibition of pyroptosis pathways might be a new direction for its treatment.