Objective:To investigate the effects of the Epley and Semont procedures with varying lateral angles of the head on posterior semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo （PC-BPPV）. Methods:A total of 115 patients with unilateral PC-BPPV were randomly divided into five groups: Epley group, Semont group, Semont+10° group, Semont+20° group, and Semont+30° group, with 23 patients in each group. Corresponding reduction treatments were performed. Results:The total effective rates for the Epley group, Semont group, Semont+10° group, Semont+20° group, and Semont+30° group were 95.7% （22/23）, 4.3% （1/23）, 30.4% （7/23）, 52.2% （12/23）, and 87.0% （20/23） respectively. The inefficiencies were 4.3% （1/23）, 95.7% （22/23）, 69.6% （16/23）, 47.8% （11/23）, and 13.0% （3/23）. Statistically significant differences were observed in the total effective rates among the five groups （χ²=54.11, P<0.01）. The total effective rates in the Semont group, Semont+10° group, and Semont+20° group were significantly different from that of the Epley group （P<0.01）, while no statistically significant difference was found between the Semont+30° group and the Epley group （P= 0.608>0.012 5）. Conclusion:Among the four Semont methods with different lateral lying angles, the total effective rate of reduction treatment increased with the elevation of the lateral lying angle on the affected side. The efficacy of the Semont+30° group in treating PC-BPPV was not significantly different from the Epley group's reduction effect, which was markedly superior to that of the other four Semont methods at different angles. Therefore, the Semont+30° reduction technique is recommended for the treatment of PC-BPPV.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo/therapy* ; Head ; Posture ; Semicircular Canals/physiopathology* ; Treatment Outcome

Apical microsurgery is accurate and minimally invasive, produces few complications, and has a success rate of more than 90%. However, due to the lack of awareness and understanding of apical microsurgery by dental general practitioners and even endodontists, many clinical problems remain to be overcome. The consensus has gathered well-known domestic experts to hold a series of special discussions and reached the consensus. This document specifies the indications, contraindications, preoperative preparations, operational procedures, complication prevention measures, and efficacy evaluation of apical microsurgery and is applicable to dentists who perform apical microsurgery after systematic training.
Microsurgery/standards* ; Humans ; Apicoectomy ; Contraindications, Procedure ; Tooth Apex/diagnostic imaging* ; Postoperative Complications/prevention & control* ; Consensus ; Treatment Outcome

Pulpotomy, which belongs to vital pulp therapy, has become a strategy for managing pulpitis in recent decades. This minimally invasive treatment reflects the recognition of preserving healthy dental pulp and optimizing long-term patient-centered outcomes. Pulpotomy is categorized into partial pulpotomy (PP), the removal of a partial segment of the coronal pulp tissue, and full pulpotomy (FP), the removal of whole coronal pulp, which is followed by applying the biomaterials onto the remaining pulp tissue and ultimately restoring the tooth. Procedural decisions for the amount of pulp tissue removal or retention depend on the diagnostic of pulp vitality, the overall treatment plan, the patient's general health status, and pulp inflammation reassessment during operation. This statement represents the consensus of an expert committee convened by the Society of Cariology and Endodontics, Chinese Stomatological Association. It addresses the current evidence to support the application of pulpotomy as a potential alternative to root canal treatment (RCT) on mature permanent teeth with pulpitis from a biological basis, the development of capping biomaterial, and the diagnostic considerations to evidence-based medicine. This expert statement intends to provide a clinical protocol of pulpotomy, which facilitates practitioners in choosing the optimal procedure and increasing their confidence in this rapidly evolving field.
Humans ; Calcium Compounds/therapeutic use* ; Consensus ; Dental Pulp ; Dentition, Permanent ; Oxides/therapeutic use* ; Pulpitis/therapy* ; Pulpotomy/standards*

