OBJECTIVETo investigate the epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of Brucella orchitis, so as to provide reliable evidence for the prevention and treatment of the disease.

METHODSWe conducted retrospective statistical analyses on the medical records of 48 outpatients and 21 inpatients with Brucella orchitis.

RESULTSBrucella orchitis was diagnosed in 6.67% of the male patients with brucellosis (69/1 034). The disease exhibited typical epidemiological features, with a higher incidence rate among those in frequent contact with sheep and elderly people, in the period from April to July, and in the areas with sheep husbandry. All the Brucella orchitis patients had such local symptoms as testicular pain and swelling, more frequently involving both testes, and other most common symptoms included fever, chills, sweating, and painful joints. Based on IIEF-5, 45 of the patients suffered from severe erectile dysfunction, with their reproductive function temporarily affected in the course of the disease. Misdiagnosis easily occurred in the early stage of the disease. Therapeutic options mainly included doxycycline hydrochloride and rifampicin, administered orally or intravenously, which could effect a cure, though relapse might occur in some cases.

CONCLUSIONBru- cella orchitis has distinct epidemiological characteristics, with clinical manifestations of testicular pain and swelling. Though a transient disease, it affects the reproductive function of the patient before cured. It can be treated by combined oral and intravenous medication, with painkillers or ice bags for testicular pain and swelling.

Animals ; Brucella ; pathogenicity ; Brucellosis ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Orchitis ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Sheep

Electronic case report forms (eCRFs) instead of the traditional paper case report forms (pCRFs) are increasingly used by investigators and sponsors of clinical research. We include a total of 14 phase III studies (8 pCRF, 6 eCRF) to compare paper and electronic data documentation both quantitatively and qualitatively in clinical studies. The result suggests that adaptions of electronic data capture (EDC) in clinical trials have the advantages in optimization of data capture process, improvement of data quality and earlier clinical decision compared to paper-based methods. Furthermore, the successful implementation of EDC requires accouplements with corresponding data management processes and reallocation of resources.
Clinical Trials, Phase III as Topic ; Data Collection ; methods ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; methods ; Medical Informatics

Objective To evaluate the clinical value of MSCTA in displaying the right gastroepiploic artery(RGEA).Methods 16-slice spiral CT enhanced images of abdomen in 80 cases were retrospectively reviewed.The course and the length of RGEA were observed and the diameters of RGEA at the origin and the end were also measured on maximum intensity projection(MIP),thin slice maximum intensity projection(TSMIP) and volume rendering(VR) images.Results The displaying rate of RGEA by MSCTA was 100% including long type in 22 cases(27.50%),moderate type in 53 cases(66.25%) and short type in 5 cases(6.25%).The average length of RGEAs was (19.5±4.5) cm.The average diameters of RGEAs at the origin in long,moderate and short type respectively were (2.69±0.26) mm,(2.70±0.18) mm,(2.68±0.12) mm respectively.The average diameters of RGEAs at the end in these three types were (1.76±0.17) mm,(1.75±0.18) mm and (1.74±0.05) mm respectively.The average diameters of RGEA in different length were no of statistical significance(P＞0.05).Conclusion RGEA can be evaluated with MSCTA before coronary artery bypass grafting.

ObjectiveTo examine the clinical utility of four methods in diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis.Methods A total of 60 patients with tuberculous meningitis were included as study group and another 70 patients with non-tuberculous intracranial infection as control group. Four methods, including conventional acid fast stain,Myobacterium tuberculous culture in BACTEC MGIT 960, real-time lfuorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) and modiifed acid fast stain, were used to assay the cerebrospinal lfuid specimens for diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis.ResultsThe positive rate was 11.7% (7/60), 6.7% (4/60), 48.3% (29/60), and 61.7% (37/60), respectively in the study group as tested by the four methods. There was signiifcant difference between the four methods in the positive rate (P< 0.05). Modiifed acid fast stain was more sensitive than the other 3 methods in identifying tuberculous meningitis (P< 0.05). This method also could identify the intracellularM. tuberculosis. All the 8 samples from the 4 patients who were positive for culture ofM. tuberculosis were positive in the modiifed acid fast stain.Conclusions The modiifed acid fast staining method is simple, fast, signiifcantly more senstive in detection of the acid fastM. tuberculosis in CSF, either extracellular or intracellular. It is worthwhile to further investigate its usefulness in early diagnosis of tuberculosis meningitis.

