Objective To provide an comprehensive evaluation of the correlation between sleep apnea hypopnea syn?drome (SAHS) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods The various case-control studies on the relation?ship between SAHS and NAFLD were retrieved from all kinds of large-scale databases at home and abroad (including Web of science, EMbase, Pubmed, Springer Link, EBSCO Databases, CNKI, CQVIP, Wanfang Data). The quality evaluation of in?cluded studies was made by two independent researchers. RevMan 5.1 and stata 12.0 software were used for meta-analysis. Results A total of 11 qualified documents were included in this study. Meta analysis showed that the relative risk of NAFLD was increased in SAHS patients than non-SAHS patients (RR=2.82, 95%CI:2.03-3.92, P<0.01). The serum ala?nine aminotransferase (ALT) increased in SAHS patients (SMD=0.53, 95% CI:0.02-1.05, P < 0.05). Compared with non-SAHS patients, the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was significantly higher in SAHS patients combined with severe NAFLD than those combined with mild NAFLD (SMD=1.42, 95%CI:0.12-2.72, P < 0.05). Conclusion The risk of NAFLD in?creases in SAHS patients. The severity of NAFLD is relatively higher with the severity of intermittent hypoxia.

OBJECTIVETo explore the value of ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in designing the indication, treatment protocol and operational skills for patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) near the liver surface.

METHODSSixty-one HCC patients with 69 lesions, confirmed by clinical examination and pathology, underwent percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. The study included 40 cases of liver function Child-Pugh grade A and 21 cases of grade B. The average size of tumors was (3.8 ± 1.2) cm, tumor diameter ≥ 4 cm accounted for 39.1% (27/69 lesions), and the average age was 58.2 years (range, 35-76 years). Taking comprehensive measures, such as intraperitoneal injection of saline adjacent to the tumor before RFA, increasing the puncture sites on the surface of tumor to avoid overlapping of the central portion of tumor, repeated ablation of the needle track to reduce needle tract metastasis, avoid vertical puncture, and other additional measures, to improve the inactivation of tumors adjacent to the liver surface. Enhanced CT/MRI was performed to evaluate the curative effect at 1, 3, 6 and 24 months after the treatment.

RESULTSThe inactivation rate of tumor was 98.6% (68/69 lesions) and local recurrence rate was 5.8%(4/69) after RFA. The tumor-related marker AFP was 1 000-1 500 ng/ml before and reduced to (98.5 ± 42.5) ng/ml after radiofrequency ablation, among them returned to normal in 13 cases (21.3%). Since the ablation area was rather small, the level of serum alanine aminotransferase was elevated only to (148.5 ± 38.5) U/ml at one week after RFA and returned to normal at (1.8 ± 0.6) week after RFA. No patient experienced severe liver dysfunction. The local HCC recurrent rate after RFA was 5.8%(4/69 lesions) and intrahepatic heterotopic recurrence rate was 24.6% (15/61). The 20-61 months follow-up showed that the 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rate was 83.6%, 57.3% and 44.2%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSUltrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation provides an effective minimally invasive treatment for primary HCC near the liver surface. Taking some additional measures such as intraperitoneal injection of saline, increase of percutaneous puncture sites, and avoiding vertical needle puncture, may reduce complications and improve the therapeutic outcome. RFA is one of effective and minimally invasive treatment and causing less liver damage for primary HCC near the liver surface.

Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; Catheter Ablation ; methods ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; surgery ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome ; Tumor Burden ; Ultrasonography, Interventional

Objective To investigate the value of real-time virtual navigation system (RVS) combined with CEUS in guiding radiofrequency ablation (RFA) therapy of neonatal or recurrent lesions of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods Totally 111 patients with neonatal or recurrent lesions of HCC after RFA therapy were enrolled.Seventy-eight patients with 86 lesions (77 neonatal lesions and 9 recurrent lesions) underwent RFA guided by RVS combined with CEUS (RVS combined with CEUS group),and 33 patients with 38 lesions (26 neonatal lesions and 12 recurrent lesions) underwent RFA guided by CEUS alone (control group).The precise localization,inactivation rate and local recurrence rate between the two groups were compared.Results Eighty-four lesions (84/86,97.67％) in RVS combined with CEUS group and 25 lesions (25/38,65.79％) in control group were clearly showed and localized (P＜0.001).One month after RFA therapy,the tumor inactivation rate in RVS combined with CEUS group and control group was 95.35 ％ (82/86) and 76.31％ (29/38),respectively (P=0.003).The local recurrence rate in RVS combined with CEUS group was 8.14％ (7/86),while was 36.84％ (14/38) in control group (x2 =15.434,P＜0.001).Conclusion RVS combined with CEUS guidance can improve the accurate position rate and early inactivation rate of RFA therapy for neonatal or recurrent lesions of HCC.

