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For middle-aged and elderly patients with conditions such as spinal fractures and degenerative spinal diseases, spinal internal fixation is a core surgical procedure for reconstructing spinal stability, heavily relying on the biomechanical stability provided by pedicle screw systems. Whereas, these patients are often complicated by osteoporosis that can significantly compromise the stability of the bone-pedicle screw interface, leading to a marked increase in pedicle screw loosening and surgical failure rates. The bone cement-augmented pedicle screw technique, which involves injecting bone cement into the vertebral body or screw trajectory to optimize the mechanical properties of the bone-pedicle screw composite, has been proven to significantly enhance fixation strength and effectively prevent screw-related failures, thereby reducing the incidence of internal fixation failure in high-risk populations undergoing spinal fusion. However, the widespread clinical application of this technique has faced challenges such as inaccurate clinical decision-making (indication and contraindication selection), non-standardized operative practices, and insufficient awareness of complication prevention, resulting in considerable variability in clinical outcomes and even severe complications. To address this, Prof. Luo Fei from First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University initiated the project and the Chinese Association Orthopaedic Surgeons organized relevant experts to develop the Evidence-based clinical practice guideline for bone cement-augmented pedicle screw technique ( version 2025), based on current evidence. The guidelines put forward 8 recommendations regarding the clinical value, scope of application, and operational standards of the technique, aiming to provide evidence-based medical support and technical standardization for clinical decision-making.

Objective:To evaluate the performance of three mainstream large language models (LLMs) in the review of drug reimbursement indications in hospitals, and to explore their potential in improving audit quality and efficiency, thereby safeguarding the medical insurance fund.Methods:A total of 3 247 outpatient prescription records were retrospectively collected from a specialized oncology hospital between January 2, 2022, and June 30, 2023. Manual assessment of the consistency between clinical diagnoses and drug reimbursement indications was used as the gold standard. Three LLMs, Baidu′s ERNIE Bot, Alibaba′s Tongyi Qianwen, and OpenAI′s ChatGPT-4o, were evaluated on the same task. Performance metrics included accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, F1 score, and area under the curve (AUC).Results:The ERNIE Bot model returned 3 242 valid data, which took 314 min; The Tongyi Qianwen model returned a total of 3 162 valid data, taking 384 min; The ChatGPT-4o model returned a total of 3 218 valid data, taking 150 min. ChatGPT-4o demonstrated the best performance, with an accuracy of 88.41%, precision of 60.48%, sensitivity of 78.75%, specificity of 90.24%, F1 score of 0.68, and an AUC of 0.88.Conclusions:LLMs demonstrate stable performance in determining whether prescriptions align with reimbursement indications, with ChatGPT-4o approaching human-level accuracy and exhibiting more conservative specificity. These findings suggest that LLMs have practical value as auxiliary tools in drug indication reviews, contributing to improved audit efficiency and more refined management of medical insurance funds.

Objective To analyze the performances of electronic portal imaging device (EPID) in mechanical and dosimetry responses,and to investigate the feasibility of adopting EPID as a daily quality assurance (QA) equipment. Methods The EPID of Trilogy linear accelerator was tested for mechanical position repeatability and dose linear response. Then,a group of special fields were edited manually for simulations of field translation and symmetry deviations,and the sensitivities of EPID and MyQA Daily to field translation and symmetry deviations were evaluated,and moreover,the linear correlation between the set value and the measured value was analyzed. Finally,daily QA was conducted with EPID and MyQA Daily for 30 consecutive days,and the measurement results and time consumption were analyzed. Results The maximum deviation of EPID position repeatability was 0.4 mm,and the dose response was linearly correlated (R2>0.999). The symmetry deviation test results showed that both of EPID and MyQA Daily were capable to effectively detect the 0.2％ offset in symmetry,and a linear correlation was demonstrated between the set value and the measured results (R2>0.995). In translation test,the linear correlation of EPID was more explicit than that of MyQA Daily (R2=0.992 vs R2=0.976). In daily QA,all the measured results of EPID and MyQA Daily were within the clinic acceptance tolerance. Moreover,the mean value of Y-directional symmetry and flatness measured by EPID was approximately 1.00％ larger than MyQA Daily. The average time required by EPID was 50 s less than MyQA Daily[(129.97±4.16) s vs (184.53±4.23) s]. Conclusion EPID can be served as a reliable and efficient daily QA equipment for linear accelerator. However,it is not capable to be used as a criterion for evaluating linear accelerator performance.

