Objective: To discuss the clinical application and effects of domestic external fixator in the treatment of patients with malformations of limbs. Methods: A total of 7 289 patients with malformation of limbs who had been operated in Qin Sihe orthopedic surgery team from January 1989 to June 2016 were retrospective analyzed. The patients were treated with domestic external fixator, including 4 033 males and 3 256 females, aging from 2 to 82 years with a mean age of 23.4 years. There were 2 732 patients using Ilizarov external fixator, 4 713 patients using hybrid external fixator, 57 patients using monobrachial external fixator, 232 patients using Ilizarov external fixator and hybrid external fixator. The Ilizarov, hybrid and monobrachial external fixator were used in 67, 65 and 0 patients on the upper limbs and in 2 665, 4 616 and 57 patients on the lower limbs. There were 3 028 patients operated on the left limbs, 3 260 patients operated on the right limbs and 1 001 patients operated on the bilateral limbs. The top three types of diseases were sequelae of poliomyelitis, cerebral palsy and post-traumatic stress disorder peromely. Deformity types inclued talipes equinovarus, knee flexion deformity, cavus foot and so on. Results: All the patients were followed up for a period of 2.5 months to 22.4 years, with an average follow-up time of 5.4 years. All of the external fixators were used for single once, and there was no substitute for external fixator quality problem. All the patients were completed surgery goal until removing external fixation except 1 patient gave up treatment and 1 removed the fixator because of metal allergy. The common complications included wire or pin infection and joint movement limitation and so on. Conclusions The domestic external fixator developed and produced based on the characteristics of Chinese limb deformity disability. The domestic external fixator can be used to treat kinds of limb deformities with the advantages of practical, economical, adjustable, universal and portable. The domestic external fixator could meet the clinical demand for fixation of the osteotomy end of the limbs, the correction of the deformity, the repair of the defects and the limb lengthening.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features and etiological results of neonatal central nervous system(CNS) infection and provide basis for optimization of pathogen detection strategy for CNS infection.Methods:We collected the clinical and laboratory data of hospitalized neonates with clinical diagnosis of CNS infection in the neonatal department at Hebei Provincial Children′s Hospital, from January 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021.The clinical manifestations of the enrolled neonates, as well as the cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)pathogens detected by conventional and molecular biological detection techniques were analyzed.Laboratory characteristics of different kinds of pathogen were compared.Results:A total of 101 eligible neonates were enrolled.The median gestational age was 38.8(36.2, 39.6)weeks, with a prematurity rate 26.7%.There were 68 boys.The median age of onset was 9(2, 14)days.Blood culture was positive in 19(18.8%) cases, including 17 cases of bacteria and two cases of fungus.Positive findings were found in CSF specimens of 33(32.7%)cases by various methods including 13 bacteria, 19 viruses and one fungi.Streptococcus group B and Escherichia coli were the first two bacteria in CSF.Enterovirus was the most common virus in CSF.In terms of detection methods of CSF pathogens, seven cases(7/101, 6.9%) were detected by CSF culture, two cases(2/21, 9.5%)by smear, 22 cases(22/45, 48.9%)by single-virus targeted/multiplex polymerase chain reaction and four cases(4/7, 57.1%)by metagenomic next-generation sequencing.The CSF white blood cell counts, protein levels and blood C-reactive protein levels were higher in the cases with bacteria/fungi detection from CNS infection than in those with virus detection( P<0.05). Almost all neonates(98/101, 97.0%)were clinically cured or significantly improved before discharge.Two neonates were discharged against medical advice and one neonate was transferred to the other hospital after clinical improvement. Conclusion:Combined use of conventional and molecular biological detection techniques can significantly improve the etiological positive rate of neonatal CNS infection.Viral infection is not rare in the neonatal population.Our study demonstrated the spectrum of organism causing neonatal CNS infection, which provided a basis for the optimization of pathogen detection strategy.

