ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of stone needle thermocompression and massage compared to flurbiprofen gel patch in relieving chronic musculoskeletal pain in the shoulder and back， and to explore the potential mediating mechanism through muscle elasticity. MethodsA total of 120 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain in the shoulder and back were randomly assigned to either stone needle group or flurbiprofen group， with 60 patients in each. The stone needle group received stone needle thermocompression and massage for 30 minutes， three times per week； the flurbiprofen group received flurbiprofen gel patch twice daily. Both groups were treated for 2 weeks. Pain improvement， as the primary outcome， was assessed using the Global Pain Scale （GPS） at baseline， after 2 weeks of treatment， and again 2 weeks post-treatment. To explore potential mechanisms， a mediator analysis was conducted by measuring changes in superficial and deep muscle elasticity using musculoskeletal ultrasound at baseline and after the 2-week treatment period. ResultsThe stone needle group showed significantly greater pain relief than the flurbiprofen group 2 weeks post-treatment. After adjusting for confounders related to pain duration， the between-group mean difference was -8.8 ［95% CI （-18.2， -0.7）， P＜0.05］. Part of the therapeutic effect was mediated by changes in deep muscle elasticity， with a mediation effect size of -1.5 ［95% CI （-2.0， -0.9）， P = 0.024］， accounting for 17.9% of the total effect. ConclusionStone needle thermocompression and massage can effectively relieve chronic musculoskeletal pain in the shoulder and back， partly through a mediating effect of improved deep muscle elasticity.

Objective To investigate the differences in speech recognition in noise between patients with con-genital and acquired single-sided deafness.Methods Sixty-two patients with single-sided deafness were included in this study,which included 31 congenital single-sided deafness(CSSD)cases and 31 acquired single-sided deafness(ASSD)cases according to the onset of deafness.Thirty-one normal hearing(NH)subjects were also included in this study as the control group.The ability of speech recognition in noise were tested and compared among the three groups,meanwhile the differences between patients with left and right single-sided deafness were compared.Results The speech recognition threshold in noise of ASSD patients was significantly higher than that of CSSD patients,and both of them were significantly higher than that of the NH subjects.Under the 0 and-2 dB signal-to-noise ra-tio conditions,the speech recognition score was significantly lower in ASSD patients compared to CSSD patients,but only in ASSD patients it was significantly lower than that of the NH group,with no significant difference be-tween CSSD patients and the NH group.A significant difference in speech recognition thresholds was observed be-tween left and right CSSD patients.Conclusion CSSD have better speech recognition in noise than ASSD patients,suggesting better central function compensation.In addition,the side of deafness affects the speech recognition per-formance of CSSD patients.

Objective To analyze the efficacy of autologous tissue repair for rectocele through the perineal approach in treating constipation and fecal incontinence in patients.Methods From January 2021 to November 2022,23 female patients with symptomatic rectal protrusion were treated with perineal autologous tissue repair.Preoperatively and at 12 months postoperatively,the Cleveland Clinic Constipation Score(CCCS),Cleveland Clinic Incontinence Score(CCIS),and Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life(PAC-QOL)questionnaires were used to assess postoperative outcomes and quality of life.Results Among the 23 patients,with a median follow-up time of 12.6 months,CCCS decreased from 17.09±1.68 to 3.96±2.08(P＜0.05);CCIS decreased from 1.52±4.15 to 0.52±1.41(P＞0.05);PAC-QOL:physical discomfort decreased from 13.00±1.51 to 4.74±1.98;psychological discomfort decreased from 20.96±3.27 to 5.74±2.67;concern and anxiety decreased from 26.13±4.37 to 8.78±3.14;satisfaction decreased from 15.39±2.35 to 4.60±1.59(P＜0.05).All patients showed significant improvement in constipation and incontinence symptoms postoperatively,with no serious postoperative complications and a marked improvement in postoperative quality of life.Conclusion Rectocele repair with perineal approach using autologous tissue is an effective and safe method,avoiding potential potential complications associated with grafts.