Objective To analyze the performances of electronic portal imaging device (EPID) in mechanical and dosimetry responses,and to investigate the feasibility of adopting EPID as a daily quality assurance (QA) equipment. Methods The EPID of Trilogy linear accelerator was tested for mechanical position repeatability and dose linear response. Then,a group of special fields were edited manually for simulations of field translation and symmetry deviations,and the sensitivities of EPID and MyQA Daily to field translation and symmetry deviations were evaluated,and moreover,the linear correlation between the set value and the measured value was analyzed. Finally,daily QA was conducted with EPID and MyQA Daily for 30 consecutive days,and the measurement results and time consumption were analyzed. Results The maximum deviation of EPID position repeatability was 0.4 mm,and the dose response was linearly correlated (R2>0.999). The symmetry deviation test results showed that both of EPID and MyQA Daily were capable to effectively detect the 0.2％ offset in symmetry,and a linear correlation was demonstrated between the set value and the measured results (R2>0.995). In translation test,the linear correlation of EPID was more explicit than that of MyQA Daily (R2=0.992 vs R2=0.976). In daily QA,all the measured results of EPID and MyQA Daily were within the clinic acceptance tolerance. Moreover,the mean value of Y-directional symmetry and flatness measured by EPID was approximately 1.00％ larger than MyQA Daily. The average time required by EPID was 50 s less than MyQA Daily[(129.97±4.16) s vs (184.53±4.23) s]. Conclusion EPID can be served as a reliable and efficient daily QA equipment for linear accelerator. However,it is not capable to be used as a criterion for evaluating linear accelerator performance.

For middle-aged and elderly patients with conditions such as spinal fractures and degenerative spinal diseases, spinal internal fixation is a core surgical procedure for reconstructing spinal stability, heavily relying on the biomechanical stability provided by pedicle screw systems. Whereas, these patients are often complicated by osteoporosis that can significantly compromise the stability of the bone-pedicle screw interface, leading to a marked increase in pedicle screw loosening and surgical failure rates. The bone cement-augmented pedicle screw technique, which involves injecting bone cement into the vertebral body or screw trajectory to optimize the mechanical properties of the bone-pedicle screw composite, has been proven to significantly enhance fixation strength and effectively prevent screw-related failures, thereby reducing the incidence of internal fixation failure in high-risk populations undergoing spinal fusion. However, the widespread clinical application of this technique has faced challenges such as inaccurate clinical decision-making (indication and contraindication selection), non-standardized operative practices, and insufficient awareness of complication prevention, resulting in considerable variability in clinical outcomes and even severe complications. To address this, Prof. Luo Fei from First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University initiated the project and the Chinese Association Orthopaedic Surgeons organized relevant experts to develop the Evidence-based clinical practice guideline for bone cement-augmented pedicle screw technique ( version 2025), based on current evidence. The guidelines put forward 8 recommendations regarding the clinical value, scope of application, and operational standards of the technique, aiming to provide evidence-based medical support and technical standardization for clinical decision-making.

Objective:To evaluate the performance of three mainstream large language models (LLMs) in the review of drug reimbursement indications in hospitals, and to explore their potential in improving audit quality and efficiency, thereby safeguarding the medical insurance fund.Methods:A total of 3 247 outpatient prescription records were retrospectively collected from a specialized oncology hospital between January 2, 2022, and June 30, 2023. Manual assessment of the consistency between clinical diagnoses and drug reimbursement indications was used as the gold standard. Three LLMs, Baidu′s ERNIE Bot, Alibaba′s Tongyi Qianwen, and OpenAI′s ChatGPT-4o, were evaluated on the same task. Performance metrics included accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, F1 score, and area under the curve (AUC).Results:The ERNIE Bot model returned 3 242 valid data, which took 314 min; The Tongyi Qianwen model returned a total of 3 162 valid data, taking 384 min; The ChatGPT-4o model returned a total of 3 218 valid data, taking 150 min. ChatGPT-4o demonstrated the best performance, with an accuracy of 88.41%, precision of 60.48%, sensitivity of 78.75%, specificity of 90.24%, F1 score of 0.68, and an AUC of 0.88.Conclusions:LLMs demonstrate stable performance in determining whether prescriptions align with reimbursement indications, with ChatGPT-4o approaching human-level accuracy and exhibiting more conservative specificity. These findings suggest that LLMs have practical value as auxiliary tools in drug indication reviews, contributing to improved audit efficiency and more refined management of medical insurance funds.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) combined with lower cervical fracture is often categorized into unstable fracture, with a high incidence of neurological injury and a high rate of disability and morbidity. As factors such as shoulder occlusion may affect the accuracy of X-ray imaging diagnosis, it is often easily misdiagnosed at the primary diagnosis. Non-operative treatment has complications such as bone nonunion and the possibility of secondary neurological damage, while the timing, access and choice of surgical treatment are still controversial. Currently, there are no clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of AS combined with lower cervical fracture with or without dislocation. To this end, the Spinal Trauma Group of Orthopedics Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized experts to formulate Clinical guidelines for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis combined with lower cervical fracture in adults ( version 2024) in accordance with the principles of evidence-based medicine, scientificity and practicality, in which 11 recommendations were put forward in terms of the diagnosis, imaging evaluation, typing and treatment, etc, to provide guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of AS combined with lower cervical fracture.

