Objective:To investigate the clinical significance and inducing factors of abnormal intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) signals during surgery for cervical degenerative diseases.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 586 patients who underwent cervical degenerative disease surgery with IONM at the Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, from April 2015 to April 2024. Surgical approaches included 380 anterior spinal canal decompression and fusion procedures, 154 posterior spinal canal decompression and fusion procedures (including single-door laminoplasty, total laminectomy, and hemilaminectomy), and 52 combined anterior-posterior surgeries. The multimodal IONM protocol employed transcranial electrical stimulation motor evoked potentials (TES-MEP) and cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (CSEP), combined with electromyography (EMG). Bilateral deltoid muscles, thenar/hypothenar muscles and abductor hallucis muscles were monitored in all patients. Intraoperative MEP, SEP, and EMG results were recorded to analyze the causes of abnormal signals, intraoperative response strategies, and postoperative neurological function and outcomes. Fourfold table chi-square tests were used to analyze factors possibly associated with IONM alerts.Results:Among the 586 cervical surgeries, 17 cases (2.9%) exhibited abnormal IONM signals. These included 4 cases of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), 4 cases of anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF), and 2 cases of combined anterior-posterior surgeries for cervical spondylotic myelopathy; and 5 posterior surgeries and 2 anterior ACCF procedures for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). The rate of abnormal IONM signals was significantly higher in patients with maximum spinal cord compression (MSCC)>60% (5.8%, 12/208) than in those with MSCC≤60% (χ 2=9.417, P=0.002); in patients with intraoperative hypotension during posterior surgery (mean arterial pressure reduction>20% from baseline, cumulative duration>20 min), the abnormal IONM rate was 22.2% (6/27), which was significantly higher than that in patients without intraoperative hypotension (χ 2=33.542, P<0.001); in patients who underwent calcified tissue removal during anterior surgery, the abnormal IONM rate was 9.3% (5/54), which was significantly higher than that in patients without calcified tissue removal (χ 2=13.162, P=0.003). Thus, MSCC>60%, intraoperative hypotension during posterior surgery, and calcified tissue removal during anterior surgery may be inducing factors for abnormal IONM signals. Among the 17 patients with monitoring abnormalities, 8 cases showed no significant improvement after corresponding intraoperative treatments, and 7 of these 8 cases experienced varying degrees of muscle strength decline and sensory numbness immediately after surgery; 9 cases showed partial or complete recovery of signals, among which 8 cases had no new-onset neurological impairment after surgery, and 1 case developed unilateral upper limb grip strength decline. IONM demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.8750 and specificity of 0.8889. Conclusions:Multimodal IONM can detect electrophysiological abnormalities of spinal cord nerve function during cervical degenerative disease surgery, providing real-time warning of potential nerve damage during the operation. The proportion of abnormal IONM signals is relatively high in cases with MSCC>60%, intraoperative hypotension during posterior cervical surgery, or calcified tissue removal during anterior cervical surgery.