Background and Aims:Early-onset extensive emphysematous pancreatitis(EP)is a rare but highly lethal subtype of infected pancreatic necrosis(IPN),characterized by abrupt onset and rapid deterioration.This study aimed to investigate its clinical characteristics,microbiological spectrum,treatment approaches,and outcomes to provide evidence for early identification and timely intervention.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 305 IPN patients treated at Xiangya Hospital,Central South University,from January 2010 to October 2023.Eight patients who developed gas accumulation involving≥50%of pancreatic or peripancreatic necrosis within two weeks of onset were defined as early-onset extensive EP.Their clinical data were compared with those of ordinary IPN patients.Results:Early-onset extensive EP accounted for 2.6%of all IPN cases.The early-onset extensive EP group had significantly higher mortality and multiple organ failure rates compared with the ordinary IPN group(75.0%vs.24.6%and 75.0%vs.34.7%,respectively;both P<0.05).A total of 15 microbial isolates were identified from early-onset extensive EP patients,predominantly Klebsiella pneumoniae(62.5%)and Escherichia coli(37.5%).The infection rate of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae(CRE)was markedly higher in the EP group than in the ordinary IPN group(75.0%vs.31.1%,P=0.015).Most patients were treated using a step-up approach based on percutaneous catheter drainage,with no significant difference in treatment strategy between the two groups(P=0.625).Conclusion:Early-onset extensive EP represents a rare and fulminant subtype of IPN with extremely poor outcomes.Klebsiella pneumoniae and CRE are the predominant pathogens.Early radiological evaluation and timely intervention are crucial for improving prognosis in these patients.

Objective To investigate the differences in speech recognition in noise between patients with con-genital and acquired single-sided deafness.Methods Sixty-two patients with single-sided deafness were included in this study,which included 31 congenital single-sided deafness(CSSD)cases and 31 acquired single-sided deafness(ASSD)cases according to the onset of deafness.Thirty-one normal hearing(NH)subjects were also included in this study as the control group.The ability of speech recognition in noise were tested and compared among the three groups,meanwhile the differences between patients with left and right single-sided deafness were compared.Results The speech recognition threshold in noise of ASSD patients was significantly higher than that of CSSD patients,and both of them were significantly higher than that of the NH subjects.Under the 0 and-2 dB signal-to-noise ra-tio conditions,the speech recognition score was significantly lower in ASSD patients compared to CSSD patients,but only in ASSD patients it was significantly lower than that of the NH group,with no significant difference be-tween CSSD patients and the NH group.A significant difference in speech recognition thresholds was observed be-tween left and right CSSD patients.Conclusion CSSD have better speech recognition in noise than ASSD patients,suggesting better central function compensation.In addition,the side of deafness affects the speech recognition per-formance of CSSD patients.

Background and Aims:Early-onset extensive emphysematous pancreatitis(EP)is a rare but highly lethal subtype of infected pancreatic necrosis(IPN),characterized by abrupt onset and rapid deterioration.This study aimed to investigate its clinical characteristics,microbiological spectrum,treatment approaches,and outcomes to provide evidence for early identification and timely intervention.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 305 IPN patients treated at Xiangya Hospital,Central South University,from January 2010 to October 2023.Eight patients who developed gas accumulation involving≥50%of pancreatic or peripancreatic necrosis within two weeks of onset were defined as early-onset extensive EP.Their clinical data were compared with those of ordinary IPN patients.Results:Early-onset extensive EP accounted for 2.6%of all IPN cases.The early-onset extensive EP group had significantly higher mortality and multiple organ failure rates compared with the ordinary IPN group(75.0%vs.24.6%and 75.0%vs.34.7%,respectively;both P<0.05).A total of 15 microbial isolates were identified from early-onset extensive EP patients,predominantly Klebsiella pneumoniae(62.5%)and Escherichia coli(37.5%).The infection rate of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae(CRE)was markedly higher in the EP group than in the ordinary IPN group(75.0%vs.31.1%,P=0.015).Most patients were treated using a step-up approach based on percutaneous catheter drainage,with no significant difference in treatment strategy between the two groups(P=0.625).Conclusion:Early-onset extensive EP represents a rare and fulminant subtype of IPN with extremely poor outcomes.Klebsiella pneumoniae and CRE are the predominant pathogens.Early radiological evaluation and timely intervention are crucial for improving prognosis in these patients.

