Objective To measure left atrial appendage (LAA)in patients with atrial fibrillation using Flexi Slice imaging by real time 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE),and compare with common multiplane TEE.Methods Forty-six patients with atrial fibrillation were performed 2D and real time 3D TEE.Zero degree,45°,90° and 135° plane were acquired by 2D TEE and Flexi Slice remolding. Maximum and minimum values of ostium of left atrial appendage were acquired in the short axis view of LAA by Flexi Slice remolding.Results Compared with 2D TEE,values acquire by Flexi Slice in measurement of LAA ostium showed no significant difference(P >0.05).The depth measurement by Flexi Slicein 45° and 90° plane showed significant difference with 2D TEE (P-values were successively 0.045, 0.002),and in 0 and 135° plane showed no difference.All values measured by 2D TEE and Flexi Slices showed significant correlation.Bland-Altman plot showed that 94.29% of plots were among limits of agreement,which was (-2.5 mm,2.9 mm).The maximum values of LAA ostium values ranged from 30° to 160°,among which 87% (40/46 cases)distributed between 90° and 1 50°,and minimum values ranged from 0°to 160°,among which 85%(39/46 cases)distributed between 0°and 60°.Conclusions Measurement of LAA can be well achieved by Flexi Slice imaging,which showed significant advantage compared with 2D TEE.

Objective To explore value of two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) strain parameters in assessment of left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony and its relationship with cardiac function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).Methods Totally 25 patients with DCM and 25 age-matched normal controls were enrolled.The LV time to peak longitudinal strain (Tls) and time to peak circumferential strain (Tcs) were measured by 2D-STI,from which the standard deviations and maximal differences of the Tls in all 18 segments,6 segments at apical 4-chamber,3-chamber and 2 chamber views (Tls-SD,Tls-SD-4,Tls-SD-3,Tls SD-2,Tls dif,Tls-dif-4,Tls-dif-3,Tls-dif-2) were calculated,as same as the standard deviations and maximal differences of Tcs in all 18 segments,6 segments at mitral valve,papillary muscle,apical short-axis views (Tcs-SD,Tcs-SD-M,Tcs-SD-P,Tcs-SD-A,Tcs-dif,Tcs-dif-M,Tcs-dif-P,Tcs-dif-A) were calculated.Results Compared with the control group,the global and segmental strain parameters of the DCM group increased significantly (all P＜0.05).Except for Tcs-dif-P and Tcs dif,the residual strain parameters were negatively correlated with LV ejection fraction (all P＜0.05).Except for Tcs-dif-M,Tcs dif-P and Tcs-dif,there was a positive correlation between strain parameters and E/e in DCM group (all P ＜0.05).Conclusion In patients with DCM,LV dyssynchrony exists both in global and regional,which may aggravates the LV function damage.2D-STI strain parameters can objectively evaluate LV dyssynchrony and its relationship with cardiac function in patients with DCM.

Objective To discuss the diagnostic value of two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging in the evaluation of left ventricular rotation and torsion in pre-apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(PAHCM)patients. Methods A total of 26 patients with PAHCM,26 patients with hyperten-sive left ventricular hypertrophy(HLVH)and 26 healthy volunteers were recruited for the study. Two-dimensional echocardiographs were performed carefully. Two-dimensional images were obtained from the left ventricular apical four-chamber section,two-chamber section and two short-axis sec-tions,including mitral valve and apical levels. The peak subendocardial rotation(endo-rot),epicardial rotation(epi-rot),transmural torsion(mural-tor)and bulk rotation(bulk-rot)of each short-axis section were measured and analyzed using QLAB 9.1 software. Results In the mitral level, there was no statistically significant difference in endo-rot,epi-rot,mural-tor and bulk-rot between the PAHCM group and normal control group (P>0.05). There was statistically significant difference in endo-rot,epi-rot,mural-tor and bulk-rot between the PAHCM group and HLVH group (all P<0.05). There was statistically significant difference in endo-rot,epi-rot,mural-tor and bulk-rot between the HLVH group and normal control group(all P<0.05). In the apical level,there was no statistically significant difference in epi-rot among three groups(P>0.05). There was statisti-cally significant difference in endo-rot,mural-tor and bulk-rot between each two groups(P<0.05). There was statistically significant difference in G-tor between each two groups(P<0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the accuracy of differential diagnosis of G-tor PAHCM was high(the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve is 0.89),the sensitivity was 73.08%,and the specificity was 92.31%. Conclusion Two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging could accurately and quantitatively measure the left ventricular rotation and tor-sion in PAHCM patients. The G-tor could accurately screen and identify between PAHCM and HLVH.