Intentional tooth replantation (ITR) is an advanced treatment modality and the procedure of last resort for preserving teeth with inaccessible endodontic or resorptive lesions. ITR is defined as the deliberate extraction of a tooth; evaluation of the root surface, endodontic manipulation, and repair; and placement of the tooth back into its original socket. Case reports, case series, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of ITR in the retention of natural teeth that are untreatable or difficult to manage with root canal treatment or endodontic microsurgery. However, variations in clinical protocols for ITR exist due to the empirical nature of the original protocols and rapid advancements in the field of oral biology and dental materials. This heterogeneity in protocols may cause confusion among dental practitioners; therefore, guidelines and considerations for ITR should be explicated. This expert consensus discusses the biological foundation of ITR, the available clinical protocols and current status of ITR in treating teeth with refractory apical periodontitis or anatomical aberration, and the main complications of this treatment, aiming to refine the clinical management of ITR in accordance with the progress of basic research and clinical studies; the findings suggest that ITR may become a more consistent evidence-based option in dental treatment.
Humans ; Tooth Replantation/methods* ; Consensus ; Periapical Periodontitis/surgery*

Objective:To develop a prediction tool for 6-year incident risk of frailty among Chinese older adults aged 65 years or above.Methods:Data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2002 to 2018 was used, including 13 676 older adults aged 65 years or above who were free of frailty at baseline. Key predictors of frailty were identified via the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method, and were thereafter used to predict the incident frailty based on the Cox proportional hazards regression model. The model was internally validated by 2 000 Bootstrap resamples and evaluated for the performance of discrimination and calibration using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration curve, respectively. The net benefit of the developed prediction tool was evaluated by decision-curve analysis.Results:The M( Q1, Q3) age and follow-up time of the participants were 81.0 (71.0, 90.0) years and 6.0 (4.1, 9.2) years, respectively. A total of 4 126 older persons (30.2%) were recorded with frailty incidents during the follow-up, with the corresponding incidence density of 41.8/1 000 person-years. A total of 15 key predictors of frailty were selected by LASSO, namely, age, sex, race, education years, meat consumption, tea drinking, performing housework, raising domestic animals, playing cards or mahjong, and baseline status of visual function, activities of the daily living score, instrumental activities of the daily living score, hypertension, heart disease, and self-rated health. The prediction model was internally validated with an AUC of 0.802, with the max Youden's index of 0.467 at a risk threshold of 19.0%. The calibration curve showed high consistency between predicted probabilities and observed proportions of frailty events. The decision curve indicated that higher net benefits could be obtained via the prediction model than did strategies based on intervention in all or none participants for any risk threshold less than 59%, and the model-based net benefit was estimated to be 0.10 at a risk threshold of 19.0%. Conclusions:The herein developed 6-year incident risk prediction model of frailty, based on easily accessible questionnaires and physical examination variables, has good predictive performance. It has application potential in identifying populations at high risk of incident frailty.

Objective:To investigate the application effect of production-oriented approach (POA) for consulting ability teaching in general practice standardized residency training.Methods:Eighteen third-year general practice residents in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University received a special training course on the consulting ability based on POA with the situational simulation teaching from September 2021 to March 2022. The consulting ability of residents was evaluated with Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and Leichester Assessment Package (LAP) before and after the training, and the results were compared. Meanwhile, a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted to assess residents′ satisfaction with the course.Results:All 18 resident trainees (11 females and 7 males) aged 25 to 34 (27.3±2.4) years successfully completed the training. Both OSCE scores and LAP scores after the training were significantly higher than those before training (66.25±5.84 vs. 44.44±12.80, t=8.46, P<0.001; 65.78±7.05 vs. 38.33±14.2, t=1.47, P<0.001, respectively). The ability of medical history collection, physical examination, patient management, problem solving, doctor-patient relationship, preventive care and medical record writing were all significantly improved after the training compared with those before training ( t=2.464, 4.278, 8.997, 2.385, 10.35, 5.212, 7.578, all P<0.05). The questionnaire survey showed that all the 18 residents were satisfied with the reasonableness of the teaching content, the class time arrangement, the teaching progress arrangement and the instructors. In the dimension of training effectiveness, 18 participants all believed that the course was helpful to improve their humanistic quality and confidence in reception. In terms of self-promotion, all respondents believed that this course was able to promote their reflection ability and stimulate their learning interest. By coding and analyzing the contents of the semi-structured interviews with the residents, nine main themes were constructed, namely course deficiencies, course characteristics, course advantages, course suggestions, trainees′ deficiencies, trainees′ gains, trainees′ goals, previous teaching deficiencies, and instructor′s role. The results showed that all residents had a high degree of satisfaction with the course, and they thought the course was vivid and interesting and it is able to mobilize the enthusiasm of learning, promote learner to reflect. The residents also suggested to increase the teaching hours and to enrich teaching cases. Conclusion:The consulting ability training of general practice based on POA can effectively improve consulting ability, stimulate learning interest and improve independent learning ability of residents, which gains recognition from both faculty and trainees.

Objective:To investigate the effectiveness and safety of ultrasound-guided endovascular therapy for autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) thrombosis.Methods:It was a single-center retrospective cohort study. Data of patients undergoing ultrasound-guided intravascular therapy due to AVF thrombosis in the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University from August 2018 to June 2021 were analyzed. According to different surgical procedures, the patients were divided into two groups. Patients treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) + drilling thrombectomy were in group A, and patients treated with PTA only were in group B. After 1 year of follow-up, the surgical technique success rate, primary patency rate, secondary patency rate and complications were compared between the two groups.Results:A total of 152 patients were enrolled, including 74 in group A and 78 in group B. There were no significant differences in gender, age, proportion of patients with diabetes and hypertension, and thrombosis time of AVF between the two groups (all P>0.05). Compared with group B, the diameter and length of thrombus in group A were larger [13.0(9.0, 16.0) mm vs. 6.0(5.0, 6.5) mm, Z=-9.362, P<0.001; 12(8, 15) cm vs. 3(3, 4) cm, Z=-10.061, P<0.001], and the establishment time of AVF was longer [5(2, 7) years vs. 2(1, 5) years, Z=-2.698, P=0.007]. Among the overall patients, the success rate of surgery was 96.7% (147/152), and the success rate of surgery was 95.9% (71/74) in group A and 97.4% (76/78) in group B respectively, with no statistical difference ( χ2=0.004, P=0.952). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that, overall, the primary patency rate at 3rd, 6th and 12th month after operation was 87.1%, 71.4% and 56.6%, and the secondary patency rate was 97.1%, 96.4% and 94.1%, respectively. The primary patency rate of group A at 3rd, 6th and 12th month was 82.4%, 66.7% and 53.6%, and the secondary patency rate was 95.7%, 94.2% and 89.7%, respectively. The primary patency rate of group B at 3rd, 6th and 12th month was 91.5%, 73.2% and 59.7%, and the secondary patency rate was 98.6%, 98.6% and 98.5%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the primary and secondary patency rate between group A and group B at 3rd, 6th and 12th month (all P>0.05). The duration of operation in group A was longer than that in group B [2.0(1.9, 2.0) h vs. 2.0(1.0, 2.0) h, Z=-5.181, P<0.001], but no serious complications occurred in both groups. Conclusion:The two surgical methods are effective, safe and reliable in the treatment of AVF thrombosis, and have high clinical application value.