Objective To analyze the efficacy of autologous tissue repair for rectocele through the perineal approach in treating constipation and fecal incontinence in patients.Methods From January 2021 to November 2022,23 female patients with symptomatic rectal protrusion were treated with perineal autologous tissue repair.Preoperatively and at 12 months postoperatively,the Cleveland Clinic Constipation Score(CCCS),Cleveland Clinic Incontinence Score(CCIS),and Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life(PAC-QOL)questionnaires were used to assess postoperative outcomes and quality of life.Results Among the 23 patients,with a median follow-up time of 12.6 months,CCCS decreased from 17.09±1.68 to 3.96±2.08(P＜0.05);CCIS decreased from 1.52±4.15 to 0.52±1.41(P＞0.05);PAC-QOL:physical discomfort decreased from 13.00±1.51 to 4.74±1.98;psychological discomfort decreased from 20.96±3.27 to 5.74±2.67;concern and anxiety decreased from 26.13±4.37 to 8.78±3.14;satisfaction decreased from 15.39±2.35 to 4.60±1.59(P＜0.05).All patients showed significant improvement in constipation and incontinence symptoms postoperatively,with no serious postoperative complications and a marked improvement in postoperative quality of life.Conclusion Rectocele repair with perineal approach using autologous tissue is an effective and safe method,avoiding potential potential complications associated with grafts.

Objective:To observe the clinical effect of Shenfu injection in preventing septic cardiomyopathy (SIC) in septic patients.Methods:From June 2022 to January 2023, patients with sepsis or septic shock who did not develop SIC were randomly divided into treatment group and control group according to the ratio of 1:1. In the treatment group, Shenfu injection (50 mL) was pumped intravenously once every 12 hours for 5 days. In the control group, 50 mL of normal saline was pumped intravenously once every 12 hours, and the course of treatment was 5 days. The primary end point was the incidence of SIC in the first 5 days. The secondary end points were the application time of vasoactive drugs, fluid balance in the previous week, hospitalization time in ICU, total ventilation time and 28-day mortality.Results:112 patients were randomly divided into two groups. Seven patients in the treatment group were excluded twice, and finally 49 patients were included in the analysis, while six patients in the control group were excluded twice and 50 patients included in the analysis. The total incidence of SIC in the treatment group within 5 days was significantly lower than that in the control group (42.9% vs. 64.0%, P = 0.035). Among them, the left ventricular systolic dysfunction in the treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group (24.5% vs 52.0%, P=0.005), and there was no significant difference in the incidence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction between the two groups. The incidence of right ventricular dysfunction in the control group was 28.0%, which was significantly higher than 10.2% in the treatment group ( P = 0.025). The duration of using vasoconstrictors in the treatment group was 75(48, 97) hours, which was significantly lower than 97(66, 28) hours in the control group ( P = 0.039). The duration of inotropic drugs use in the treatment group was 32(18, 49) h, which was also significantly shorter than 44(25, 61) h in the control group ( P=0.046). The fluid balance of the control group in the first week was (1 260±850) mL, which was significantly higher than (450±520) mL in the treatment group ( P=0.008). There was no statistical difference in ICU stay, total ventilation time and 28-day mortality between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Conclusion:Early application of Shenfu injection can significantly reduce the incidence of SIC, accompanied by less use of vasoactive drugs and positive fluid balance, which has a good clinical application prospect.

Background and Aims:Accurate early pathogen diagnosis is a breakthrough for improving the prognosis of infectious pancreatic necrosis(IPN)patients.However,there is currently a lack of efficient methods for early identification of IPN in clinical settings.This study was performed to assess the application value of next-generation sequencing technology based on metagenomic capture(MetaCAP)in the pathogen diagnosis of IPN. Methods:A prospective study was conducted on 29 patients suspected of having acute necrotizing pancreatitis at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between January and July 2024.Blood samples were tested using MetaCAP and conventional pathogen culture.The results of peritoneal fluid pathogen culture were used as the gold standard to compare the diagnostic efficacy of the two methods. Results:Due to three cases lacking peritoneal fluid culture results,a total of 26 cases were included in the final analysis.The overall mortality rate was 23.1％(6/26).During hospitalization,9 cases(34.6％)were diagnosed with IPN.The sensitivity and negative predictive value of MetaCAP for diagnosing IPN were significantly higher than those of conventional pathogen culture(77.8％vs.11.1％,P=0.031;86.7％vs.65.2％,P=0.032),while the differences in specificity(76.5％vs.88.2％,P=0.689)and positive predictive value(63.6％vs.33.3％,P=0.347)between the two methods were not statistically significant.The average detection time for MetaCAP was 33(20-49)h,while microbial culture took 125(45-142)h,with a significant difference(P＜0.001).The average cost for blood MetaCAP testing was 2 500 yuan per case,but it accounted for only 1.19％of the average hospitalization cost. Conclusion:MetaCAP has significant value in the early pathogen diagnosis of IPN,with a shorter detection time,good testing efficacy,and health-economic value,demonstrating a promising clinical application prospect.