Objective:To investigate the clinical outcome of transposition of the medial gastrocnemius muscle flap in repairing the middle and upper tibial soft tissue defects.Methods:The clinical data of patients with mid-upper tibial tissue defects admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from September 2016 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Doppler ultrasound was used to detect and mark the blood vessels and branches of the lower limbs before surgery, the medial gastrocnemius muscle flap was designed according to the wound condition of the patient, the soft tissue defects in the middle and upper part of the tibia were repaired by transposition, and the appearance, color, feel, texture, gait and plantar flexion strength of the affected foot, as well as the recovery of the donor site were followed up after surgery. For patients with chronic osteomyelitis, the efficacy is evaluated with reference to McKee and other osteomyelitis treatment standards, including three levels: cure, improvement and recurrence.Results:A total of 11 patients were enrolled, including 9 males and 2 females, aged 48 to 69 years. The area of soft tissue defect ranged 3.8 cm×5.7 cm-14.2 cm×7.6 cm, and the flap size ranged 13.0 cm×6.0 cm-21.0 cm×13.0 cm. After surgery, one case had blisters at the distal end, which were cured after conservative measures. Other flaps and donor wounds presented good blood circulation, the shape and function recovered satisfactorily, and the incision healed uneventfully. 11 cases were followed up for 7-18 months after surgery, with an average of 13.2 months, and the appearance, color and texture of the flap were basically satisfactory. The two-point distance perception of the flap was 13-20 mm 9 months after surgery, with an average of 15 mm. At the last follow-up visit, the plantar flexion strength of the affected side was weaker than that of the healthy side, but the gait was basically normal. All 4 patients with chronic osteomyelitis met the clinical cure criteria, and there was no rash, swelling, overheat and pain, rupture, exudation and sinus tract formation at the primary lesion during the follow-up period (average 14 months), and no osteosclerosis and dead bone formation were found on X-ray examination. There was no deformity and dysfunction at the donor site. There was one case presented pigmentation at the donor site of the thigh. Some cases presented superficial scarring.Conclusions:The transposition of the medial gastrocnemius muscle flap repairs the middle and upper tibial tissue defects without sacrificing the major blood vessels, and the flap survival rate is high, the complications are minimal, and the function and morphological recovery of the receiving area are good.

Objective:To investigate the clinical outcome of transposition of the medial gastrocnemius muscle flap in repairing the middle and upper tibial soft tissue defects.Methods:The clinical data of patients with mid-upper tibial tissue defects admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from September 2016 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Doppler ultrasound was used to detect and mark the blood vessels and branches of the lower limbs before surgery, the medial gastrocnemius muscle flap was designed according to the wound condition of the patient, the soft tissue defects in the middle and upper part of the tibia were repaired by transposition, and the appearance, color, feel, texture, gait and plantar flexion strength of the affected foot, as well as the recovery of the donor site were followed up after surgery. For patients with chronic osteomyelitis, the efficacy is evaluated with reference to McKee and other osteomyelitis treatment standards, including three levels: cure, improvement and recurrence.Results:A total of 11 patients were enrolled, including 9 males and 2 females, aged 48 to 69 years. The area of soft tissue defect ranged 3.8 cm×5.7 cm-14.2 cm×7.6 cm, and the flap size ranged 13.0 cm×6.0 cm-21.0 cm×13.0 cm. After surgery, one case had blisters at the distal end, which were cured after conservative measures. Other flaps and donor wounds presented good blood circulation, the shape and function recovered satisfactorily, and the incision healed uneventfully. 11 cases were followed up for 7-18 months after surgery, with an average of 13.2 months, and the appearance, color and texture of the flap were basically satisfactory. The two-point distance perception of the flap was 13-20 mm 9 months after surgery, with an average of 15 mm. At the last follow-up visit, the plantar flexion strength of the affected side was weaker than that of the healthy side, but the gait was basically normal. All 4 patients with chronic osteomyelitis met the clinical cure criteria, and there was no rash, swelling, overheat and pain, rupture, exudation and sinus tract formation at the primary lesion during the follow-up period (average 14 months), and no osteosclerosis and dead bone formation were found on X-ray examination. There was no deformity and dysfunction at the donor site. There was one case presented pigmentation at the donor site of the thigh. Some cases presented superficial scarring.Conclusions:The transposition of the medial gastrocnemius muscle flap repairs the middle and upper tibial tissue defects without sacrificing the major blood vessels, and the flap survival rate is high, the complications are minimal, and the function and morphological recovery of the receiving area are good.

