Objective To summarize the clinical efficacy of modified Morrow surgery in the treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy treated with modified Morrow surgery at Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University from 2020 to 2023. Results A total of 318 patients were enrolled, including 156 males and 162 females, with an average age of (55.6±13.1) years. Preoperative echocardiography showed a mean interventricular septal thickness of (18.1±3.8) mm, peak left ventricular outflow tract pressure difference of (86.4±24.9) mm Hg. The surgery time was (162.3±51.0) min, extracorporeal circulation time was (80.9±31.0) min, and aortic occlusion time was (44.8±20.8) min. After the surgery, transesophageal echocardiography showed that the interventricular septal thickness was (11.0±1.8) mm and left ventricular outflow tract peak pressure difference was (9.4±5.1) mm Hg. The incidence rate of postoperative complete left bundle branch block was 45.3%, Ⅲ° atrioventricular block was 3.8%, and postoperative newly developed atrial fibrillation was 3.1%. The postoperative hospital stay was (6.6±4.9) days, and one perioperative death occurred, with a mortality rate of 0.3%. The follow-up time was (10.3±9.4) months, during which the transthoracic echocardiography revealed a ventricular septal thickness of (12.9±2.9) mm and a peak left ventricular outflow tract pressure difference of (13.9±10.0) mm Hg. Conclusion The modified Morrow procedure for the treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy is safe and effective, with good results in the short and medium term.

Objective:To determine the safety and efficacy of the modified off-pump biatrial mini-maze procedure to treat isolated atrial fibrillation.Methods:This study retrospectively included isolated atrial fibrillation patients who underwent the modified off-pump biatrial mini-maze procedure at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2021 to December 2023. These patients underwent a mini-maze procedure using the Dallas lesion set protocol. A purse-string suture was then performed on the right atrium, and 4 ablation lesions were made to the superior vena cava, the inferior vena cava, the appendix of the right atrium and the tricuspid valve annulus from the purse-string suture point using the bipolar radiofrequency clamp. After the operation, the patients were followed up at 3, 6 and 12months and every year thereafter.Results:A total of 301 patients were followed up. There were no deaths or strokes. A follow-up at intervals of 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months showed that the cumulative success rate free from isolated atrial fibrillation was 96.0%、91.0%、85.9%、79.5% and 72.7%.Conclusion:The modified off-pump biatrial mini-maze procedure is safe and effective and can be considered as an off-pump ablation option for patients and cardiac surgeons.

Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma(PPGL)are rare neuroendocrine tumors which mainly secrete catecholamines.Contrast-enhanced CT could be used to provide accurate localization of PPGL and make relatively precise diagnosis.In recent years,ultrasound,MRI,PET/CT and radiomics had been applied for assessment of PPGL.The progresses in imaging research for PPGL were reviewed in this article.

Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma(PPGL)are rare neuroendocrine tumors which mainly secrete catecholamines.Contrast-enhanced CT could be used to provide accurate localization of PPGL and make relatively precise diagnosis.In recent years,ultrasound,MRI,PET/CT and radiomics had been applied for assessment of PPGL.The progresses in imaging research for PPGL were reviewed in this article.

Objective:To determine the safety and efficacy of the modified off-pump biatrial mini-maze procedure to treat isolated atrial fibrillation.Methods:This study retrospectively included isolated atrial fibrillation patients who underwent the modified off-pump biatrial mini-maze procedure at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2021 to December 2023. These patients underwent a mini-maze procedure using the Dallas lesion set protocol. A purse-string suture was then performed on the right atrium, and 4 ablation lesions were made to the superior vena cava, the inferior vena cava, the appendix of the right atrium and the tricuspid valve annulus from the purse-string suture point using the bipolar radiofrequency clamp. After the operation, the patients were followed up at 3, 6 and 12months and every year thereafter.Results:A total of 301 patients were followed up. There were no deaths or strokes. A follow-up at intervals of 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months showed that the cumulative success rate free from isolated atrial fibrillation was 96.0%、91.0%、85.9%、79.5% and 72.7%.Conclusion:The modified off-pump biatrial mini-maze procedure is safe and effective and can be considered as an off-pump ablation option for patients and cardiac surgeons.

Objective The CRISPR/Cas9 system was utilized to generate an Apoe knockout mice model to support further investigations of the role of Apoe in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis.Methods Two single guide RNAs designed for Apoe in C57BL/6J mice were co-injected with Cas9 mRNA into fertilized eggs,followed by transplantation into ICR recipient mice to obtain F0 generation mice.KO mice were identified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR)screening of tail DNA.Apoe mRNA expression in various tissues was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR and lipid indexes were measured in serum samples.Lipid accumulation in the inner lining of aortic vessels was detected by oil red O staining.Results PCR and sequencing confirmed the successful construction of Apoe KO mice(C57BL/6-Apoeem1/Nifdc).Apoe mRNA levels were significantly reduced in the liver,brain,spleen,kidney,and lung tissues of Apoe KO homozygous mice(Apoe-/-),as shown by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR.Serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were increased in Apoe-/-mice,and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were decreased in male Apoe-/-mice.Extensive lipid plaques were observed in the inner lining of the arteries in Apoe-/-mice compared with WT mice,under normal chow consumption conditions.Conclusions This study successfully established an Apoe KO mice model exhibiting a typical abnormal lipid metabolism phenotype with arterial lipid accumulation,even without a high-fat diet intervention.This work provides background data for the Apoe KO mice resource and a new model for the study of abnormal lipid metabolism.

