Objective To analyze the distribution of various genotypes of human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein N ( HCMV gN) in patients with HIV infection; to investigate the effects of HCMV-HIV co-in-fection on disease progression and the relationships between HCMV gN genotypes and disease progression. Methods Patients with active HCMV infection were screened out from 359 patients with HIV infection by using the pp65 antigenemia assay.The genes encoding HCMV gN ( UL73 ) were amplified by nested PCR ( nPCR) .The amplicons were digested by restriction enzymes including MboⅠ, ScaⅠ and SalⅠ.Then, the restricted fragment length polymorphisms were further analyzed on 4%agarose gel.The relationships be-tween HCMV genotypes and the morbidity and mortality of acquired immune deficiency syndrome ( AIDS ) were investigated via a prospective study.Results Among the 359 patients with HIV infection, 28 subjects were positive for the HCMV pp65 antigenemia assay.The HCMV gN genotypes in 20 patients with active HCMV infection were distributed as: gN-3a (4/20, 20%), gN-1 (4/20, 20%), gN-4d (1/20, 5%), gN-4b (1/20, 5%) and mixed infection (10/20, 50%).Patients with HCMV-HIV co-infection were more likely to develop AIDS during the follow-up period (RR=9.78).Patients harboring HCMV gN-1 and gN-4 genotypes would seem likely to have 4.6 times of chance leading to AIDS-associated death than those harbo-ring other HCMV gN genotypes.Conclusion HCMV infection ( especially gN-1 and gN-4 genotypes) might accelerate the progression of HIV infection.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) combined with digestive tract cancer.Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 1 163 patients with gastric GIST who were admitted to the Union Hospital admitted to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2002 to December 2021 were collected. There were 606 males and 557 females, aged 59(range,20?94)years. Of the 1 163 patients, 129 cases with gastric GIST combined with other digestive tract cancer were divided into the combined group, and 1 034 cases with only gastric GIST were divided into the non-combined group. Observation indicators: (1) clinicopathological features of patients; (2) surgical situations and postoperative complications; (3) follow-up and survival of patients; (4) analysis of prognosis associated affecting factors. Follow-up was conducted using outpatient examination, telephone and online interview to detect survival of patients up to January 2022. The overall survival time was defined as the time from surgery to the last tine of follow-up or the outcome events, such as death of patient, loss of follow-up, etc. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measure-ment data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test. Com-parison of ordinal data was conducted using the non-parameter Mann-Whitney U test. Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves and calculate survival rates, and Log-Rank test was used to conduct survival analysis. The COX proportional hazard model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Results:(1) Clinicopathological features of patients. Of the 129 patients in the combined group, there were 81 cases combined with gastric cancer, 39 cases combined with esophageal cancer, 8 cases combined with colon cancer and 1 case combined with rectal cancer. Gender (male, female), cases with age ≤60 years or>60 years, cases without or with clinical symp-toms before surgery, cases with tumor diameter of gastric GIST as<2 cm, 2?5 cm, 5?10 cm,>10 cm, cases with mitotic index as <5/50× high power field, 5?10/50× high power field, >10/50× high power field, cases with cell proliferation index of Ki-67 as ≤5% or >5%, cases classified as extremely low risk, low risk, medium risk and high risk of the modified national institutes of health (NIH) risk classification, cases with or without tumor necrosis of the gastric GIST, cases without or with adjuvant imatinib therapy, cases with the expression of DOG-1 detected by immunohistochemical staining as positive or negative, cases with the expression of CD34 as positive or negative were 92, 37, 30, 99, 9, 120, 114, 10, 3, 2, 126, 1, 2, 122, 2, 112, 8, 5, 4, 129, 0, 121, 8, 118, 3, 117, 12 in the combined group, versus 514, 520, 585, 449, 194, 840, 383, 360,201, 90, 799, 155, 80, 851, 143, 337, 308, 192, 197, 960, 74, 769, 265, 850, 80, 990, 44 in the non-combined group, showing significant differences in the above indicators between the two groups ( χ2=21.46, 51.11, 11.06, Z=?10.27, ?5.34, χ2=15.94, Z=?10.61, χ2=9.86, 24.10, 5.52, 6.37, P<0.05). Of the 1 163 patients, there were 12 cases of the combined group suspected diagnosed as gastric GIST before surgery and 1 case of the combined group dia-gnosed as gastric GIST by gastroscopy and pathological examination before surgery. The rest of 1 150 patients were diagnosed as gastric GIST by intraoperative exploration or postoperative pathological examination. (2) Surgical situations and postoperative complications. Of the 129 patients in the combined group, 72 cases underwent open surgery and 57 cases underwent laparoscopic or thoracoscopic surgery including 3 cases converted to open surgery. Of the 1 034 patients in the non-combined group,207 cases underwent endoscopic surgery, 371 cases underwent open surgery, and 456 cases underwent laparoscopic or thoracoscopic surgery including 8 cases converted to open surgery. Incidence of postoperative complications was 10.078%(13/129) in the combined group, versus 2.321%(24/1 034) in the non-combined group, showing a significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=22.40, P<0.05). (3) Follow-up and survival of patients. Of the 1 163 patients, 1 046 cases were followed up for 44(range, 1?220)months, with the postoperative 5-year overall survival rate as 87.2%. The postoperative 5-year overall survival rate was 51.2% in the combined group, versus 91.4% in the non-combined group, showing a significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=169.07, P<0.05). (4) Analysis of prognosis associated affecting factors. Results of univariate analysis showed that gender, age, tumor diameter of gastric GIST as 2?5 cm, 5?10 cm and >10 cm, combined with other digestive tract cancer, mitotic index as >10/50× high power field and tumor necrosis of the gastric GIST were related factors affecting the postoperative 5-year overall survival rate of patients with gastric GIST ( hazard ratio=2.16, 2.27, 0.46, 0.57, 1.75, 7.58, 2.70, 1.80, 95% confidence intervals as 1.52?3.07, 1.60?3.22, 0.29?0.71, 0.34?0.94, 1.11?2.77, 5.29?10.85, 1.67?4.38, 1.08?2.98, P<0.05). Results of multivariate analysis showed that gender, age, tumor diameter of gastric GIST, combined with other digestive tract cancer and mitotic index were independent factors affecting the post-operative 5-year overall survival rate of patients with gastric GIST ( hazard ratio=1.91, 1.82, 2.10, 7.11, 2.75, 95% confidence intervals as 1.33?2.75, 1.27?2.62, 1.14?3.87, 4.58?11.04, 1.50?5.03, P<0.05). Conclusions:The tumor diameter of gastric GIST is short in patients combined with other digestive tract cancer, and the risk grade of modified NIH risk classification is lower. Gender, age, tumor diameter of gastric GIST, combined with other digestive tract cancer and mitotic index are independent factors affecting the postoperative 5-year overall survival rate of patients with gastric GIST.

