Objective To comparatively evaluate the diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS)versus conventional microbial culture in spinal infections.Methods A cross-section design was conducted on 82 consecutive patients with suspected spinal infections treated between February 2022 and January 2024 at Jiangbei Branch of First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University(Third Military Medical University).Microbiological culture,histopathological examination,and mNGS results from infected specimens were analyzed.Clinical diagnosis,primarily based on clinical manifestations,laboratory tests and radiologic features combined with medical history,was defined as the gold standard,and then the diagnostic performance,including sensitivity and specificity,were compared between mNGS and microbial culture.Results Among the 82 patients,definitive microbiological evidence was identified in 70 cases,and mNGS demonstrated a significantly higher detection rate than microbial culture(64 vs 36 cases,78.05％vs 43.9％,P<0.05).mNGS also obtained obviously higher sensitivity,accuracy,and negative predictive value(NPV),and notably lower positive predictive value(PPV)when compared to conventional microbial culture(all P<0.05).When stratified by infection type,mNGS obtained significantly higher sensitivity and accuracy compared to microbial culture in tuberculous spinal infections(P<0.05).For non-tuberculous spinal infections,mNGS also showed superior sensitivity to microbial culture(P<0.05).Conclusion In patients with spinal infections,mNGS demonstrates a significantly higher pathogen detection rate than conventional microbial culture.This technique can provide early and broad-spectrum pathogenic microbiological evidence for spinal infection.

Objective To investigate the efficacy of calf self weight traction reduction combined with locking plate fixation for the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures in the elderly.Methods A retrospective case series study was conducted on the clinical records of 174 elderly patients with the modified Evans Ⅰ-Ⅲ types of fresh intertrochanteric fractures treated with locking plate from January 2012 to December 2015.According to treatment method,the patients were assigned to traction bed reduction with locking plate fixation (Group A,62 patients) and calf self weight traction reduction with locking plate fixation (Group B,112 patients).Group A comprised 32 males and 30 females,with age range of 65-91 years [(72.47 ± 6.35) years].Group B comprised 68 males and 44 females,with age range of 65-95 years [(73.23 ± 6.05) years].The time of reduction,operation time,incision length,intraoperative blood loss,frequency of fluoroscopy,postoperative drainage volume,hospital stay,postoperative weightbearing standing time or walking time (ambulation time),surgical complications,and fracture healing were recorded.Harris and modified Barthel index score in Chinese (MBI-C) were used to evaluate the functional recovery of hip joint.Results All patients were followed up for 5-61 months (mean,15 months),and noted with fracture healing.The time of reduction in Group A was (13.27 ± 3.03) minutes,longer than that in Group B (0 minute) (P ＜0.05).The operation time in Group A was (63.63 ± 13.90)minutes,longer than that in Group B [(59.62 ± 8.38) minutes] (P ＜ 0.05).Fluoroscopy in Group A was (5.35 ± 2.36) times,more than (4.28 ± 3.11) times in Group B (P ＜ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the incision length,intraoperative blood loss,postoperative drainage volume,ambulation time,fracture healing time,Harris score,and MBI-C index between the two groups (P ＞0.05).There were no significant differences in the postoperative complications such as deep venous thrombosis,pulmonary infection,incisional infection,urinary tract infection,delirium,bed sores,cardiac insufficiency,electrolyte disturbance,and postoperative plate rupture between the two groups (P＞0.05).The incidence of deep vein thrombosis was 9.7％ (6/62) in Group A,and 4.5％ (5/112) in Group B (P ＞0.05).No screw fracture,nail and plate combination failure,bone nonunion,or screw cut out of the femoral head were observed in both groups.Conclusions For the modified Evans Ⅰ-Ⅲ types of intertrochanteric fractures,both traction bed reduction and calf weight reduction with locking plate have equivalent efficacy.However,the latter method has advantages of shorter reduction and operation time and less intraoperative X-ray exposure,and hence is worthy of clinical application.

Objective To systematically evaluate the postoperative complications following open reduction and internal fixation combined with vascularized bone flap graft versus only reduction and internal fixation for femoral neck fractures.Methods CNKI,Wan Fang Chinese database,Pubmed,EMBASE and Google Scholar English database were searched for the randomized controlled trials from January 1,2000 through October 31,2017 which compared open reduction and internal fixation combined with vascularized bone flap graft (combined surgery group) with only reduction and internal fixation (simple surgery group) for femoral neck fractures.The data concerning postoperative nonunion and avascular necrosis of the femoral head were extracted.The 2 surgical treatments of the patients with femoral neck fracture were compared in terms of the 2 complications.Statistical analyses were conducted using software Stata 12 by relative risk (RR) and corresponding 95％ confidence intervals (95％ CI).Results According to our inclusion and exclusion criteria,a total of 23 studies were included,involving 2,162 cases (1,048 cases receiving combined surgery and 1,114 cases simple surgery).The Meta analyses showed that the fracture nonunion rate for the combined surgery group was significantly lower than that for the simple surgery group [RR =0.27,95％ CI(0.19,0.38),P ＜ 0.001] and the rate of avascular necrosis was also significantly lower for the former than for the latter [RR =0.31,95 ％ CI(0.24,0.42),P ＜ 0.001].Conclusion In the treatment of femoral neck fractures,open reduction and internal fixation combined with vascularied bone graft may lead to lower rates of nonunion and avascular necrosis of the femoral head than simple open reduction and internal fixation.

This study is to investigate the effects of paeoniflorin on cerebral blood flow and the balance of PGI2/TXA2 of rats with focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. A total of 72 SD rats (3) were randomly divided into 6 groups: sham operation group, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model group (I/R gourp), low (10 mg.kg-1), middle (20 mg.kg-1) and high (40 mg.kg-1) doses of paeoniflorin groups and nimrnodipine group. Focal cerebral ischemia in rats was made by inserting a monofilament suture into internal carotid artery for 90 min and then reperfused for 24 h. The effects of paeoniflorin on neurological deficit scores and the infarction volume of brain were detected. Relative regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was continuously monitored over ischemic hemispheres by laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF). The expression of COX-2 in hippocampal CAl region was estimated by immunohistochemistry and the contents of prostacyclin I2 (PGI2), thromboxane A2 (TXA2), and ratio of PGIJ2/TXA2 in serum were measured by ELISA kits. Paeoniflorin significantly ameliorated neurological scores, reduced the infarction volume, and increased regional cerebral blood flow relative to the I/R group. In addition, paeoniflorin could inhibit COX-2 expression and the release of TXA2 and prevent the downregulation of PGI2 induced by I/R injury. The neuroprotective effects of paeoniflorin against focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats might be attributed to improve the supply of injured hemisphere blood flow and adjust the balance between PGI2/TXA2.