Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of transthoracic minimally invasive patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) occlusion in infants and young children.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 105 infants and young children who received the transthoracic minimally invasive PDA occlusion in our hospital from 2012-10 to 2014-10. According to PDA diameter, patients were divided into 2 groups:Group A, the patients with PDA diameter ≥ 4 mm,n=64 and group B, the patients with 2 mm ≤ PDA diameter < 4 mm,n=41. All patients received the left third parasternal intercostal incision under suprasternal echocardiography guidance. The operative effect was evaluated by transthoracic echocardiography, and the follow-up study was performed at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months period and then annually after the operation by echocardiography.
Results: All 105 patients had successfully implanted PDA occluders. The patients’ gender, age, body weight, tracheal intubation time and the in-hospital time were similar between 2 groups,P>0.05. Compared with Group B, Group A had the larger diameters of PDA (5.7 ± 1.4) mm vs (2.7 ± 0.6) mm, P<0.001, PDA occluders (10.6 ± 1.8) mm vs (7.2 ± 1.3) mm, P<0.001, and the higher rates of moderate and severe post-operative thrombocytopenia 10.9% (7/64) vs 0% (0/41),P=0.028, immediate post-operative residual shunt as 15.6% (10/64) vs 2.4% (1/41),P=0.031. There was 1 patient in Group A suffered from pericardial tamponade due to hemorrhage at 2 days after operation and he was cured by emergent pericardial drainage. The patients were followed-up for (11.6 ± 7.8) months. The 1 month post-operative residual shunt was similar between 2 groups as 1.6% (1/64 ) vs 0% (0/41),P=0.421, and there was no residual shunt at 3 months after the operation. There were no complications of occluder detachment, hemolysis, pericardial effusion, left pulmonary artery or descending aortic stenosis occurred during the follow-up period.
Conclusion: Transthoracic minimally invasive PDA occlusion is a safe and effective method to treat the relevant infants and young children, while the post-operative residual shunt and thrombocytopenia should be closely observed in patients with large PDA.

A GeXP based multiplex PCR assay was developed to simultaneously detect six different chicken respiratory viruses including H5, H7, H9 subtypes of avian influenza virus(AIV), new castle disease virus (NDV), infectious bronchitis virus(IBV) and infectious laryngotracheitis virus(ILTV). According to the conserved sequences of genes of each pathogen, seven pairs of specific primers were designed, and the reaction conditions were optimized. The specificity and accuracy of GeXP were examined using samples of single and mixed infections of virus. The sensitivity was evaluated by performing the assay on serial 10-fold dilutions of cloned plasmids. To further evaluate the reliability, thirty-four clinical samples were detected by GeXP. The corresponding specific fragments of genes were amplified. The detection limit of GeXP was 10(2) copies/microL when all of 7 pre-mixed plasmids containing target genes of six chicken respiratory viruses were present. In the detection of thirty-four clinical samples, the results of GeXP were accorded with the viral isolation completely. In conclusion, this GeXP assay is a rapid, specific, sensitive and high-throughput method for the detection of chicken respiratory virus infections. It can be applied in rapid differential diagnosis for clinical samples, and also provide an effective tool to prevent and control chicken respiratory diseases with similar clinical symptoms.
Animals ; Chickens ; Influenza A virus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Influenza in Birds ; diagnosis ; virology ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Poultry Diseases ; diagnosis ; virology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; diagnosis ; veterinary ; virology

In order to visually detect H1, N1 and N2 subtype of avian influenza virus (AIV), three reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assays were developed. According to the sequences of AIV gene available in GenBank, three degenerate primer sets specific to HA gene of H1 subtype AIV, NA gene of N1 and N2 subtype AIV were designed, and the reaction conditions were optimized. The results showed that all the assays had no cross-reaction with other subtype AIV and other avian respiratory pathogens, and the detection limit was higher than that of conventional RT-PCR. These assays were performed in water bath within 50 minutes. Without opening tube, the amplification result could be directly determined by inspecting the color change of reaction system as long as these assays were fin-ished. Fourteen specimens of H1N1 subtype and eight specimens of H1N2 subtype of AIV were identified from the 120 clinical samples by RT-LAMP assays developed, which was consistent with that of virus isolation. These results suggested that the three newly developed RT-LAMEP assays were simple, specific and sensitive and had potential for visual detection of H1, N1 and N2 subtype of AIV in field.
Animals ; Chickens ; DNA Primers ; genetics ; Ducks ; Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A Virus, H1N2 Subtype ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza A virus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Influenza in Birds ; diagnosis ; virology ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; methods ; Poultry Diseases ; diagnosis ; virology ; Reverse Transcription ; Turkeys

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) and combined with other minimally invasive treatments for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (RHCC) after hepatectomy.

METHODSEighty-four patients with RHCC after hepatectomy who were treated with PRFA or combined with other minimally invasive therapies between August 1999 and February 2008 were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSThere was no treatment related mortality in the study population, and the morbidity was 2.4% (2/84). The complete ablation rate was 94.0% (79/84), and the 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates were 74.9%, 54.9% and 48.2%, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates of patients with recurrent interval after hepatectomy less than 1 year and over 1 year were 72.1%, 36.2%, 24.2% and 76.8%, 70.6% and 65.1%, respectively (P = 0.040). The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates of patients with tumor size 3 cm were 83.2%, 67.7%, 67.7% and 59.1%, 24.2%, 12.1%, respectively (P = 0.003). The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates of patients treated with PRFA alone and combined with percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) were 66.7%, 33.3%, 22.2% and 76.5%, 57.3%, 57.3%, respectively (P = 0.017). The 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival rates of patients treated with PRFA alone and combined with transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE) were 55.6%, 24.7%, 24.7% and 81.6%, 66.0%, 57.5%, respectively (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSPRFA is an effective and safe treatment for RHCC, and tumor size and recurrent interval after hepatectomy are important prognostic factors. Combination with PEI or TACE may improve the efficacy of PRFA for treatment of RHCC.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; surgery ; Catheter Ablation ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatectomy ; methods ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo assess the impact of metabolic syndrome(MS) on Framingham risk score(FRS) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODSThe anthropometric and biochemical data of 1708 patients with T2DM admitted in hospital from May 2008 to April 2013 were retrospectively analyzed, including 902 males and 806 females with a mean age of 57.1±11.8 years (20-79 years). Diagnosis of MS was made according to the criteria of the Adult Treatment Panel Ⅲ Criteria modified for Asians.

RESULTSCompared to non-MS/T2DM patients, MS/T2DM patients had higher waist circumference, body weight, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting C peptide, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-C (P<0.05), while lower HDL-C (P<0.01). Both FRS [13.0(10.0, 15.0) vs 11.0(9.0, 13.0) in male,15.0(12.0, 18.0) vs 12.0(6.0, 14.8) in female,P<0.01)] and 10-year cardiovascular risk [12.0%(6.0%, 20.0%) vs 8.0%(5.0%,12.0%) in male,3.0%(1.0%, 6.0%) vs 1.0%(0.0%, 2.8%) in female,P<0.01] were higher in MS/T2DM patients than those in non-MS/T2DM patients.Both FRS and 10-year cardiovascular risk were increased with the components of MS.

CONCLUSIONT2DM patients with MS have more cardiovascular risk factors, higher FRS and 10-year cardiovascular risk.