Background and Aims:The repair of giant incisional hernia is challenging,as closing the significant defect in the abdominal wall can lead to life-threatening complications like abdominal compartment syndrome(ACS).Botulinum toxin type A(BTA)can temporarily relax the abdominal wall muscles,facilitating defect repair,while preoperative progressive pneumoperitoneum(PPP)can increase intra-abdominal volume,reducing intra-abdominal pressure caused by hernia content reintegration.Combining BTA with PPP for the preoperative preparation of giant incisional hernia repair may have a complementary effect.This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical value of combining BTA and PPP in the repair of giant abdominal incisional hernia. Methods:The clinical data of 213 patients with giant abdominal incisional hernia treated at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from December 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.Two weeks after receiving combined BTA and PPP treatment,changes in bilateral abdominal wall muscle,intra-abdominal adhesions,abdominal circumference,abdominal cavity volume,and hernia sac volume ratio were assessed using CT.Intraoperative details,incidence of complications,and postoperative follow-up outcomes were recorded. Results:Following combined BTA and PPP treatment,CT scan showed a significant extension of bilateral lateral abdominal wall muscles towards the midline in all 213 patients,with an average increase of 2.45(1.53-3.29)cm on the left side and 2.54(1.68-3.40)cm on the right side;muscle thickness was reduced by an average of 0.84(0.64-1.00)cm on the left and 0.82(0.62-1.05)cm on the right,the average distance between viscera and the abdominal wall increased to(7.52±1.78)cm,with a mean increase of 6.1(4.2-6.9)cm;the mean increase in abdominal cavity volume was 1 802(1 494.98-2 316.26)mL,and the hernia sac volume ratio decreased by an average of 9％(6％-12％),all changes were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Post-PPP CT scan revealed no abdominal adhesions in 18 patients(8.45％),while 195 patients(91.55％)had varying degrees of adhesions,including 39 cases(18.31％)of sheet adhesions and 156 cases(73.24％)of mixed adhesions.Adhesions mainly consisted of omentum and intestinal tissues in 59.15％of cases.There were 43 cases(20.19％)of grade Ⅰ complications during the BTA-PPP process,including abdominal pain(28 cases),shoulder pain(9 cases),subcutaneous emphysema(6 cases),and dyspnea(3 cases).Dyspnea improved with oxygen therapy,while other complications required no special intervention.All 213 patients successfully underwent laparoscopic incisional hernia repair without conversion to open surgery or organ resection for volume reduction.Fascial closure was achieved in 209 cases(98.12％),with 4 cases(1.88％)having incomplete defect closure.The average time for adhesiolysis was 28(11.00-44.50)min,with a total operative time of 178.0(132.50-255.00)min and an average blood loss of 20(10-30)mL.The median intra-abdominal pressure(IAP)after operation was between 10 mmHg(9.00-12.00 mmHg),Among them,47 cases(22.07％)had IAP exceeding 12 mmHg,and after implementing proactive measures such as diuresis and diachoresis to reduce intra-abdominal contents,the IAP in these patients decreased to below 12 mmHg.No severe complications such as skin flap necrosis or ACS were observed.There were no deaths within postoperative 30 d,and during a follow-up period of 26(16.50-33.00)months,13 cases(6.10％)had surgical site events,including infections in 5 cases(2.35％),seromas in 7 cases(3.29％),and hematoma in 1 case(0.47％),with no hernia recurrence. Conclusion:The combination of BTA and PPP not only aids in identifying abdominal wall adhesion areas,improving preoperative surgical planning and enhancing surgical safety,but also significantly increases abdominal cavity volume and extends lateral abdominal wall muscles,facilitating the closure of giant incisional hernia defects and reducing the incidence of severe postoperative complications like ACS.This approach is worthy of clinical promotion.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy of single-hand four-needle suture with sled-shaped needle three-tail fixed stitch in closure of pesudohernia sac of direct hernia under transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) inguinal hernia repair.

