Objective To develop a symptom and function assessment scale for patients after Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum and to test its reliability and validity. Methods Following the principles and procedures of patient-reported outcome (PRO) scale development stipulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, an initial draft was formed through literature analysis, qualitative interviews, and Delphi expert consultation. The preliminary draft was used to conduct a pre-survey on patients who underwent Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, and the reliability and validity of the scale were tested. Results A preliminary PRO-based symptom and function scale was constructed, covering two domains: symptoms and impact on daily functions. The symptom dimension included six items: chest tightness, palpitations, pain, shortness of breath, foreign body sensation of the steel plate, and distress; while the impact on daily functions included four items: difficulty in getting out of bed or lying down, raising arms, bending over, and standing or sitting for a long time. A total of 73 patients who underwent Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum were included in the questionnaire survey, with 70 valid questionnaires collected, including 64 males and 6 females, with 56 patients aged 12-17 years and 14 patients ≥18 years. Through exploratory factor analysis, two common factors were extracted, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 70%. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.917. Conclusion The scale developed in this study has good reliability and validity, high reliability and stability, and can be used as an evaluation tool for the recovery status of patients after Nuss procedure for pectus excavatum.

Objective     To identify the potential factors for psychological burdens and to better understand how the patients’ psychological status affect their treatment preferences. Methods     A questionnaire survey was conducted among 996 patients with pulmonary nodules who visited the Thoracic Surgery Clinic of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from January to November 2021, including 381 males and 615 females, aged 47.26±11.53 years. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to investigate the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to evaluate the psychological status of the patients, with a score>7 points of each subscale indicating potential anxiety or depression. Results     Among the 996 patients with pulmonary nodules, the incidence of anxiety was 42.4% and the incidence of depression was 26.4%, while the incidence of both anxiety and depression was 24.7%. There was a significant correlation between anxiety and depression (ρ=0.834, P<0.05). Age, purpose of CT examination, number of pulmonary nodules and symptoms were independent factors for anxiety, while symptoms and number of pulmonary nodules were independent factors for depression (P<0.05). For treatment preferences, there was a statistical difference in educational level, symptoms, nodule size and anxiety level (P<0.05). Conclusion     Anxiety and depression are common in patients with pulmonary nodules. Symptoms are associated with anxiety and depression, which also make an impact on treatment preferences.

Forty-four patients suffering from hip pain after the hip and femoral head replacement were treated by revision for total hip arthroplasty in Spinal and Joint Surgery of Gaozhou People’s Hospital between August 2000 and August 2006. Forty-one patients were followed up. The surgeon, an associate chief physician, had been engaging in artificial joint field for 9 years, and performed artificial joint replacement for 620 patients. ①There were 26 patients with pain after artificial femoral head replacement, including 17 males and 9 females with an average age of 72.3 years (range, 67-79 years). Of the 26 patients, 12 had loosening of prosthesis stem, 8 acetabular wear, 3 dislocation of artificial femoral head, 2 ossification around the joints, and 1 periprosthetic fracture. ②Fifteen patients suffered with pain after total hip replacement, including 9 males and 6 females with an average age of 73.4 years (range, 66-80). Of them, there were 6 with loosening of prosthesis, 2 with loosening of acetabular prosthesis, 2 with wear of acetabular prosthesis, 2 with dislocation of artificial femoral head, 1 with infection of incision, 1 with delayed infection, and 1 with periprosthetic fracture. ③During follow up, 4 cases developed bone cement response symptoms such as acute hypotension, hypoxemia, and arrhythmia, but no rejection induced by artificial joint was found. X-ray films showed that no metal corrosion or acetabular polyethylene prosthesis degradation occurred. ④White blood count was generally elevated the day after revision of total hip arthroplasty, and mostly recovered 7 days after revision. Three patients had venous thrombosis of lower extremities. All 41 patients were followed up for 1-7 years, and odynolysis rate was 90.2%. The results indicate that the complications such as loosening of prosthesis, acetabular wear, dislocation of artificial femoral head, and ossification around the joints are main causes of hip pain after hip prosthesis replacement. Revision of total hip arthroplasty is an efficient method to relieve the pain.