Objective To summarize and report the experiences of surgical treatment of infective endocarditis. Methods From March 1995 to March 2004, surgical operations were performed in 25 patients with infective endocarditis, 9 of who received emergency surgery and 16 received selective operation. Replacement of mitral valve was performed in 3, aortic valve replacement in 13, mitral and aortic valve replacement in 8, Bentall procedure in 1.Associated cardiac lesions included patent ductus arterioles in 1, ventricular septal defect in 2, rupture of Valsalvaps sinus in 1. Results There was one postoperative death, which gave an overall hospital mortality of 4%. Twenty-four patients were cured and improved. Conclusion Surgical operation should be the preferred mode of surgical correction for infective endocarditis. The timing of surgery and proper perioperative management are key factors for the successful treatment of infective endocarditis.

Objective To explore the dynamic spiral CT findings of adrenal ganglioneuromas and to evaluate its clinical value.Methods All 7 cases patients with adrenal ganglioneuromas confirmed by surgical pathology underwent spiral CT plain scanning and two phases dynamic enhancement scanning before operation.The CT images were reviewed and analysed retrospectively in comparison with surgical and pathological results.Results Six of 7 lesions were located in the right adrenal gland,1 in the left.The diameter of the tumors was 3.7—7.5cm,with a mean diameter of 4.6cm.The CT value of the plain scans, AP phases and PVP phases was 16.2—31.7 HU(with a mean value of 24.3 HU),20.9—36.6 HU(with a mean value of 30.2 HU),and 27.4—45.5 HU(with a mean value of 36.0 HU),respectively.The masses were well defined and showed a tendency of wedging into the space between the adjacent organs and structures and encasing the large vessels such as IV,but didn't compress or occlude them.Conclusion The dynamic SCT features of adrenal ganglioneuromas were obvious,dynamic SCT scans could suggest the diagnose.

Objective To explore the anatomical morphology of femoral trochlear groove and the difference between normal males and females.Methods Eighty healthy volunteers were recruited,including 42 males and 38 females with an average age of 36.2 years (range,21-55 years).All the volunteers without knee unstabilization,pain and wound.CT scan of right femurs were performed and 3-D model were reconstructed.The anatomical parameters of right femoral trochlear groove were measured,which included transepicondylar axis,medial and lateral length of trochlear groove,medial and lateral condylar height,sulcus angle,depth of trochlear groove,transcondylar axis,anterior femoral condylar angle,trochlear groove position,and then compared the morphologic difference of trochlear groove between males and females.Results The average width of transepicondylar axis was 79.21±3.80 mm for males and 70.73±2.91 mm for females (t=-53.40,P=0.00).The minimum sulcus angle was acquired at 45° flexion for males and 42° flexion for females.It was 133.92°±4.76° for males and 132.71°±4.36° for females.The maximum length of transepicondylar axis was acquired at 87° flexion for males and 90° flexion for females.It was 42.36±3.48 mm for males and 39.03 ±3.36 mm for females.The anterior femoral condylar angle decreased with the increasing flexion angle of knee (P＞0.05).The position of the trochlear groove moved laterally with the increasing flexion angle of knee (P＞0.05).Conclusion There is no significant difference between male and female in the geometry of femoral trochlear groove,however there is a significant difference in sizes.Therefore,during design the knee prosthesis,close approximation of size is essential,while gender differences in morphology need not be considered a factor.

Clopidogrel was believed to be superior to aspirin by the well-known CAPRIE trial. However, no other large clinical trials demonstrated the same results, but all focused on the combination use of clopidogrel with aspirin, and combination therapy in CREDO was called the "Emperor's New Clothes". However, no one overturned the results of these clinical trials by quantitatively analyzing them. We reviewed ten large-scale clinical trials about clopidogrel. On the basis of results of CAPRIE, CREDO and CHARISMA trials, we re-estimated their minimal sample sizes and their powers by three well-established statistical methodologies. From the results of CAPRIE, we inferred that the minimal sample size should be 85 086 or 84 968 but its power was only 30.70%. A huge gap existed. The same was also true of CREDO and CHARISMA trials. Moreover, in CAPRIE trial, 0 was included in the 95% confidence interval and 1 was included in the 95% confidence interval for the relative risk. There were some paradoxical data in CAPRIE trial. We are led to conclude that the results in CAPRIE, CREDO, and from the subgroup analysis in CHARISMA trials were questionable. These results failed to demonstrate that clopidogrel was superior to aspirin or that clopidogrel used in combination with aspirin was better than aspirin alone. The cost-effectiveness analyses by some previous studies were not reliable.

