Objective To establish small-for-size (SFS) graft injury models in miniature pigs with high standardization, reproducibility and similarity to clinical situation. Methods Ba-Ma miniature pigs were introduced in this study and orthotopic liver transplantations (OLTs) were performed in 12 pigs with 30% liver volume allogeneil grafts (small portion of right paramedian lobe, right lateral lobe and caudate lobe) without veno-venous bypass. The profiles of intra-operational hemodynamics and metabolism were investigated. Animals were observed for 7 days with daily serum biochemistry and coagulation function exam. The survival rate related to operation itself and the SFS grafts were respectively calculated as well as the graft regenerative ratio at post-operational day (POD) 7. Results Graft weight as a percentage of the recipient's native liver weight (GW/RLW) and the total body weight (GW/BW) were (28. 63±4. 42)% and (0. 73±0.06)%. The mean operation time, anhepatic phase, and the time of blockage of infra-hepatic IVC were (191. 7±14. 2) min, (28. 3±3. 6) min, and (45. 0±5. 8) min. The survival rate related to the operation itself and the SFS graft were 83. 33% (10/12) and 40% (4/10), and the graft regenerative ratio at POD7 was (278. 06±42. 95) %. Contrast to the remarkable increase of heart rate and serum potassium during anhepatic phase, the mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure, rectal temperature, PH value and buffer excess had a significant decrease (P<0.01) with a gradual recovery after reperfusioa Serum ALT, AST, PT, Cr, and TB were significantly increased with a peak level at POD1 for the former 4 and POD2 for TB, and then began to decrease and favorably recovered at POD7, but TB, PT, and AST levels were still high when compared to those of prereperfusion (P<0. 05). Conclusion This model of OLT performed with 30% liver volume graft without veno-venous bypass was an ideal large animal model for series studies related to SFS graft injury.

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of single administration of aqueous extracts from aconite on "dose-toxicity" relationship and "time-toxicity" relationship of mice hearts, through changes in electrocardiogram (ECG) and serum biochemical indexes.

METHODMice were grouped according to different drug doses and time points, and orally administered with water extracts from aconite for once to observe the changes of mice ECG before and after the administration, calculate visceral indexes heart, liver and kidney, and detect levels of CK, LDH, BNP and CTn-I in serum.

RESULTAccording to the "time-toxicity" relationship study, at 5 min after oral administration with aqueous extracts from aconite in mice, the heart rate of mice began rising, reached peak at 60 min and then slowly reduced; QRS, R amplitude, T duration and amplitude and QT interval declined at 5 min, reduced to the bottom at 60 min and then gradually elevated. The levels of CK, LDH, BNP and CTn-I in serum elevated at 5 min and reached the peak at 60 min, with no significant change in ratios of organs to body at different time points. On the basis of the "dose-toxicity" relationship, with the increase in single dose of aqueous extracts from aconite, the heart rate of mice. QRS, T duration and amplitude and QT interval declined gradually, and levels of CK, LDH, BNP and CTn-I in serum slowly elevated, with a certain dose dependence and no significant change in ratios of organs to body in mice.

CONCLUSIONSingle oral administration of different doses of aqueous extracts from aconite could cause different degrees of heart injury at different time points, with a certain dose dependence. Its peak time of toxicity is at 60 min after the administration of aqueous extracts from aconite.

Aconitum ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; toxicity ; Female ; Heart ; drug effects ; physiology ; Heart Rate ; drug effects ; Kidney ; drug effects ; Liver ; drug effects ; Male ; Mice

Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pacemaker, Artificial ; adverse effects ; Tricuspid Valve Stenosis ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo assess the diagnosis and treatment of invasive lung aspergillosis after liver transplantation.

METHODSRoutine sputum culture was performed. Itraconazole and fluconazole were used to prevent fungal infection prophylactically. Amphyotericin B was only used on aspergillosis. In 54 patients receiving, liver transplantation, 3 patients with lung aspergillosis were reviewed.

RESULTSOf the 3 patients 2 died and 1 recovered.

CONCLUSIONSOver-immunosuppression is a main risk factor for aspergillosis. Amphotericin B is still the best choice for the treatment of aspergillosis and its gradual, interrupted, low concentration administration, cooperated with itraconazole can ease the side effects.

Adult ; Aspergillosis ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Lung Diseases, Fungal ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo discuss the safety line to avoid the post-hepatectomy hepatic insufficiency by combining indocyanine green test by pulse dye-densitometry (PDD-ICG) and standard remnant liver volume (SRLV).

METHODSSeventy-five hepatic cancer patients undergone hepatectomy from March 2007 to February 2008 were included. According to the liver function decompensatory grades after operation, the relationship between ICG retention rate at 15 min (ICGR15) and standard remnant liver volume by linear regression were analyzed.

RESULTSThere were 60 cases with slight hepatic insufficiency, 12 cases with moderate hepatic insufficiency, and 3 cases with severe hepatic insufficiency. There were no difference in age [(50 +/- 13) years old and (53 +/- 9) years old], prothrombin time [(13.6 +/- 1.0) s and (13.5 +/- 1.0) s], international normalized ratio (1.09 +/- 0.10 and 1.06 +/- 0.10) between slight hepatic insufficiency group and moderate and severe hepatic insufficiency group (P > 0.05). And there were difference in K value (0.20 +/- 0.04 and 0.17 +/- 0.03), ICGR15 (6 +/- 4 and 9 +/- 4), SRLV [(545 +/- 93) ml and (398 +/- 82) ml] between two groups (P < 0.05). Compared ICG test and standard remnant liver volume of the patients with moderate hepatic insufficiency after operation, the liner relationship was found (R = 0.640, P = 0.025), and the regression equation was: standard remnant liver volume (ml/m(2)) = 1594.6 x ICGR15 + 265.