The study was aimed to assess the impact of Brucea javanica oil emulsion(BJOE)on the responsiveness of programmed death receptor-1(PD-1)monoclonal antibody to lung adenocarcinoma in mice.The experimental approach involved subcutaneously inoculating Lewis's lung adenocarcinoma(LLC)cells into C57BL/6 mice,which were then divided into four groups:model group,25 ml·kg-1 BJOE group,10 mg·kg-1 PD-1 group,and combination group(25 ml·kg-1 BJOE and 10 mg·kg-1 PD-1).Tumor volume,mass,and inhibition rate were evaluated;the apoptosis within tumor tissue was detected by TUNEL staining;CD4+and CD8+T cell proportions within tumor tissues were analyzed by flow cytometry;the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interferon-γ(IFN-γ)and granzyme B in tumor tissue were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Additionally,LLC cells were categorized into a control group and three BJOE treatment groups(10,30,50 μl·ml-1),and programmed death ligand 1(PD-L1)expression in tumor tissues and LLC cells were assessed by Western blotting.Data showed that as compared with the model group,PD-1 monoclonal antibody alone did not significantly alter tumor volume,tumor mass,CD4+and CD8+T cell proportions,cytokine levels(IFN-γ,TNF-α,Granzyme B),or apoptosis in lung cancer-bearing mice.However,BJOE treatment reduced tumor volume and mass,enhanced CD4+and CD8+T cell proportions,increased cytokine levels,and augmented apoptosis(all P<0.05).Furthermore,the combination therapy of BJOE and PD-1 monoclonal antibody yielded significantly greater reductions in tumor volume and mass,with heightened CD4+and CD8+T cell proportions,cytokine levels,and apoptosis compared to either treatment alone(all P<0.05).Both BJOE treatment and the combination therapy significantly upregulated PD-L1 protein expression in tumor tissues compared to the model or PD-1 monoclonal antibody groups(P<0.05).Similarly,BJOE treatment at all tested concentrations significantly increased PD-L1 protein expression in LLC cells as compared to the control group(P<0.05).In conclusion,BJOE could upregulate PD-L1 expression in LLC cells and enhance the sensitivity of lung adenocarcinoma-bearing mice to PD-1 monoclonal antibodies.

Chemical cleaning and disinfection are crucial steps for eliminating infection in root canal treatment.However,irrigant selection or irrigation procedures are far from clear.The vapor lock effect in the apical region has yet to be solved,impeding irrigation efficacy and resulting in residual infections and compromised treatment outcomes.Additionally,ambiguous clinical indications for root canal medication and non-standardized dressing protocols must be clarified.Inappropriate intracanal medication may present side effects and jeopardize the therapeutic outcomes.Indeed,clinicians have been aware of these concerns for years.Based on the current evidence of studies,this article reviews the properties of various irrigants and intracanal medicaments and elucidates their effectiveness and interactions.The evolution of different kinetic irrigation methods,their effects,limitations,the paradigm shift,current indications,and effective operational procedures regarding intracanal medication are also discussed.This expert consensus aims to establish the clinical operation guidelines for root canal irrigation and a position statement on intracanal medication,thus facilitating a better understanding of infection control,standardizing clinical practice,and ultimately improving the success of endodontic therapy.

Objective:To investigate the impact of early removal of nasogastric tubes on functional recovery after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer patients, to provide scientific evidence for enhanced recovery after surgery strategies in gastric cancer.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 102 gastric cancer patients who underwent total gastrectomy at Beijing Friendship Hospital affiliated with the Capital Medical University from March 2018 to July 2022. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether the gastric tube was removed within 24 hours post-operation: the early removal group (within 24 hours, 55 patients) and the non-early removal group (beyond 24 hours, 47 patients). The recovery outcomes, including time to first flatus, time to fluid intake, length of hospital stay, and the incidence of postoperative complications, were compared between the two groups. Non-normally distributed data were expressed as M( Q1, Q3) and compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Categorical data were expressed as frequencies or percentages and compared using the chi-square test or Fisher′s exact test. To minimize the impact of potential confounders, multivariable linear regression and logistic regression analyses adjusted for propensity scores were further employed to compare quantitative and qualitative data between the groups. Statistical analyses were performed using R software. Results:The exhaust time, water intake time, and hospital stay in the early removal group were 3.0(2.0, 3.5) days, 4.0(3.0, 5.0) days, and 7.0(7.0, 8.0) days, respectively, while those in the non-early removal group were 4.0(3.0, 5.0) days, 6.0(5.0, 7.0) days, and 8.0(7.5, 11.0) days, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups ( P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative complications between the two groups (5.45% vs 17.02%, P=0.060). Propensity score-adjusted regression analysis suggested that early tube removal might reduce the risk of postoperative complications ( P=0.042). Conclusion:Early removal of nasogastric tubes can significantly accelerate functional recovery after total gastrectomy for gastric cancer patients and may reduce the risk of postoperative complications, providing important clinical guidance for enhanced recovery after surgery management in gastric cancer.