Objective:To explore the reasonable timing of radiotherapy for epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR) mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer patients with brain metastasis in the era of third-generation targeted drugs. Methods:Clinical data of EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer patients with brain metastasis who received first-line treatment with third-generation targeted drugs and stereotactic radiotherapy at Shanghai Armed Police Corps Hospital from September 2019 to May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the timing of radiotherapy before / after targeted drug resistance, all patients were divided into the early and salvage radiotherapy groups. The proportion of brain metastasis, physical fitness, complete response rate, objective response rate, delaying the progression of brain metastasis and overall survival (OS) were compared between two groups. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis, log-rank test was used for univariate prognostic analysis, and factors with P <0.1 were included in Cox multivariate analysis. Results:A total of 85 patients were included, including 51 (60%) cases receiving early radiotherapy. Patients who participated in early radiotherapy had a higher proportion of symptomatic brain metastasis (82% vs. 56%, P=0.013) and poorer physical fitness (Kanofsky performance score <70: 61% vs. 26%, P=0.002) compared to patients who underwent salvage radiotherapy. Early radiotherapy significantly improved the complete response rate of intracranial lesions (35% vs. 12%, P=0.015) and objective response rate (88% vs. 71%, P=0.041), delayed the progression of brain metastasis (median intracranial progression free survival: 23.0 months vs. 16.0 months, P=0.005; median intracranial secondary progression free survival: 31.0 months vs. 22.0 months, P=0.021), and improved OS (median OS: 44.0 months vs. 35.0 months, P=0.046). In multivariate analysis, diagnosis-specific graded prognostic assessment score <2.5, mutation of EGFR exon 21, and salvage brain radiotherapy were adverse prognostic factors for OS. Conclusion:In the era of third-generation targeted drugs therapy, early involvement of stereotactic radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients with brain metastasis can bring greater clinical benefits.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of pleural effusion after spinal separation surgery for patients with spinal metastatic tumors.Methods:A total of 427 patients with spinal metastatic tumors from January 2014 to January 2022 in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine were retrospectively analyzed. There were 252 males and 175 females, with an average age of 59±12 years (range, 15-87 years). All patients underwent separation surgery. Based on the chest CT within 1 month after surgery, the volume of pleural effusion was measured individually by reconstruction software. Pleural effusion was defined as small volume (0-500 ml), moderate volume (500-1 000 ml), and large volume (above 1 000 ml). Baseline data and perioperative clinical outcomes were compared between the groups, and indicators with statistically significant differences were included in a binary logistic regression analysis to determine the independent risk factors for the development of pleural effusion after isolation of spinal metastatic cancer. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were conducted to calculate the area under the curve (AUC) for each independent risk factor.Results:All patients successfully completed the operation. Among the 427 patients, there were 35 cases of large pleural effusion, 42 cases of moderate pleural effusion, and 350 cases of small pleural effusion. There were significant differences in tumor size (χ 2=9.485, P=0.013), intraoperative blood loss ( Z=-2.503, P=0.011), blood transfusion ( Z=-2.983, P=0.003), preoperative total protein ( Z=2.681, P=0.007), preoperative albumin ( Z=1.720, P= 0.085), postoperative hemoglobin ( t=2.950, P=0.008), postoperative total protein ( Z=4.192, P<0.001), and postoperative albumin ( t=2.268, P=0.032) in the large pleural effusion group versus the small and moderate pleural effusion group. Logistic regression analysis showed that decreased preoperative albumin ( OR=0.89, P=0.045) and metastases located in the thoracic spine ( OR=4.01, P=0.039) were independent risk factors for the occurrence of large pleural effusion after separation surgery. The ROC curve showed that the AUC and 95% CI for preoperative albumin, lesion location, and the combined model were 0.637 (0.54, 0.74), 0.421 (0.36, 0.48), and 0.883 (0.81, 0.92). The combined predictive model showed good predictive value. Conclusion:The volume of pleural effusion can be measured individually and quantitatively based on chest CT. Decreased preoperative albumin and metastases located in the thoracic spine are independent risk factors for the occurrence of large pleural effusion after separation surgery. The combined prediction of the two factors has better predictive efficacy.