CONCLUSIONSPDD-ICG test and standard remnant liver volume are effective to estimate hepatic function reserve of patient undergone hepatectomy.

Adult ; Female ; Hepatectomy ; methods ; Hepatic Insufficiency ; etiology ; Humans ; Indocyanine Green ; pharmacokinetics ; Liver ; pathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology

Object To standardize hospital high-value consumables purchasing procedure to eliminate corruption.Methods The deficiencies of some tertiary Grade A hospital were analyzed in high-value consumables purchasing, and some suggestions based on foreign countries' achievements were proposed including completing high-value consumables purchasing procedure and making anti-corruption efforts in medical institutions.Results It's suggested that high-value consumables management system be completed, admission qualification management and purchasing procedure be standardized and supervision mechanism be established in the hospital.Conclusion Improved high-value consumables purchasing procedure contributes to anti corruption in medical institutions.

OBJECTIVE This work aimed to investigate the anti-rheumatoid arthritic effect of gentio-picroside from Gentiana macrophylla Pall using an animal model of adjuvant induced arthritis. METH-ODS Adjuvant arthritis was induced in fifty SD male rats,which were randomly divided into five groups (n=10):control(0.5% CMC-Na)group,AIA(rats with CFA)group,dexamethasone(1 mg·kg-1)group, gentiopicroside(50 mg·kg-1)group,and gentiopicroside(100 mg·kg-1)group.Rats were administered intragastrically with drugs or CMC-Na once a day for a period of 2 weeks.Paw swelling,arthritic index, histological changes were assessed to evaluate the anti-arthritic effect.Weight growth,spleen and thymus indexes were also investigated in.RESULTS Gentiopicroside at dose of 100 mg·kg-1significantly inhibited the secondary paw swelling(P<0.05)and arthritis index(P<0.05),decreased synovial inflammatory infil-tration, synovial hyperplasia and bone erosion. Furthermore, gentiopicroside showed no immunosup-pressive adverse effects in body weight, index of spleen and thyums compared with dexamethasone administration (P<0.05, P<0.01). CONCLUSION Gentiopicroside possessed anti-arthritic efficacy in AIA rats without immunosuppressive effects.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Biliary Tract Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Papilloma ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; surgery ; Radiography ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDBacterial pneumonia in the recipients of liver transplantation (LTX) is a common postoperative complication influencing the prognosis greatly. In this article, the diagnosis and treatment of bacterial pneumonia in 33 LTX recipients are reported.

METHODSFrom February 1999 to January 2003, a total of 103 patients underwent allogeneic LTX at our center; afterwards, a retrospective analysis was made on their postoperative clinical manifestations, including symptoms (expectoration, panting and fever), sign (rale), results of laboratory examinations (white blood cell count and sputum culture of tracheal secretions or pleural fluid culture), and chest X-ray films. The following data of the pneumonia and non-pneumonia groups were collected, and the rank sum test (SPSS 11.0, Wilcoxon's method) was used to analyze the duration of postoperative respirator utilization and the volume of pleural effusion through pleurocentesis or pleural drainage.

RESULTSIn the 103 patients, 33 experienced 53 episodes of bacterial pneumonia during their hospital stay after transplantation, 14 of them (42.42%) had more than three manifestations of the seven mentioned above. The pathogens causing bacterial pneumonia included Pseudomonas aeruginosa (17.48%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (15.53%), Acinetobacter baumannii (10.68%), and Staphylococcus aureus (7.77%). Amilkacin, tienam, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, etc. were the antibiotics of choice against those bacteria. Acute rejection occurred during the treatment of bacterial pneumonia in 16 patients, and 5 of them died. Wilcoxon's rank sum test of the data indicated that the pneumonia group had longer duration of postoperative ventilator treatment and larger volume of pleural effusion than the non-pneumonia group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe clinical manifestations of pneumonia after LTX might be atypical, and special attention should be paid to the respiratory symptoms and signs within 2 months after LTX. Whenever the diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia is confirmed, consideration should be given to reasonable use of antibiotics and regulation of immunity in addition to other routine therapies.

Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia, Bacterial ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Postoperative Complications ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo establish a favorable formula of estimation adult standard liver volume (SLV) based on the data of living donors for liver transplantation.

METHODSFrom March 2005 to December 2007, 90 Adult-to-Adult living donor liver transplantation were performed. The donors' anthropometric data of gender, year, body weight and body height was collected prospectively. The total liver volume (TLV) of 90 living donors was measured by computed tomography. The correlation between TLV and several factors including body weight index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA) were analyzed. Then multiple stepwise linear regression analysis was performed and a new equation predicting SLV to improve approximate TLV was determined. TLV was then compared with the estimation standard liver volume (ESLV) calculated using our formula and published formulas in literature previously.

RESULTSAll the subjects had a mean body weight of (62.4 +/- 8.7) kg. The mean total liver volume was (1319.1 +/- 167.0) ml. There were positively correlated between TLV and body weight (BW), which could be expressed in the equation: TLV (ml) = 12.5 x BW (kg) + 536.4 (r(2) = 0.43, P < 0.01). Compared TLV with ELSV, which were calculated using previously published formulas based on the anthropometric data of the 90 subjects, the difference was be statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONA new simple formula is established that might be a more suitable to calculate TLV in Chinese adults.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Liver ; anatomy & histology ; diagnostic imaging ; Liver Transplantation ; Living Donors ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Organ Size ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed