Objective To analyze the correlation of vertebral osteophyte and lumbar disc degeneration in the elderly people and explore the possible mechanism of osteophyte formation. Methods X-ray and MRI data of 120 elderly people with backache or leg pain were retrospectively analyzed. Osteophyte was classified into four grades by X-ray according to the method proposed by Nathan. Discs with osteophyte were defined as occurring when osteophyte of grade II or greater were present. Lumbar disc degeneration was classified into five grades by MRI according to the method proposed by Pfirrmann. The obtained parameters were statistically treated and analyzed. Results Osteophyte and age were positively correlated at every lumbar disc level (P < 0.05). The proportion of osteophyte in L3/4 (76.7%) and L4/5 (70.08%) were more severe than that in L1/2 (31.7%) and L2/3 (46.7%). Osteophyte and lumbar disc degeneration were positively correlated at every lumbar disc level (P < 0.01). Conclusion Osteophyte becomes more severe with the increasing of lumbar disc degeneration. The vertebral stress after lumbar disc degeneration may be the main cause of osteophyte.

ObjectiveTo study the efficacy of adjuvant percutaneous transhepatic portal vein chemoembolization (PVCE) in the prevention of tumor recurrence after partial hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodsThe clinical data of 89 patients who received liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in our hospital from January 2007 to January 2010 were studied retrospectively.41patients received PVCE (the treatment group) while 48 patients received no PVCE (the control group).Postoperative recurrence and cumulative disease free survivals were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method.ResultsOn follow-up which ranged from 6-42 months,the 1- and 2-year disease free survivals were 76.5％ and 48.0％ in the treatment group,and 53.8％ and 25.8％ respectively in the control group (P＜0.05).The mean disease free survivals were 19.91 (95％ CI,16.09-23.73)and 13.8 months (95 ％ CI,10.95-16.65),respectively.The cumulative disease free survivals in the PVCE group were significantly higher than the control group (P=0.01).Cox multivariate analysis showed that adjuvant PVCE,tumor size,portal vein thrombosis,and postoperative transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) were independent factors of disease free survival.ConclusionAdjuvant PVCE was effective in preventing postoperative recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma after partial hepatectomy.

Objective To explore the effect of topical application of sodium hyaluronate on preventing perivascular adhesion of the vein grafts in rabbits. Methods Thirty-six male New Zealand white rabbits, aged 5 months, were randomly and equally divided into 2 groups: groups A and B. Arterial defect model was established by cutting about 1cm artery from the middle part of the dissected left common carotid artery. A section about 3cm was cut from the right external jugular vein, and the harvested vein was inverted and anastomosed end-to-end to the artery defect. After the anastomosis, the adventitia and two anastomoses of the grafted veins in group A were coated locally with 0.2ml sodium hyaluronate. The grafted veins were obtained 1, 2 and 4 weeks after the operation, with the perivascular adhesion of the vein grafts being examined macroscopically before the resection. HE staining and Masson staining were preformed for histological changes of grafted vein wall and the perivascular adhesion of the vein grafts. At 2, 4 weeks postoperation, the perivascular adhesions of the vein grafts were graded by the grading criteria of adhesion in macroscopic evaluation and histological evaluation. Result At 1, 2 and 4 weeks postoperatively, the macroscopic and histological observation found that the perivascular adhesions in group A were looser than those in group B. The macroscopic grade and histological grade were lower in group A than in group B, there was a significant difference between the two groups at 2 and 4 weeks postoperation (P<0.05). Conclusion Topical application of sodium hyaluronate can reduce the perivascular adhesion and is an ideal treatment strategy for preventing perivascular adhesion of vein grafts.

Objective To explore the role of serum inflammatory factors in prediction of infection following internal fixation of closed fractures and its significance for surgical timing and infection prophylaxis.Methods A retrospective study was conducted of the 100 patients who had been treated by internal fixation for closed fracture from January 2014 through July 2016.They were 52 men and 48 women,aged from 24 to 76 years (average,45 years).There were 14 femoral fractures,19 tibial plateau fractures,25 patella fractures,8 pilon fractures,22 tibiofibular shaft fractures,and 12 calcaneal fractures.Of them,21 were inflicted by wound infection.The preoperative and postoperative infection indexes,CRP,ESR,PCT and leukocyte count,were recorded.Logistic regression analysis was conducted to test the correlation between the infection indexes and postoperative infection.The optimal cut-off value was determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve.Results CRP showed a significant correlation with postoperative infection while other indexes did not.The optimal cut-off value was 25 mg/L at one day before operation.Conclusions Preoperative determination of CRP may predict the risk of postoperative infection.CRP ＞ 25 mg/L at one day before operation may indicate the following day is not suitable for surgery and active infection prophylaxis should be conducted after surgery.