Osteoarthritis (Osteoarthritis, OA) is a common clinical degenerative joint disease with increased incidence rate in recent years. Animal experiment is one of the important ways to explore pathogenesis and treatment of OA, while induced animal model is the most important part in animal experiment. Intra-articular injection of drugs is a classical method for establishing animal model of OA. Choose of animal should follows the principle of correlation, appropriateness and practicability, injections should perform in accordance with experimental purposes and subject, detections means and evaluation methods also should corresponding to experimental reality. The gold standard of OA animal model and intra-articular injections has not build, need further study.
Animals ; Cytokines ; analysis ; Disease Models, Animal ; Injections, Intra-Articular ; Mice ; Osteoarthritis ; diagnosis ; etiology ; immunology ; Rabbits ; Rats

The shape and structure of granules are controlled by the granulation process, which is one of the main factors to determine the nature of the solid dosage forms. In this article, three kinds of granules of a traditional Chinese medicine for improving appetite and promoting digestion, namely, Jianwei Granules, were prepared using granulation technologies as pendular granulation, high speed stirring granulation, and fluidized bed granulation and the powder properties of them were investigated. Meanwhile, synchrotron radiation X-ray computed micro tomography (SR-µCT) was applied to quantitatively determine the irregular internal structures of the granules. The three-dimensional (3D) structure models were obtained by 3D reconstruction, which were more accurately to characterize the three-dimensional structures of the particles through the quantitative data. The models were also used to quantitatively compare the structural differences of granules prepared by different granulation processes with the same formula, so as to characterize how the production process plays a role in the pharmaceutical behaviors of the granules. To focus on the irregularity of the particle structure, the box counting method was used to calculate the fractal dimensions of the granules. The results showed that the fractal dimension is more sensitive to reflect the minor differences in the structure features than the conventional parameters, and capable to specifically distinct granules in structure. It is proved that the fractal dimension could quantitatively characterize the structural information of irregular granules. It is the first time suggested by our research that the fractal dimension difference (Df,c) between two fractal dimension parameters, namely, the volume matrix fractal dimension and the surface matrix fractal dimension, is a new index to characterize granules with irregular structures and evaluate the effects of production processes on the structures of granules as a new indicator for the granulating process control and optimization.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Fractals ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Powders ; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship ; Synchrotrons ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

To raise the syndrome sequence quantification, differentiation and classification algorithm based on data envelopment analysis for solving the modeling issue of syndrome differentiation and classification of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This algorithm has three steps: first, in order to obtain basic units for explaining pathogenesis, and establish a syndrome collection on this basis mechanisms of syndrome differentiation and classification were analyzed and classified according to TCM theory, mechanisms of syndrome differentiation and classification were analyzed and classified according to TCM theory; second, regularity and syndromes of corresponding prescriptions were sought according to the incidence and development progress of syndromes, and mathematical tools of data envelopment analysis were used to calculate state data of syndromes in each stage and obtain quantitative syndrome sequence; finally, syndrome sequence was taken as the measurement standard to quantify candidate syndromes and diagnostic information, and the similarity was calculated to obtain the matching degree between diagnostic information and candidate syndromes, so as to complete the syndrome differentiation and classification calculation. According to the results of model-based reasoning, the algorithm could indicate the regularity implied in prescription materials, and grasp the dynamic process of syndromes in an all-round way, and its results were verified through calculation and analysis on clinical cases. At least, it provides an idea for quantitative modeling of TCM.
Data Mining ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Models, Theoretical ; Phytotherapy

OBJECTIVETo study soft tissue changes observed through musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis with needle-knife, so as to provide MSUS basis for needle-knife in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

METHODSForty patients with knee osteoarthritis treated in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine from December 2011 to December 2012 were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. All the patients were treated with needle-knife release method. The VAS scores and knee joint circumference were recorded before treatment and 2 weeks after treatment. The changes of knee joint hydrops articuli and joint synovial thickness were measured through MSUS.

