Objective: To define radiographic features that response to serial casting and bracing for progressive early-onset scoliosis (EOS). Methods: A retrospective study of a total of 20 patients (10 females and 10 males) with complete radiographic data diagnosed as progressive early onset scoliosis treated with serial cast or brace for at least 12 months in the 306th Hospital of PLA from June 2011 to April 2018. Ages at initial diagnosis were all less than 5 years old. They were divided into two groups according to the main curve degree, those with cobbs angles more than 50 degree treated with serial cast, or else with brace. All the cases have radiographs of pretreatment, posttreatment, and last follow-up, and anteroposterior (lateral) film of the full length spine in standing position were taken to evaluate magnitudes and balance of coronal and sagittal malformations. We compared the general data of the two groups by independent sample t test and that of pretreatment, posttreatment and the last follow-up by paired-sample t test. Results: According to the effective standard of not less than 10 degrees improvement, 9 of them were effective, 4 cast and 5 brace, the effective rates were 44.44% and 45.45%, 3 cases from brace group progressed. The magnitudes of the main curve improved significantly after the first treatment of cast and brace (55.4±24.36 vs 42.35±23.62) degree (t=5.850, P=0.000), and at the last follow up, the curve decreased slightly compared of that before interventions (55.4±24.36 vs 51.8±26.33). The compensatory curves, segmental kyphosis, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, balance of both coronal and sagittal also had no significant differences between the primal and the latest follow up. The widths 159.63±19.27 mm, 160.81±14.54 mm, 176.08±28.10 mm (t=3.942, P=0.001; t=-3.096, P=0.006) and heights 153.78±29.24 mm, 161.14±29.53 mm, 175.01±36.91 mm of the thoracic were significantly different between pre-posttreatment and the last follow up (t=-5.950, P=0.000; t=-3.997, P=0.001). Serial cast and brace application can preserve the growth of the thorax. Conclusion Serial cast and brace are viable growth friendly methods to deal with progressed EOS, Although a cure improvement cannot be always expected, they can stabilize relatively large curves in young children and may help delay eventual surgical intervention.

Objective:To explore the application and value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in refractory infection after organ transplantation.Methods:A case report discussed about a patient with lumbar spine infection after kidney transplantation and the relevant literature was reviewed. The recipient was a 63-year-old man with low back pain after kidney transplantation. Lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging showed lumbar spine infection. Multiple operations plus antibacterial and antituberculosis treatments were ineffective. Before and after treatment, numerous tests of traditional pathogenic microorganisms failed to detect any positive bacteria.Results:The detection of lumbar secretion by mNGS suggested aspergillus infection. The symptoms improved after dosing of voriconazole.Conclusions:The incidence of fungal infection of lumbar spine is low. The imaging manifestations are non-typical so that it is easy to misdiagnose. mNGS helps to timely diagnose and guide treatment. With a review of the literature, mNGS has some application value for some difficult and rare infectious diseases.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a pernicious tumor with high heterogeneity, which creates a conundrum for making a precise diagnosis and choosing an optimal treatment approach. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) with anatomical and functional sequences has evolved as a routine and significant paradigm for the detection and characterization of PCa. Moreover, using radiomics to extract quantitative data has emerged as a promising field due to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and image data processing. Radiomics acquires novel imaging biomarkers by extracting imaging signatures and establishes models for precise evaluation. Radiomics models provide a reliable and noninvasive alternative to aid in precision medicine, demonstrating advantages over traditional models based on clinicopathological parameters. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of related studies of radiomics in PCa, specifically around the development and validation of radiomics models using MRI-derived image features. The current landscape of the literature, focusing mainly on PCa detection, aggressiveness, and prognosis evaluation, is reviewed and summarized. Rather than studies that exclusively focus on image biomarker identification and method optimization, models with high potential for universal clinical implementation are identified. Furthermore, we delve deeper into the critical concerns that can be addressed by different models and the obstacles that may arise in a clinical scenario. This review will encourage researchers to design models based on actual clinical needs, as well as assist urologists in gaining a better understanding of the promising results yielded by radiomics.
Male ; Humans ; Artificial Intelligence ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Precision Medicine ; Retrospective Studies