Objective:To investigate the clinical significance and inducing factors of abnormal intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) signals during surgery for cervical degenerative diseases.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 586 patients who underwent cervical degenerative disease surgery with IONM at the Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, from April 2015 to April 2024. Surgical approaches included 380 anterior spinal canal decompression and fusion procedures, 154 posterior spinal canal decompression and fusion procedures (including single-door laminoplasty, total laminectomy, and hemilaminectomy), and 52 combined anterior-posterior surgeries. The multimodal IONM protocol employed transcranial electrical stimulation motor evoked potentials (TES-MEP) and cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (CSEP), combined with electromyography (EMG). Bilateral deltoid muscles, thenar/hypothenar muscles and abductor hallucis muscles were monitored in all patients. Intraoperative MEP, SEP, and EMG results were recorded to analyze the causes of abnormal signals, intraoperative response strategies, and postoperative neurological function and outcomes. Fourfold table chi-square tests were used to analyze factors possibly associated with IONM alerts.Results:Among the 586 cervical surgeries, 17 cases (2.9%) exhibited abnormal IONM signals. These included 4 cases of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), 4 cases of anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF), and 2 cases of combined anterior-posterior surgeries for cervical spondylotic myelopathy; and 5 posterior surgeries and 2 anterior ACCF procedures for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). The rate of abnormal IONM signals was significantly higher in patients with maximum spinal cord compression (MSCC)>60% (5.8%, 12/208) than in those with MSCC≤60% (χ 2=9.417, P=0.002); in patients with intraoperative hypotension during posterior surgery (mean arterial pressure reduction>20% from baseline, cumulative duration>20 min), the abnormal IONM rate was 22.2% (6/27), which was significantly higher than that in patients without intraoperative hypotension (χ 2=33.542, P<0.001); in patients who underwent calcified tissue removal during anterior surgery, the abnormal IONM rate was 9.3% (5/54), which was significantly higher than that in patients without calcified tissue removal (χ 2=13.162, P=0.003). Thus, MSCC>60%, intraoperative hypotension during posterior surgery, and calcified tissue removal during anterior surgery may be inducing factors for abnormal IONM signals. Among the 17 patients with monitoring abnormalities, 8 cases showed no significant improvement after corresponding intraoperative treatments, and 7 of these 8 cases experienced varying degrees of muscle strength decline and sensory numbness immediately after surgery; 9 cases showed partial or complete recovery of signals, among which 8 cases had no new-onset neurological impairment after surgery, and 1 case developed unilateral upper limb grip strength decline. IONM demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.8750 and specificity of 0.8889. Conclusions:Multimodal IONM can detect electrophysiological abnormalities of spinal cord nerve function during cervical degenerative disease surgery, providing real-time warning of potential nerve damage during the operation. The proportion of abnormal IONM signals is relatively high in cases with MSCC>60%, intraoperative hypotension during posterior cervical surgery, or calcified tissue removal during anterior cervical surgery.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of off-clamping in robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) for the treatment of renal tumors.Methods From January 2015 to March 2017,the data of 48 patients who underwent off-clamping RAPN were reviewed retrospectively.There were 31 males and 17 females,and the mean age was 57 years (range:23-84 years).The mean tumor size was 3.1 cm (range:1.2-6.4 cm),with the upper,middle,and lower polar tumors account for 35.4％,27.1％,and 37.5％,respectively.The clinical tumor stage was T1N0M0 in all 48 cases,according to the AJCC tumor staging system for renal cancer.Results RAPNs were performed successfully in all 48 cases,without conversion to open surgery.In those patients,the application of off-clamping in robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy was performed in 44 cases.The renal artery and vein was exposed,dissected,isolated and then clamped in 4 cases due to bleeding.The mean surgical time was 85 min (range:75-185 min).The mean estimated blood loss was 134 ml (range:60-270 ml),and no blood transfusion was needed.The wound surface was closed using interrupted suture with Hem-o-lok clips securing each needle point.The mean time for renorrhaphy was 22 min (rang:11-31 min).No intraoperative severe complications such as vascular injury,trauma of abdominal organ occurred.There were 5 complications,including 2 cases of hematuria,2 cases of delayed healing of incision,and 1 case of pneumohypoderma.The pathological diagnosis included 40 cases of renal clear cell carcinoma,3 cases of papillary renal cell carcinoma,and 5 cases of angiomyolipomas.No tumor recurrence or distant metastasis was observed during the average follow-up of 17 months (range 3-27 months).Conclusions Off-clamping RAPN is safe and feasible approach to excise certain kidney tumors.It carries the benefits of less complication,quick recovery,and less ischemia reperfusion renal injury.Off-clamping RAPN would be suitable for those patients with solitary kidneys,renal insufficiency,and bilateral tumors.

Objective To investigate the effect of sodium phenylbutyrate (SPB) in modulating docetaxel resistance in human prostate cancer cells in vitro. Methods A PC3/docetaxel-resistant human prostate cancer cell line PC3/DTX was induced and examined for proliferation, viability, and cell inhibition rate in the presence of SPB. The concentration of concentration of docetaxel required to kill 50%of PC3/DTX cells incubated with 0, 1, 2, and 4 mmol/L SPB was determined using MTT assay. Cell apoptosis rate was analyzed with flow cytometry and the cellular expressions of p21, cyclin D1 and survivin proteins were detected using Western blotting. Results Treatment of PC3/DTX cells with 0, 1, 2, and 4 mmol/L of SPB for 48 h resulted in cell viabilities of (99.85±2.69)%, (84.68±3.87)%, (68.65±4.54)%and (43.54±5.69)%, and cell inhibition rates of (10.69±3.65)%, (25.78± 4.58)%, (54.68±3.98)%and (69.84±6.54)%, respectively (P<0.05). The concentration of docetaxel required to kill 50%of PC3/DTX cells cultured in the presence of with 0, 1, 2, and 4 mmol/L SPB was 135.98±2.69, 109.65±3.87, 87.65±3.84 and 64.62±2.98 nmol/L, respectively (P<0.05), and the cell apoptosis rates were (7.2±0.8)%, (10.2±0.9)%, (19.8±2.1)%and (27.4±2.5)%, respectively. SPB treatment promoted the protein expression of p21 and suppressed the expressions of cyclin D1 and survivin in PC3/DTX cells. Conclusion SPB can affect the expressions of p21, cyclin D1, and survivin in PC3/DTX cells and increase the sensitivity to the drug-resistant cells to docetaxel.

