The detection of minimal residual lesions represented by circulating tumor DNA can detect residual cancer lesions that cannot be displayed by traditional imaging in advance. The positive status and dynamic changes are closely related to the prognosis evaluation of various solid tumors, the effectiveness of neoadjuvant therapy, the prediction of postoperative recurrence risk, and the precise implementation of adjuvant therapy. This article summarizes the advantages and challenges faced by the application of circulating tumor DNA testing in individualized multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer, in order to better carry out precise diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer under the guidance of minimal residual lesion detection.

Benign biliary strictures are frequently encountered after liver transplantation or as a result of iatrogenic injury, among others. Complex and refractory benign biliary obstructions refer to biliary strictures that persist or treatment fails despite multiple endoscopic therapies. Traditional endoscopic approaches demonstrate suboptimal therapeutic effects in treating such patients, with a high recurrence rate. Moreover, surgical operations are highly invasive, and the outcomes are also unsatisfactory. The magnetic dilation technology establishes an external drainage sinus tract via percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage and positions a magnet above the obstructed biliary tract; through endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, another magnet is placed beneath the obstructed biliary tract. The two magnets mutually attract each other, exerting pressure on the scar tissue in the middle of the magnets, causing it to gradually become ischemic, necrotic, and detached, and subsequently discharged along with the magnets. The biliary epithelial cells surrounding the magnets gradually repair and heal, ultimately forming a new patent anastomosis. The magnetic dilation technology, through slow compression, realizes the concurrent process of “removing” scars and healing, avoiding severe local inflammatory responses and excessive tissue hyperplasia. Consequently, the magnetic dilation technology possesses advantages such as minimally invasiveness and reliable effects, gradually emerging as an effective modality for treating complex and refractory benign biliary stricture cases.

Erosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp (EPDS) is a rare superficial skin inflammatory disease that occurs on the scalp, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. Its clinical manifestations are similar to those of infective inflammation and malignant tumors, and its diagnosis is highly dependent on non-specific pathological changes, so the diagnosis is relatively difficult. Clinically, topical glucocorticoids are the main treatment method, but treatment outcomes vary greatly among individuals, and patients with refractory EPDS need other treatment methods. EPDS generally requires long-term topical glucocorticoid therapy, and adverse drug reactions are common. This review summarizes research progress in EPDS in recent years, in order to improve clinicians' understanding of this disease.

Congenital triangular alopecia is a kind of non-inflammatory and non-cicatricial alopecia, and most cases develop this disease at the ages of 2 - 9 years. The pathogenesis of congenital triangular alopecia is still unclear, and there is a lack of effective treatments. Congenital triangular alopecia is rather liable to be misdiagnosed and erroneously treated, and dermoscopy helps confirm the diagnosis. This review summarizes the progress in the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical diagnosis, and treatment of congenital triangular alopecia.

Objective:To develop a simple and effective subretinal injection pipeline system to enhance the accuracy and precision of subretinal injection volume control.Methods:A retrospective case series study. From May to October 2023, 18 patients (18 eyes) with submacular hemorrhage (SMH) who continuously received modified subretinal injection treatment in Department of Ophthalmology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital were included in the study. Among them, there were 10 males and 8 females. The mean age was (60.00±7.41) years. The primary causes included polypoid choroidal vasculopathy (14 cases), retinal macroaneurysm (2 cases), traumatic retinopathy (1 case), and Valsalva retinopathy (1 case). Hemorrhage affected 14 eyes of the fovea centralis. All affected eyes underwent standard three-channel 25G vitrectomy via the flat part of the ciliary body combined with modified subretinal injection of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator. The improved injection system consisted of a 1 ml syringe, a Q-Syte TM connector, a 41G subretinal microinjection needle, a converter and a viscoelastic substance control pipeline. The drug preparation time for subretinal injection (i.e., the time consumed by the system connection step), the injection time, whether bubbles occur during the injection process, and the perioperative complications were recorded and analyzed. Results:The preparation time prior to drug injection ranged from 230 to 335 seconds, while the injection completion time varied between 43 and 75 seconds. Both times decreased progressively as operator proficiency improved. Among the treated eyes, five received a target injection dose of 0.05 ml and thirteen received 0.10 ml, with all eyes achieving the preset dose accurately. No subretinal bubbles were observed during the injection procedure. Additionally, no intraoperative complications such as retinal hemorrhage or tear secondary to mechanical trauma at the injection site were recorded. Postoperatively, one eye developed anterior chamber hemorrhage, which resolved following intraocular pressure-lowering treatment. No other postoperative complications, including hemorrhage, rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, or infection, were observed in the remaining eyes.Conclusion:The retinal drug injection system developed in this study has a simple structure, safe and stable operation, can achieve precise drug injection, and effectively avoid the formation of bubbles.

Morphea alopecia is a rare secondary cicatricial alopecia, often caused by linear scleroderma of the scalp. When hair loss appears as the only symptom of morphea, it is easily confused with other localized alopecia. The diagnosis of morphea alopecia depends on histopathologic and dermoscopic examinations. In order to improve the understanding of morphea alopecia among clinicians, this review summarizes research progress in its pathogenesis, clinical and pathological characteristics, diagnosis and treatment.

Background Although current evidence suggests a link between outdoor air pollution and depressive symptoms, the effect of solid fuel use (a significant indoor air pollutant) on depressive symptoms in China's rural middle-aged and elderly population remains poorly understood. Objective To explore the association between solid fuel use for cooking and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly people in rural areas of China, and to provide a basis for the prevention and control of depressive symptoms among residents in rural areas. Methods Data were obtained from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), depressive symptoms were assessed using 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and cooking fuel type was self-reported. Subsequently, two-level binary unconditional logistic regression models were fitted to assess the impact of solid fuel use for cooking on depressive symptoms. Results A total of 7991 participants aged 45 years and older [mean age (58.52±9.18) years] were included in the study, with a mean CES-D score of 6.07±4.48 and a mean positive depressive symptoms rate of 34% (40.54% in the solid fuel group and 30.81% in the clean fuel group, χ²=74.40, P<0.001). After controlling for potential confounding covariates, rural middle-aged and elderly residents in the solid fuel group had a higher risk of reporting depressive symptoms than those in the clean fuel group (OR=1.36, 95%CI: 1.20-1.54), an association that was unaffected by participant characteristics and was positive across age and gender groups. Conclusion There is a positive association between solid fuel use for cooking and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and elderly people in rural areas of China. It is recommended that rural areas promote the upgrading of stoves through the installation of ventilation equipment or the switch from solid cooking fuel to clean fuel. This approach is directed toward reducing exposure to household air pollution, alleviating the prevalence of depression among middle-aged and elderly residents in vast rural areas, and enhancing their mental health.

Objective To propose a novel mechanical method and index to in-vivo characterize the health status of cancellous bone during the percutaneous kyphoplasty(PKP),and validate its feasibility and consistency.Methods According to the theory of elasticity,the expression and physical significance of the mechanical index K were given.Then using clinical images of the lumbar spine L4,three-dimensional finite element simulations were conducted to verify the validity of the theoretical results,as well as the consistency of the methodology and the indexes were verified for studies of different balloon shapes and puncture routes.Results The internal pressure of the balloon linearly varied with the injected fluid volume.The mechanical index K was closely related to the bone shear modulus and could well reflect the health status of cancellous bones.The balloon shape had a trivial influence on the Kresults,and the relative difference between the cylindrical and ellipsoidal shapes was less than 2％.The influence of surgical access route on the K results was also very small,and the relative difference between the routes by vertebral pedicle and by lateral margin of vertebral pedicle was less than 0.5％.Conclusions The in-vivo mechanical method and the mechanical index K can characterize the bone health of patients with good consistency.This study has a great significance for providing guidelines of the optimization of PKP operation plan and postoperative rehabilitation,collecting in vivo data of bone mechanical properties,and improving the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis in clinic.

Objective:The association between air pollutants and the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between five air pollutants—PM 2.5, PM 2.5–10, PM 10, NO 2, and NO?—and the risk of SCD. Methods:We analyzed data from 460 862 participants in the UK Biobank cohort, all enrolled between 2006 and 2010, with no baseline SCD. Follow-up continued until the study endpoint. Annual average concentrations of the five pollutants were assessed. Associations between pollutants and SCD were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models, followed by Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess causality.Results:Over a mean follow-up of 12.4 years, 2 662 SCD cases were recorded. After adjusting for confounders, no significant associations were found between air pollutants and SCD risk: PM 2.5 ( HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.99–1.07, P = 0.14), PM 2.5–10 ( HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00–1.08, P = 0.08), PM 10 ( HR 1.01, 95% CI 0.99–1.03, P = 0.26), NO? ( HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.99–1.00, P = 0.26), and NO x ( HR 1.00, 95% CI 1.00–1.01, P = 0.19). MR analysis further supported the absence of causal relationships: PM 2.5 ( β = -0.149, P = 0.90), PM 2.5–10 ( β = 0.387, P = 0.62), PM 10 ( β = -0.994, P = 0.62), NO? ( β = –0.005, P = 0.99), and NO 2 ( β = –0.827, P = 0.25). Conclusions:This study found no evidence linking PM 2.5, PM 2.5–10, PM 10, NO?, or NO 2 to an increased risk of SCD. Mendelian randomization confirmed the lack of causal associations between these pollutants and SCD.

Objective:To summarize the experience and effect of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA).Methods:The data of 70 patients with AMI-IHCA-ECPR in extracorporeal life support center of the first affiliated hospital of Nanjing medical university from January 2017 to December 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were grouped by Survival/death at 90 days, with/without combined intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP). Age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, initial rhythm, Gensini score, ECPR initial blood gas pH and lactate value, no-flow time, time from cardiac arrest to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) initiation (CA-Pump On time), ECMO treatment time, 90-day survival rate were analyzed.Results:Among the 70 patients with AMI-IHCA-ECPR, 22 (31.4%) patients survived at 90 days, of whom 19 (86.4%) patients had good neurological outcomes. About 50% of AMI-IHCA-ECPR patients had severe multi-vessel coronary artery lesions, and there was no significant difference in survival outcomes among different vascular lesions. In the IABP group, the success rate of ECMO withdrawal was low, the duration of ECMO treatment was long, and the combination of IABP did not reduce the mortality. Compared with the death group, the 90-day survival group had a lower Gensini score, a higher ECPR initial blood gas pH and a lower lactic acid value.Conclusions:AMI-IHCA-ECPR combined with IABP did not show significant survival benefits, and about 50% of patients had severe lesions of multiple coronary arteries. It is difficult to evaluate the prognosis based on a single offender vessel. It is recommended to evaluate the outcome of patients by quantification of the severity of coronary artery lesions by Gensini score.