Objective The CRISPR/Cas9 system was utilized to generate an Apoe knockout mice model to support further investigations of the role of Apoe in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis.Methods Two single guide RNAs designed for Apoe in C57BL/6J mice were co-injected with Cas9 mRNA into fertilized eggs,followed by transplantation into ICR recipient mice to obtain F0 generation mice.KO mice were identified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR)screening of tail DNA.Apoe mRNA expression in various tissues was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR and lipid indexes were measured in serum samples.Lipid accumulation in the inner lining of aortic vessels was detected by oil red O staining.Results PCR and sequencing confirmed the successful construction of Apoe KO mice(C57BL/6-Apoeem1/Nifdc).Apoe mRNA levels were significantly reduced in the liver,brain,spleen,kidney,and lung tissues of Apoe KO homozygous mice(Apoe-/-),as shown by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR.Serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were increased in Apoe-/-mice,and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were decreased in male Apoe-/-mice.Extensive lipid plaques were observed in the inner lining of the arteries in Apoe-/-mice compared with WT mice,under normal chow consumption conditions.Conclusions This study successfully established an Apoe KO mice model exhibiting a typical abnormal lipid metabolism phenotype with arterial lipid accumulation,even without a high-fat diet intervention.This work provides background data for the Apoe KO mice resource and a new model for the study of abnormal lipid metabolism.

Infection is a common complication after burns and the major cause of death in patients suffering severe burn injury. The infection of the elderly after burns is more serious due to their decreased immune function that is complicated with factors such as multiple chronic diseases and dysfunction of various organs. In addition, the burn infection in the elderly lacks the specific symptoms and signs, which brings great challenges to its diagnosis and treatment. To effectively prevent and control infection is very important for the treatment of elderly burn patients. Combined the clinical characteristics of burn infection in the elderly, this paper summarized the research advances of prevention and treatment for burn infection in the elderly from fluid resuscitation, wound treatment, antibiotic using, organ protection, nutritional support, and infection prevention, aiming to provide reference for clinical practice.

Objective    To detect the expression of PITX2 and KCNQ1 in the left atrial appendage of patients with atrial fibrillation after modified mini-maze procedure, and to detect the clinical risk factors of different types of atrial fibrillation. Methods    We collected left atrial appendage tissue of 59 atrial fibrillation patients who received modified mini-maze procedure and left atrial appendectomy from February 2017 to August 2018. The expression levels of PITX2 and KCNQ1 of left atrial appendage tissue were quantitatively analyzed by western blotting assay between paroxysmal attial fibrillation and persistent atrial fibrillation groups. The correlation between protein expression and prognosis after surgery was also analyzed based on clinical data. Results    Binary-logistic regression analysis showed that KCNQ1 expression level was an independent risk factor for the progression from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation to persistent atrial fibrillation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve confirmed that KCNQ1 expression level (the ratio of KCNQ1 to actin in the analysis) was 0.60, which was the best cut-off point for the progression of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation to persistent atrial fibrillation. Conclusion    High expression of KCNQ1 in left atrial appendage is a risk factor for progression from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation to persistent atrial fibrillation.

Objective To summarize the treatment decision-making strategy and its long-term efficacy for advanced elderly patients with severe valvular heart disease and clear indications for surgery.Methods Clinical data of 196 patients aged 75 years and older firmly diagnosed as severe valvular heart diseases were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into the surgical group (a mean age of 77.4±2.0 years,n=126)and the conservative group(a mean age of 80.5±5.0 years,n =70).Factors affecting therapeutic decision-making were analyzed,and the differences in a long-term survival were compared between the two groups.Results The most common reason for choosing conservative treatment was the recommendation of the doctor giving a preliminary diagnosis and worrying about the high-risk surgery for the patients(62.9％,44/70).Only 26(37.1％)patients in the conservative group were evaluated by cardiac surgeons,among whom 12 (17.1％)patients were considered to have surgical contraindications,and 14 (20.0％) patients themselves or their family members chose conservative treatment for the fear of surgical risks.Patients in the operation group were mainly from the outpatient department of cardiac surgery,and only 8 (6.3 ％)cases were referred from department of internal medicine.Logistic regression analysis showed that female,chronic renal insufficiency,advanced age,pneumonia and emergency hospital admissions were independent predictors for the conservative option(P ＜0.01),while patients with isolated aortic valve disease tended to receive surgical treatment.Overall 5-year survival was higher in the surgical group than in the conservative group (76.4％ vs.39.9％,P ＜ 0.01).Cox regression analysis disclosed that the conservative treatment option was the single risk factor for long-term survival in all series.Conclusions Many factors affect the process of therapeutic decision-making for patients with severe valvular heart diseases,and a multidisciplinary collaboration is the best way for the optimal treatment strategy for those patients.