Objective:To explore the value of vascular endothelial-cadherin (VE-cad) in evaluating the severity of sepsis.Methods:A prospective study was conducted to select 85 patients with sepsis treated in the emergency ward of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from June 1, 2015 to November 1, 2017. The gender, age, medical history, first infection site, number of affected organs, laboratory indexes, acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ(APACHEⅡ), simplified acute physiology score Ⅱ(SAPSⅡ), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) and the total length of stay, emergency intensive care unit (EICU) length of stay, 28-day at admission and survival during hospitalization were measured, and the VE-cad level within 24 hours at admission was measured. The patients were divided into sepsis group and septic shock group according to the progress of the disease. The patients were divided into multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) group and non MODS group according to whether they were accompanied by MODS. The differences of the above indexes in patients with different disease progression, MODS and different prognosis were analyzed and compared. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was drawn to evaluate the value of VE-cad in evaluating the severity of sepsis.Results:A total of 85 patients were included, mainly respiratory tract infection. Among them, 38 cases were sepsis and 47 cases were septic shock, 39 cases had MODS, 46 cases had no MODS, 64 cases survived and 21 cases died within 28 days after admission. Compared with sepsis group, the number of affected organs in septic shock group was greater [3 (2, 4) vs. 1 (0, 2)], APACHE Ⅱscore [13 (10, 21) vs. 7 (5, 12)], SAPS Ⅱscore [35 (31, 55) vs. 7 (5, 12)], SOFA score [7.0 (5.0, 10.0) vs. 3.0 (0, 5.0)], blood lactic acid [Lac (mmol/L): 3.5 (2.4, 6.2) vs. 1.9 (1.2, 2.2)], C-reactive protein [CRP (mg/L): 90.0 (58.1, 90.0) vs. 50.5 (38.0, 90.0)] and VE-cad levels [mg/L: 1.427 (1.141, 2.150) vs. 1.195 (0.901, 1.688)] were significantly increased, while platelet count [PLT (×10 9/L): 113.4±67.2 vs. 202.5±109.5] and hemoglobin (Hb) levels (g/L: 106.3±36.3 vs. 118.6±18.0) were significantly decreased (all P < 0.05). Compared with non MODS group, APACHE Ⅱ score [14 (10, 22) vs. 8 (6, 13)], SAPS Ⅱ score [36 (32, 56) vs. 29 (24, 35)], SOFA score (7.9±3.9 vs. 4.0±3.8), in-hospital mortality [53.8% (21/39) vs. 0% (0/46)], Lac [mmol/L: 3.1 (2.3, 6.3) vs. 2.1 (1.4, 4.6)] and VE-cad levels [mg/L: 1.427 (1.156, 1.937) vs. 1.195 (0.897, 1.776)] in MODS group were significantly higher, the length of stay in EICU was significantly longer [days: 6 (3, 12) vs. 3 (0, 7)], and the PLT level was significantly lower (×10 9/L: 118.2±80.0 vs. 182.5±104.0, all P < 0.05). Compared with the death group, the number of affected organs in the survival group was fewer [2 (1, 3) vs. 3 (1, 5)], APACHE Ⅱ score [9 (6, 13) vs. 21 (13, 25)], SAPS Ⅱ score [31 (25, 36) vs. 55 (35, 63)] and SOFA score (4.7±3.7 vs. 8.9±4.5) were significantly reduced, and the length of stay in EICU [days: 4 (1, 8) vs. 8 (3, 15)] was significantly shorter (all P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that area under the ROC curve (AUC) of VE-cad, SOFA score and VE-cad combined with SOFA score in evaluating the severity of sepsis were 0.632 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 0.513-0.750], 0.830 (95% CI was 0.744-0.916) and 0.856 (95% CI was 0.779-0.933), respectively. When the cut-off value of VE-cad was 1.240 mg/L, the sensitivity was 68.1% and the specificity was 55.3%, the sensitivity of VE-cad combined with SOFA score was 85.1%, the specificity was 73.7%. Conclusion:VE-cad has a certain evaluation value for the severity of sepsis, and the evaluation value of VE-cad combined with SOFA score is better than that of VE-cad single index.