P300/CBP-associated factor(PCAF),an important member of histone acetyltransferase family(HATs) within eukaryotic cells,is capable of inducing the acetylation of histone,promoting the transcription of specific genes and involving in many biological effects.In the present study,full-length cDNA of PCAF was inserted into plasmid pGEX-5x-1,then the soluble protein GST-PCAF was expressed in E.coli BL21(DE3) after the optimization of inducing conditions.The recombinant protein was further purified with affinity chromatography and tested the activity by in vitro acetylation assays.High efficient PCAF protein produced by this method could serve for the study on the role of PCAF in gene regulation and the interaction between PCAF and other proteins.

Objective To retrospectively analyze and conclude the characteristics of imaging appearances of solid psedopapillary tumor of pancreas.Methods Among 7 cases with pathologically proved solid psedopapillary tumor of pancreas,6 cases underwent CT examinations of upper abdomen preoperatively,and the rest One had MRI examination.The mean age of these 7 cases(all female)was 30.7 years(range,14—44 years).Results The tumors were usually quite large in the largest diameter ranged from 2.8 to 15.9cm(mean largest diameter,7.9 cm);Tumors were all well demarcated,and 5 of them were of capsule on CT or MR imaging.All tumors were well-encapsulated on pathologic specimens, except for the capsule of 1 tumor was partially invaded;In 6 cases underwent CT examination,scattered, punctate and linear calcification were noted in the capsule of 2 tumors and the rim of another one;Except for 1 tumor was almost solid,the other 6 tumors contained both solid and cystic components;Scattered sheets of high attenuation shown in the cystic or solid parts on CT imaging in several cases and the high signal intensity on T_1-weighted MR imaging signified the possibility of bleeding in tumors,which then was testified by pathologic evaluation.Conclusion The solid psedopapillary tumor of pancreas has comparatively characteristic clinical and imaging features.

Atrial Fibrillation ; surgery ; Catheter Ablation ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pleural Effusion ; pathology ; Postoperative Complications ; Pulmonary Veins ; surgery

Catheter Ablation ; Child ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; surgery ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Male ; Tachycardia, Supraventricular ; surgery ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective To summarize the experience of surgical treatment of ascending aortic aneurysms and aortic dissections. Methods From February 2001 to October 2005, 31 patients including 26 male, 5 female, aged 41.3 years old (range 14-72) received surgical management. Twenty cases were diagnosed as ascending aortic aneurysm and aortic root aneurysm, 8 as Standford A dissection, 3 as Stanford B dissection. Twenty-one patients underwent classic Bentall procedure in which VSD repair was carried out in 1 case, mitral valvoplasty in 2 and mitral valve replacement in 2; Four patients underwent modified Bentall procedure (coronary button technique); Three patients underwent Wheat procedure; The remaining 3 patients with Stanford B dissection underwent graft replacement of descending aorta. Results There was no death during hospital stay that lasted 13-46 d with an average of 16.4 d after operation. The mean clinical follow-up was (21?18.5) months (range 1-63 months). One patient died without describable cause two years later. One patient had ascending aorta-pulmonary artery fistula at color Doppler examination half a year later. One patient was detected rupture of distal anastomoses half a year after operation and underwent stent-graft, SG. Conclusion The surgical treatment of aortic aneurysms and aortic dissections could be carried out safely based on the accurate diagnosis, specific surgical strategy and fine technique.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility, effectiveness and practicability of transurethral enucleation plus pneumocystostomy rotary cut (TUE + PCRC) for large benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

METHODSWe performed TUE + PCRC for 26 BPH patients aged 62 - 85 years with the prostate volume of 80 - 165 ml. We conducted transurethral enucleation of the hyperplastic prostate glands and pushed them into the bladder, followed by bladder puncture for pneumo-cystostomy rotary cut.

RESULTSAll the surgical procedures were successfully accomplished, with the mean surgical time of 41 (32 - 54) minutes and intraoperative blood loss < 60 ml in all the cases. Twenty-three of the patients were followed up for 2 - 8 months, which revealed no stricture of the urethra or any other severe complications. Compared with the preoperative baseline, significant improvement was achieved in the IPSS (6.5 +/- 2.2 vs 26.2 +/- 2.4), QOL (1.4 +/- 0.9 vs 4.6 +/- 1.2) and Qmax ([5.8 +/- 1.0 ] vs [19.6 +/- 2.8] ml/s) of the patients after surgery (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONTUE + PCRC, with its advantages of short operation time and less severe complications, is a safe and effective approach to the management of large BPH.