Objective To investigate the effect of sodium phenylbutyrate (SPB) in modulating docetaxel resistance in human prostate cancer cells in vitro. Methods A PC3/docetaxel-resistant human prostate cancer cell line PC3/DTX was induced and examined for proliferation, viability, and cell inhibition rate in the presence of SPB. The concentration of concentration of docetaxel required to kill 50%of PC3/DTX cells incubated with 0, 1, 2, and 4 mmol/L SPB was determined using MTT assay. Cell apoptosis rate was analyzed with flow cytometry and the cellular expressions of p21, cyclin D1 and survivin proteins were detected using Western blotting. Results Treatment of PC3/DTX cells with 0, 1, 2, and 4 mmol/L of SPB for 48 h resulted in cell viabilities of (99.85±2.69)%, (84.68±3.87)%, (68.65±4.54)%and (43.54±5.69)%, and cell inhibition rates of (10.69±3.65)%, (25.78± 4.58)%, (54.68±3.98)%and (69.84±6.54)%, respectively (P<0.05). The concentration of docetaxel required to kill 50%of PC3/DTX cells cultured in the presence of with 0, 1, 2, and 4 mmol/L SPB was 135.98±2.69, 109.65±3.87, 87.65±3.84 and 64.62±2.98 nmol/L, respectively (P<0.05), and the cell apoptosis rates were (7.2±0.8)%, (10.2±0.9)%, (19.8±2.1)%and (27.4±2.5)%, respectively. SPB treatment promoted the protein expression of p21 and suppressed the expressions of cyclin D1 and survivin in PC3/DTX cells. Conclusion SPB can affect the expressions of p21, cyclin D1, and survivin in PC3/DTX cells and increase the sensitivity to the drug-resistant cells to docetaxel.

Aim To investigate the roles of chloride channels in the apoptosis and apoptotic volume de-crease (AVD)induced by adriamycin in nasopharyn-geal carcinoma CNE-2Z cells.Methods Apoptotic rates were detected by flow cytometry,and the volume changes were measured by the time-lapse live cell ima-ging technique.The patch clamp technique was used to record whole-cell chloride currents.Results Adria-mycin induced apoptosis of CNE-2Z cells.An early ap-optotic volume decrease was observed in the cell trea-ted with adriamycin.The cell volume was decreased by about 10% in 2 h.Adriamycin activated a chloride current which showed outward rectification.The chlo-ride channel blocker 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoate (NPPB ) could inhibit the adriamycin-in-duced chloride currents,apoptosis and prevent cell shrinkage.Conclusions Our findings suggest that ad-riamycin causes cell apoptosis by activation of chloride channels.Chloride channels may be involved in the apoptosis and apoptotic volume decrease induced by adriamycin in CNE-2Z cells.

OBJECTIVETo clarify the value of endotoxin determination in evaluating the infection risk and antibiotic prophylaxis during transrectal biopsy of the prostate.

METHODSForty-eight patients were divided into four groups randomly. Group A (12 patients) were not treated before biopsy. Group B (13 patients) received antibiotic prophylaxis therapy. Group C (12 patients) underwent clusis. Group D (11 patients) received combined treatment. Urine and blood samples of the patients were obtained before and after prostatic biopsy. All samples were cultured for bacteria and investigated for endotoxin concentration by limulus quantitative azo color test.

RESULTSNo significant difference in either serum endotoxin or blood bacterial cultures was noted before and after prostatic biopsy (P < 0.05) in all the groups. A significant increase was observed in urine endotoxin after biopsy compared with that before biopsy in Groups A and B (P < 0.05). There was no significant increase in urine endotoxin after biopsy compared with that before biopsy in Group C and D. The positive incidence of urine bacterial culture was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in patients of Group A and B.

CONCLUSIONCirculation infection risk following prostatic biopsy was low. Changes of urinary infection were fewer in patients who had undergone clusis and/or antibiotic prophylaxis than in those who had received no or only antibiotic prophylaxis therapy. Endotoxin determination in urine is a reliable, sensitive and simple method for diagnosis of bacterial infection in patients undergoing transrectal biopsy of the prostate.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antibiotic Prophylaxis ; Bacteremia ; microbiology ; Bacterial Infections ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Bacteriuria ; microbiology ; Biopsy, Needle ; adverse effects ; Endotoxins ; analysis ; blood ; urine ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prostate ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo probe into and improve the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in the male genital system.

METHODSFifteen patients with the male genital system TB established by microbiological and pathological examinations were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTSThe male genital system TB was diagnosed by history, physical examination, semen analysis, TB culture and biopsy. Treatment consisted of antituberculous chemotherapy for all the patients before and/or after operation, including 5 cases of epididymectomy and 6 cases of orchi-epididymectomy.

CONCLUSIONThe male genital system TB tends to be atypical and semen polymerase chain reaction of TB (TB-PCR) may provide a new specific means for diagnosis in case of clinical suspicion. Surgical approaches should be cautiously adopted, especially for young patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Antitubercular Agents ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retrospective Studies ; Tuberculosis, Male Genital ; diagnosis ; therapy

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the erectile function of adults after circumcision.

METHODSNinty-five patients were investigated on erectile function by questionnaire before and after circumcision, respectively.

RESULTSEighteen patients suffered from mild erectile dysfunction before circumcision, and 28 suffered from mild or moderate erectile dysfunction after circumcision(P = 0.001). Adult circumcision appeared to have resulted in weakened erectile confidence in 33 cases(P = 0.04), difficult insertion in 41 cases(P = 0.03), prolonged intercourse in 31 cases(P = 0.04) and improved satisfaction in 34 cases(P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONSAdult circumcision has certain effect on erectile function, to which more importance should be attached.

Adult ; Circumcision, Male ; adverse effects ; Erectile Dysfunction ; etiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Penile Erection