Objective:To study the clinical features of neonatal hyperthyroidism.Methods:From September 2013 to September 2020, clinical data of neonates with hyperthyroidism admitted to the neonatal intense care unit of our hospital were retrospectively collected and analyzed.Results:A total of 7 neonates were included. The average gestation age was (35.8±2.3) weeks with 5 cases had GA<37 weeks. The median age of diagnostic was 16 d (7~18 d). The common clinical manifestations included tachycardia, irritability, low-grade fever, hyperhidrosis, bulimia, poor weight gain, diarrhea and jaundice. The levels of serum free triiodothyronine (FT 3) and thyroxine (FT 4) were elevated in all 7 cases and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were decreased. The Doppler ultrasound of thyroid gland in two neonates revealed enlarged thyroid gland with abundant blood flow. All 7 mothers had hyperthyroidism with 4 mothers provided the history of hyperthyroidism and the other 3 were also confirmed after their infants were diagnosed. All 7 infants were treated with anti-thyroid drugs (ATD) and 2 were additionally given β-blockers to control heart rate. The median ATD duration was 40 d (7~58 d). 2 cases (both preterm infants) had slight decrease in FT 4 during medication. FT 4 of all 7 cases returned to normal before TSH. Conclusions:Neonatal hyperthyroidism has various and nonspecific clinical manifestations. Early diagnosis and timely treatment are important to prevent short-term and long-term adverse outcomes. Whether their mothers provide definite history of thyroid disorder or not, the thyroid function of the suspected neonates should be carefully monitored.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and treatment of tricuspid valve prolapse caused by chordal rupture complicated with persistent pulmonary hypertension in neonates.Methods:The clinical data of a male neonate with tricuspid valve prolapse complicated with persistent pulmonary hypertension admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Children′s Hospital of Hebei Province in November 2018 was analyzed retrospectively. Related literature up to September 2020 was searched with the strategy of "(neonate OR newborn) AND (tricuspid valve prolapse) AND (rupture OR necrosis) AND (papillary muscle OR chordae tendineae) AND (pulmonary hypertension)" in Wanfang, CNKI and PubMed database in Chinese and English. The characteristics of the disease were summarized.Results:A male full-term neonate was admitted due to presenting severe cyanosis for 9 hours. He was born by caesarean section and presented severe cyanosis and dyspnea at 10 min of ages, unresponsive to the positive airway pressure resuscitation. After 9 hours of mechanical ventilation, there was no improvement. Thus he was transferred to Children′s Hospital of Hebei Province. On admission, the initial blood gas analysis showed an arterial partial pressure of oxygen of 22.5 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa). The echocardiography revealed prolapsed anterior leaflet of tricuspid valve, severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and pulmonary artery hypertension, and right to left shunt via a patent foramen ovale. The arterial duct was closed. The chest X-ray was normal. The boy was treated with nitric oxide, milrinone, and continued mechanical ventilation initially. Addition of prostacyclin analog (treprostinil) on day 3 led to significant improvement of pulmonary blood flow, oxygenation, and stabilization, so that the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy was avoided. At 11 months after birth, the boy underwent cardiac surgery. At surgery, the rupture of chordal tendineae in anterior leaflet of tricuspid valve was found. Tricuspid annuloplasty, valvuloplasty and repair of patent foramen ovale were successfully performed. The follow-up echocardiogram at postoperative 3 months showed only mild tricuspid insufficiency. The boy was well at last follow-up at 22 months of age with normal cognitive skill development. According to literature, 20 cases of papillary muscle or chordae tendineae rupture in neonates had been reported in 12 English papers. Among the total 21 neonates, there were 12 male infants and only one premature infant with gestational age of 33 weeks. They presented with profound cyanosis soon after birth. All of them received endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Other treatments included inhalation of nitric oxide, intravenous milrinone, vasoactive drugs, diuretics and prostacyclin, etc. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was used in 6 infants as a bridge to surgical treatment. Two cases reported earlier death of cardiopulmonary failure without operation and the rest 19 survived after surgery. The followed surgery or autopsy revealed that all of them had tricuspid valve prolapse, rupture of papillary muscle or chordae tendineae.Conclusions:The severe TR resulting from rupture of papillary muscle or chordate tendineae in neonates is rare and could cause severe hypoxemia. Early recognition, adequate cardiopulmonary support to stabilize the hemodynamic status and timely surgery can significantly reduce the mortality.

【Objective】 To investigate the value of three hemolysis tests and carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) level in the diagnosis of hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN). 【Methods】 From January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022, the neonates hospitalized in the Department of Neonatology of Hebei Provincial Children's Hospital with suspected hemolytic disease who had serological testing were retrospectively enrolled in the study. They were distributed into HDFN group and non-HDFN group according to the final diagnosis. Their clinical and laboratory data were collected and analyzed, and the COHb level was detected by blood gas analyzer. 【Results】 A total of 378 neonates with HDFN and 217 neonates without HDFN were included in the study. Most of the neonates in HDFN group were full-term infants (348/378, 92.1%), with median gestational age of 39.1 (38.3, 40.0) weeks. Three hundred and fifty-four cases (354/378, 93.7%) were ABO-HDFN and the rest were Rh HDFN. There were significant differences in the level of serum total bilirubin, hemoglobin, COHb and reticulocyte percentage at admission between the two groups(P<0.05). The positive rate of three hemolysis tests in HDFN group decreased with the increase of the days after birth. The highest positive rate (more than 80%) was observed within 2 days after birth. Correlation analysis showed a negative relationship between the COHb level and the age (rs = -0.434, P<0.001) . Among the three hemolysis tests in HDFN group, the positive rate of antibody release test was the highest (69.0%), followed by the free antibody test (55.6%) and the direct antiglobulin test (DAT) (36.0%). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the optimal cut-off value of COHb was 1.15%.The sensitivity of COHb ≥ 1.15% was 51.8%, higher than single DAT (36.0%) . The diagnosis effectiveness of three hemolysis tests couldn't be improved when combined with COHb detection(Z = -0.727, P>0.05) . 【Conclusion】 The three hemolysis tests are important in the diagnosis of HDFN, among which the antibody release test has the highest sensitivity. COHb has certain value for the diagnosis of HDFN, but joint testing cannot improve the diagnosis effectiveness of three hemolysis tests. Hemolysis tests and/or COHb detection should be conducted for neonates at risk of hemolysis as early as possible after birth.

Humans ; COVID-19 ; Consensus ; SARS-CoV-2 ; China