METHODSA randomized controlled trail was conducted on adult patients with unilateral direct inguinal hernia undergoing laparoscopic TAPP repair from January 2014 to January 2018 at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. A total of 156 patients were enrolled prospectively in the study and were randomly divided into single-hand four-needle suture group (trial group, 76 cases) and traditional tacking group (control group, 80 cases). In trial group, sled-shaped needle three-tail knot-free stitch was applied to the continuous four-needle suture. The sled-shaped needle three-tail fixed stitch was made as follows: straighten the tail of a 3-0, 1/2-circle looper VICRYL Rapide into a sled shape; use suture overlap method to make and tighten a single knot; thread the end of the needle into the single knot loop;knot two ends of the thread next to the first knot; tighten the second knot, leaving about 12 cm to the end of the needle;cut the end of the loop (leaving about 0.6 cm) and the other end of the thread(leaving about 1.5 cm). In the control group, a hernia repair tack was used to fix the pseudohernia sac on pectineal ligament. This study was approved by the Hospital Ethics Committee(approval number: L2014ZSLYEC-016). Operation time, pseudoherina sac closure time, hospitalization cost, morbidity of postoperative complication, VAS score and postoperative recurrence were compared between two groups.

RESULTSAll the patients completed operations successfully. There were no significant differences between trial group and control group in age [(60.2±0.4) years vs. (61.1±0.7) years)], gender (male ratio 93.4% vs. 92.5%), BMI [(25.1±0.2) kg/m vs. (24.9±0.2) kg/m ], defection area [(16.1±0.4) cm vs. (15.7±0.7) cm ] (all P > 0.05). As compared to control group, trial group had longer operative time[(34.2±1.9) minutes vs. (30.3±1.1) minutes, t=5.484, P=0.045], longer closure time of psudohernia sac [(4.2±0.5) minutes vs. (1.8±0.7) minutes, t=7.423, P=0.031], but lower VAS score (3.2±0.1 vs. 5.3±0.6, t=-3.186, P=0.015) and lower total cost [(9 897.3±104.4) yuan vs. (12 325.6±169.7) yuan, t=-3.972, P=0.023]. No severe complication and death were found in either groups intra-operatively and postoperatively. No mesh infection and relapse occurred during postoperative follow-up of 1-24 (12.0±1.2) months. During follow-up, seroma occurred in 2 cases (2.6%) of trial group and 3 cases (3.8%) of control group without significant difference (χ =1.284, P=0.799), and all were absorbed and disappeared within 30 days after local application of mirabilite.

CONCLUSIONCompared to tack fix method, single-hand four-needle suture with sled-shaped needle three-tail fixed stitch can effectively close pseudohernia sac, reduce hospitalization cost and ameliorate postoperative pain in TAPP repair, which is worth promotion.

Hernia, Inguinal ; surgery ; Herniorrhaphy ; methods ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Surgical Mesh ; Suture Techniques ; Sutures ; Treatment Outcome