RESULTSThe knee pain index was 6.850 +/- 1.417 before treatment and 2.790 +/- 1.299 after treatment;the index after treatment was lower than that of before treatment. The knee joint circumference was 407.320 +/- 45.151 mm before treatment and 391.240 +/- 41.129 mm after treatment; the knee joint circumference decreased after treatment. The amount of hydrops articuli observed by musculoskeletal ultrasound showed that 47 knees were cured, 19 knees improved and 2 knees failed. The synovial membrane thickness: 43 knees cured, 17 knees improved and 8 knees failed.

CONCLUSIONThe hydrops articuli and synovial thickness of knee joint of patients with knee osteoarthritis observed under the MSUS is consistent with the main symptoms and signs, which suggests that MSUS observation on soft tissue changes before and after needle knife in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis with high reliability.

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Knee Joint ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needles ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Pain ; complications ; Synovial Membrane ; pathology ; Treatment Outcome ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVESTo analyse the characteristics of interventional treatment for anterior communicating artery aneurysm (AcoAA) and improve curative effects.

METHODSIn 126 patients, detachable microcoils were used to embolize the AcoAA via endovascular approach. Those patients failed to be embolized were treated by surgical clipping.

RESULTSOf the 109 patients who were embolized successfully, 97 were achieved 100% occlusion, 12 95% - 98% occlusion. In the other 17 patients who failed to interventional treatment 15 were treated surgically and 2 no treatment because of cerebral vascular spasm. 123 patients were cured, one died, and 2 had aneurysms disappeared without any operations, as proved by follow-up for 5 months to 1 years. Of 32 patients checked by cerebral angiography 3 weeks to 30 months after operation, 30 showed disappeared of aneurysms and 2 had recurrence. The recurred aneurysms were successfully reembolized.

CONCLUSIONSMost of AcoAAs can be cured by endovascular interventional treatment. Those who failed to be treated by embolization can be cured surgically. Few patients may be healed spontaneously. The long term effects of treatment should be followed-up for a long time.

Adult ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the use of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with self-locking cages to treat multi-segmental cervical myelopathy.

METHODSFrom April 2008 to March 2010, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with self-locking cages were performed on 45 patients who suffered from multi-segmental cervical myelopathy, among of them there were 23 male and 22 female, aged from 32 to 67 years (average 53 years). Recording the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores and SF-36 scores in the protocol time point, in order to investigate the clinical outcome, meanwhile, accumulating the pre-operation and postoperation X-ray films of cervical spine for measuring the height of intervertebral space, whole curvature of cervical spine and the rate of fusion by repeated measures analysis of variance.

RESULTSThe mean follow-up time was 28.4 months (24 - 35 months). JOA scores ascended from preoperative 6.5 ± 3.1 to postoperative 13.4 ± 1.7 (F = 17.84, P = 0.001), the 7 scores of SF-36 improved significantly after operation (t = 1.151 - 12.207, P < 0.05), but mental health not. The fineness rate was 91.1%. Height of disc space ascended from preoperative (5.5 ± 1.8) mm to postoperative (8.3 ± 0.8) mm (F = 11.71, P = 0.043), globle curvature of cervical spine ascended from preoperative 5° ± 7° to postoperative 10° ± 14° (F = 234.53, P = 0.000), the change of the two index was significantly, respectively. Fat necrosis in one case and hematoma in another case at the bone donor-site were found, both of the two cases were cured by physiotherapy. All of the 45 cases (111 segments) achieved bone fusion.

CONCLUSIONThe use of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with self-locking cages to treat multi-segmental cervical myelopathy possess many advantages as follows: satisfactory clinical outcome, minimally invasive, higher fusion rate, higher orthopaedic ability.

Adult ; Aged ; Cervical Vertebrae ; surgery ; Decompression, Surgical ; methods ; Diskectomy ; methods ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Internal Fixators ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; surgery ; Spinal Fusion ; instrumentation ; methods ; Treatment Outcome