Objective To evaluate the right ventricular function in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) by 2-dimensional speckle imaging (2D-STI).Methods 46 patients with CHF were divided into responders to CRT and non-responders to CRT according the standard of a decline in LV end-systolic volume ≥ 10％.All the patients received echocardiography examination 1-3 days before CRT and 6 month after CRT.Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) indices included SD of time to peak velocity in systole (Ts-SD) among 12 segments.Right ventricular diameters included RV basal transverse diameter (D1),RV middle transverse diameter (D2) and RV longitudinal diameter (D3) in apical four views.2D-STI indices included systolic strain (S) and stain rate (SR) of basal or middle segment of RV free wall.Results Compared with before CRT,LVEDd,LVEDV,LVESV and Ts-SD significantly decreased,LVEF significantly increased in responders 6 months after CRT.Before CRT,compared with nonresponders,there was no significant difference of D1,D2 and D3 in responders,while S and SR in basal or middle segment of RV free wall were higher than non-responders.Compared with before CRT,D1,D2 and D3 in responders decreased significantly,S and SR in basal or middle segment of RV free wall increased significantly,while there was no difference in non-responders.There were significant negative correlation between S and SR in basal or middle segment of RV free wall and Ts-SD in responders.Conclusions The remodeling and systolic function of RV are improved after CRT.It may help for improving the efficacy of CRT when takes RV function data into account before CRT.

Objective To evaluate left ventricular systolic synchronicity in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy by V-plane imaging and compare with clinical commonly used tissue Doppler imaging (TDI),evaluate the relevance and consistency between these two parameters.Methods 20 patients diagnosed with DCM and 20 healthy controls were enrolled,2D images,V-plane imaging and TDI waveform were acquired.Time to peak velocity of left ventricular 12 segments were measured by TDI and the standard deviation (TDI_SD) were calculated.Displacement time to peak were measured by V-plane and the standard deviation (V-plane_SD) were calculated.Results Compared with control group,TDI_SD and V-plane_SD increased significantly (P ＜ 0.01),TDI time to peak increased and V-plane time to peak decreased significantly(P ＜0.01).In the two group,12 segment time to peak measured by V-plane were significantly higher than TDI(P ＜ 0.01).There was a significant correlation between TDI_SD and V-plane_SD (r =0.925,P ＜0.001).Bland-Altman plot showed that 95％ plots of ratio of TDI_SD and V-plane_SD were among limits of agreement,which was (0.50,1.36).Conclusions Left ventricular systolic synchronicity in DCM patients can be observed by V-plane imaging.V-plane has significant relevance and consistency with TDI,and can overcome the limitations of TDI that 12 segments can not be displayed in the same cardiac cycle.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical pathological features, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of pigmented dermatofibrosarcoma protuberance (PDFSP).

METHODSThe clinical history, histopathological features, immunohistochemical characteristics, treatment and prognosis were analyzed in seven cases of PDFSP. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to detect the expression of COL1A1/PDGFB fusion gene, and related literature was reviewed.

RESULTSThe median age of the seven patients (4 females, 3 males) was 47 years with the tumors involving mostly the trunk (four cases). Histologically, PDFSP showed a cellular lesion composed of spindle cells arranged in short fascicles that form a distinct storiform pattern, and the pigmented bipolar or multipolar dendritic cells were present with tentacle like processes emanating from a nucleus containing zone. One case showed fibrosarcomatous change. The pigment was tinctorially similar to melanin. The spindle cells were positive for CD34 and vimentin, but negative for HMB45, Melan A, S-100, desmin, CD68 or α-SMA. HMB45, Melan A, S-100 and vimentin were expressed in the melanin containing cells in 4, 4, 5 and 7 cases, respectively. The labeling index of Ki-67 was 1%-8%. Among the 4 cases successfully examined by FISH, 3 showed t(17;22)(q21;q13) which suggested COL1A1/PDGFB fusion gene. Three patients were treated by wide local excision and four were treated by simple surgical excision. Two patients developed recurrences during the follow-up period of 12 to 123 months. Of those treated by wide local excision, none developed recurrence. No patient died in the follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONSPDFSP is a rare pigmented variant of DFSP and an intermediate grade malignant tumor. The orgin of the tumor cells is still controversial. Surgical pathologists and dermatopathologists need to be aware of the prototypical histological appearance of PDFSP as there is a risk of misdiagonsing it as either pigmented tumors associated with neurocutaneous syndromes or a highly malignant melanocytic neoplasm.

Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD34 ; metabolism ; Child, Preschool ; Dermatofibrosarcoma ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; MART-1 Antigen ; metabolism ; Male ; Melanoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Melanoma-Specific Antigens ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neurilemmoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neurofibroma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; S100 Proteins ; metabolism ; Skin Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Vimentin ; metabolism

Anemia is a common and severe complication in inflammatory bowel disease. Anemia can induce impaired cardiovascular and renal functions, and lead to a significantly decreased quality of life. This review is dedicated to explain the underlying mechanism, diagnosis and management of anemia in inflammatory bowel disease.
Anemia ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; complications

Objective To analyze longitudinal layer‐specific strain in endocardial ,midcardial and epicardial layers of left ventricle (LV) by two‐dimensional speckle tracking imaging(2D‐STI) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and to evaluate the regional or global systolic function of LV . Methods Seventy‐eight patients with suspected CHD were divided into CHD group (46 subjects) and control group (32 subjects) according to the results of selective coronary arteriography . According to the stenosis degree or number of coronary arteries ,the CHD group was divided into mild stenosis group ( corresponding blood‐supply vessel stenosis 50% -75% ) ,severe stenosis group ( corresponding blood‐supply vessel stenosis ≥75% ) or single‐vessel stenosis group ,multi‐vessel stenosis group . Two‐dimensional images with high frame rate were recorded in apical four‐chamber ,long‐axis ,two‐chamber of LV in all subjects . The strain parameters by EchoPAC analysis software included territorial longitudinal strain ( TLS ) of endocardial , midcardial and epicardial layers ( TLSendo ,TLSmid ,TLSepi) and global longitudinal strain ( GLS) of endocardial ,midcardial and epicardial layers ( GLSendo ,GLSmid ,GLSepi) . Results Regardless of with or without corresponding blood‐supply coronary artery stenosis and range of coronary artery stenosis , TLSendo ,TLSmid ,TLSepi and GLSendo ,GLSmid ,GLSepi all showed a gradient decrease( P < 0 .05) . Compared with the control group ,TLSendo ,TLSepi of mild stenosis group and severe stenosis group decreased significantly( P <0 .05) ,while there was no significant difference about TLSmid between the two groups( P > 0 .05) . Compared with the mild stenosis group ,TLSendo ,TLSepi of severe stenosis group decreased significantly( P < 0 .05) ,while there was no significant difference about TLSmid( P > 0 .05) . Moreover ,compared with the control group ,GLSendo ,GLSmid ,GLSepi of single‐vessel stenosis group and multi‐vessel stenosis group decreased significantly( P < 0 .05) . Compared with the single‐vessel stenosis group ,GLSendo ,GLSmid ,GLSepi of multi‐vessel stenosis group decreased significantly( P < 0 .05) . For predicting corresponding blood‐supply vessel stenosis ≥75% ,the sensitivity and specificity were 55 .6% , 72 .6% and 57 .8% ,76 .4% ,when the cut‐off of TLSendo and TLSepi were 20 .5% and 15 .5% respectively . For predicting multi‐vessel stenosis ,the sensitivity and specificity were 54 .5% ,71 .4% ;50 .0% ,87 .5% and 63 .6% ,87 .5% ;when the cut‐off of GLSendo , GLSmid , GLSepi were 21 .5% , 17 .5% and 16 .5%respectively . Conclusions Systolic dysfunction of LV happened through all layers in CHD patients . The longitudinal strain of layer‐specific by 2D‐STI can accurately evaluate the regional and global systolic function of LV in patients with CHD ,which can also be used to predict the degree or range of coronary artery stenosis .