Objective To investigate the application value of ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in treatment of liver metastases of malignant tumor.Methods Clinical and imaging data of 109 patients with liver metastases of malignant tumor who underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous RFA during December 2009 to May 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.Results There were 31 patients (31/109,28.44％) with single liver metastases and 78 patients (78/109,71.56％) with multiple lesions.The primary tumors included colorectal,lung,breast,gastric,pancreatic,ovarian and prostate carcinomas.Among all 198 liver metastases,there were 151 (151/198,76.26％) with diameter ＜ 3 cm and 47 (47/198,23.74％) with diameter ≥3 cm.One month after RFA,187 lesions (187/198,94.44％) were completely inactivated,while the other 11 lesions (11/198,5.56％) still had residual activity.One month later,the tumor markers improved obviously compared with those before treatment (all P＜0.05).The incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications was 6.42％ (7/109).Conclusion Ultrasound-guided percutaneous RFA is a safe and effective treatment for patients with non-surgical indications of malignant liver metastases,which can partially control the survival activity of liver metastases.

Objective To investigate the current awareness of pharmaceutical service fees among pharmacists in hospitals of Shaanxi province to provide a theoretical basis and decision-making framework for establishing such fees in hospitals of various provinces and cities in the future.Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among 47 representative hospitals and 53 pharmacists within these hospitals in Shaanxi province.The results were analyzed using differential analysis.Results In most hospitals of Shaanxi province,pharmaceutical services are not provided or not charged for,indicating a lack of practical experience in the establishment of pharmaceutical service fees.Among hospitals that provide and charge for pharmaceutical services,there remains a need for uniformity in specific service content and fee standards,clear regulatory policy support,and a unified evaluation system.Significant differences exist among hospitals of different levels and types in terms of their capacity to provide pharmaceutical services and the forms in which they are offered.There is inconsistency among pharmacists within hospitals regarding crucial aspects of establishing pharmaceutical service fees,and further enhancement is needed in their awareness of relevant policies and the latest guidelines.Conclusions There is considerable room for improvement in establishing pharmaceutical service fees in hospitals of Shaanxi province.Stakeholders should promptly establish and standardize the fee establishment model,differentiate the fee standards for various services,enhance the publicity and dissemination of relevant document requirements to support the smooth implementation of pharmaceutical service fee policies.

Objective To investigate the medication and blood glucose control of type 2 diabetes patients under chronic diseases management in Xi'an chain pharmacies,and provides reference for improving the management policy of diabetes at grassroots level.Methods A number of chain pharmacies in the sixth district of Xi'an were selected by random sampling method,and on-site interviews were conducted by questionnaire survey to patients with type 2 diabetes under the management of chronic diseases.The basic information of patients,medication status(medication plan,drug adherence,etc.),diabetes-related conditions(blood glucose status,family history,course and complications,etc.)were collected.Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the relevant factors of blood glucose control in patients.Results A total of 403 patients were surveyed,the largest number of patients use oral hypoglycemic drugs alone(53.4％),followed by insulin medication(including insulin only and insulin in combination with oral hypoglycemic drugs)(35.7％),and the differences between disease course and glycemic control among patients with different drug regimens were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Only 43.7％of patients had good medication compliance.In addition,the patient's fast plasma glucose compliance rate was only 39.2％.The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that good medication compliance(OR=1.744,95％CI 1.104 to 2.754,P=0.017)were independent influencing factors for achieving glycemic control.Conclusion The medication compliance of type 2 diabetes patients with poor blood glucose control in chronic disease management of chain pharmacies in Xi'an needs to be strengthened.Pharmacies should emphasize and give full play to the professional and service advantages of pharmacists to realize the functional role of pharmacies and strengthen diabetes management.