Objective To analyzed the left ventricular (LV) regional and global strains in coronary artery stenosis by using three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-STI) and two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) for the assessment of left ventricular systolic function,and to compare the clinical values between 3D-STI and 2D-STI in the detection of coronary stenosis.Methods 39 patients with coronary artery stenosis and 32 sex-age matched controls were enrolled in this study.Coronary artery stenosis group was divided into ischemic group and non-ischemic group.Real-time three dimensional full volume and two-dimensional dynamic image of the LV were obtained and then analyzed by off-line analysis software.The parameters of 3D-STI were three-dimensional longitudinal strain (3D-LS),circumferential strain (3D-CS),radial strain (3D-RS),area strain (3D-AS),global longitudinal strain (3D-GLS),global circumferential train (3D-GCS),global radial strain (3D-GRS) and global area strain (3D-GAS).The parameters of 2D-STI were two-dimensional longitudinal strain (2D-LS),circumferential strain (2D-CS),radial strain (2D-RS),global longitudinal strain (2D-GLS),global circumferential train (2D-GCS) and global radial strain (2D-GRS).The global/regional strains derived from 3D-STI and 2D-STI in patient group and controls were analyzed for comparing their efficacy in detecting coronary artery stenosis.Results Compared with non-ischemic group,2D-LS,2D-CS,3D-LS,3D-CS and 3D-AS were lower in ischemic group (P ＜0.05).ROC curves showed the sensitivity of 2D-LS,3D-LS and 3D-AS for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia was 60.1％,64.2 ％ and 74.0 ％,while the specificity of them was 60.0％,61.0％ and 63.1％,respectively.There was no significant difference in 2D-GCS and 2D-GRS between coronary artery stenosis group and control group (P ＞ 0.05).Compared with control group,2D-GLS,3D-GLS,3D-GCS,3D-GRS and 3D-GAS were significantly lower in coronary artery stenosis group (P ＜0.05).ROC curves showed the sensitivity of 2D-GLS,3D-GLS and 3D-GAS in the diagnosis of coronary artery stenosis was 61.3％,73.3％ and 79.3 ％,while the specificity was 65.4％,66.0 ％ and 70.8 ％,respectively.The sensitivity and specificity of 3D-GAS were the highest in these parameters.It is revealed that 2D-GLS,2D-GCS and 2D-GRS were correlated with LVEF (r1 =-0.668,P1 ＜0.001 ;r2 =-0.551,P2 ＜0.001 ;r3 =0.310,P3 ＜0.05),and 3D-GLS,3D-GCS,3D-GRS,3D-GAS were correlated with LVEF (r1 =-0.634,P1 ＜0.001 ;r2 =-0.672,P2＜0.001 ;r3 =0.698,P3＜0.001 ;r4 =-0.707,P4＜0.001).The correlate of 3D-GAS and LVEF was higher than other parameters.Conclusions 3D-STI is superior to 2D-STI in assessing regional and global left ventricular systolic function in patients with coronary artery stenosis,and 3D-GAS derived from 3D-STI is a ideal parameter of detecting significant coronary artery stenosis based on its highest sensitivity and specificity.

Objective To evaluate the function and synchronization of left atrial in patients with chronic heart failure(CHF) by two dimensional-speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) and real-time threedimensional echocardiography(RT-3DE).Methods Thirty-two healthy controls and twenty-nine patients with CHF were studied.The mean strain and strain rate during systole,early and late of diastole(mSs,mSe and mSa,mSRs,mSRe and mSRa) were measured at each left atrial wall by 2D-STI.From the volume-time curve of RT-3DE workstation,the maximum volume (LAVmax),the minimum volume(LAVmin),the volume before contraction(LAVp) of left atrial were acquired.Accordingly,the total,passive and active ejection fraction could be calculated.The synchronization parameters derived from 2D-STI and RT-3DE were the dispersion of time to peak strain and time to the minimum volume (T-SD and Tmsv-16-SD).The index of volume and time were corrected by the body surface area and interval of R-R,respectively.The correlation were analysed betwee them.Results () Comparing between two groups,the mSs,mSe and mSa were shortened and the mSRs,mSRe and mSRa were slower in CHF group (P ＜ 0.05).② All the index of volume were gradually increasing from control to CHF group,but the LATEF,LAPEF and LAAEF were just the reverse,with all parameters had significant difference between two groups (P ＜0.05).③ The synchronization parameters were significantly higher from control to CHF group by the two kinds of skills (P ＜0.05).Comparing with 2D-STI,the indexes of synchronization were bigger and the asynchronization rate of CHF group were higher by RT-3DE.④The indexes of synchronization had a negative correlation with the strain rate and the ejection fraction,but had a positive correlation with the index of volume.Conclusions The function of left atrial are reduced in patients of CHF,there are asynchronization.2D-STI and RT 3DE may paly important roles in the evaluation of function and synchronization of left atrial.The relevance ratio of the left atrial asynchronization are higher from the RT-3DE than 2D-STI.