The expert consensus on the clinical treatment of herpes zoster with fire needling was developed, and the commonly used fire needling treatment scheme verified by clinical research was selected to form a standardized diagnosis and treatment scheme for acute herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), so as to answer the core problems in clinical application. The consensus focuses on patients with herpes zoster, and forms recommendations for 9 key clinical issues, covering simple fire needling and TCM comprehensive therapy based on fire needling, including fire needling combined with cupping, fire needling combined with Chinese herb, fire needling combined with cupping and Chinese herb, fire needling combined with filiform needling, fire needling combined with moxibustion, and provides specific recommendations and operational guidelines for various therapies.
Humans ; Herpes Zoster/therapy* ; Acupuncture Therapy/instrumentation* ; Consensus ; Clinical Protocols

Objective To analyze the research literature on fire needling therapy published on China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform(Wanfang),and China Science and Technology Journal Database(VIP)in the last 20 years,and to explore the current status and the hotspots of the research,thus to summarize and analyze the spectrum of the dominant diseases and technological transformations of fire needling therapy.Methods CiteSpace and VOSviewer were applied to analyze the keywords,authors and institutions,to draw the scientific knowledge map,and to summarize the disease spectrum.Results A total of 4 226 literature were included,from 2000 to 2023,the number of publications on fire needling therapy research showed an increasing trend,with each of the four periods showing its own characteristics of the times.The"filiform fire needling"and"pricking of fire needling"were widely used as acupuncture tools and acupuncture techniques in the studies,the emergence of high-frequency disease keywords such as"shingles""vitiligo"and"acne"indicates that research on the treatment of skin diseases with fire needling has attracted much attention.The disease spectrum of fire needling therapy was enlarged,involving a total of 356 diseases distributed in 20 disease systems.Conclusion Skin diseases and arthralgia became the dominant diseases of fire needling therapy,the rise of research hot words such as"acne vulgaris""vitiligo""stroke""chronic eczema""filiform fire needling"and"Lingnan fire needling"indicates that fire needling therapy is developing towards research standardization,theoretical diversification and disease diversification.

Objective:To discuss dominant symptoms and compatibility rules of Dazhui(GV14) based on data mining.Methods:Literature related to Dazhui (GV14) was retrieved from CNKI, Wangfang, VIP, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) and Pubmed databases from January 1, 2012 to August 15, 2022, and the main symptoms of Dazhi (GV14) and the compatibility of acupoints were summarized. Gephi 0.9.5 software was used for complex network analysis to compare the treatment for dominant symptoms with single acupoint of Dazhi (GV14) and the compatibility of the acupoint. SPSS Modeler 18.0 software was used to analyze the association rules of acupoint combination based on Apriori algorithm. The clustering analysis of high frequency acupoints was carried out by SPSS Statistics 26.0 software.Results:A total of 722 articles were included, involving 732 prescriptions. The dominant symptoms of single acupoint were cervical spondylosis, acne, and cold; the treatment for dominant symptoms with compatibility included 14 types, such as cervical spondylosis, allergic rhinitis, ischemic stroke sequelae. The meridian compatibility was dominated by bladder meridian, and the frequency of yang meridians was higher than yin meridians. The compatibility of specific acupoints such as Xiahe acupoint, Beishu acupoint and Bahui acupoint were the main acupoints, and the high frequency acupoints were 33 acupoints such as Feishu (BL13), Baihui (GV20), Fengchi (GB20) and Zusanli (ST36), obtaining 4 series and 8 types of compatible combinations of Dazhui (GV14).Conclusions:Dazhui (GV14) is widely used in the treatment of internal diseases, such as respiratory diseases, nervous system diseases and vertebral artery type of cervical spondylosis. It tends to be flexibly used with multiple compatibility and clustering combination of specific acupoints.

Objective:To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of HEMO-FISS-QoL(HF-QoL) questionnaire (HF-QoL-C) in the Chinese population with hemorrhoids.Methods:From November 2021 to November 2022, a self-constructed general information questionnaire, HF-QoL-C, and the 36-item short form health survey (SF-36), Goligher classification, and Giordano severity of hemorrhoid symptom questionnaire (GSQ) were used to conduct a questionnaire survey on 760 hemorrhoid patients in the anorectal department of six hospitals. The data was analyzed for reliability and validity using SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 26.0 software.Results:The Cronbach's α coefficient of HF-QoL-C and its dimension ranged from 0.831 to 0.960, and the split coefficient was 0.832-0.915. Four common factors were extracted through principal component exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable structural validity( χ2/ df=8.152, RSMEA=0.097, CFI=0.881, IFI=0.881, NFI=0.867). HF-QoL-C was correlated with SF36 and GSQ( r=-0.694, 0.501, both P<0.01). There were differences in the total score and dimensional scores of HF-QoL-C between surgical and drug treated patients, different grades of Goligher classification for hemorrhoidal disease, and different ranges of hemorrhoid prolapse (all P<0.001). No ceiling effect was found in the total score and the scores of each dimension(0.3%-2.0%). There was a floor effect in both psychological function and sexual activity dimensions (16.7%, 35.1%). Conclusion:HF-QoL-C has good reliability and validity, which can be used to measure the quality of life of Chinese hemorrhoid patients.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and influencing factors of initial 131I therapy in serum thyroglobulin (Tg) antibody (TgAb)-positive patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 1 624 patients with PTC who underwent 131I therapy in Henan Provincial People′s Hospital between January 2017 and January 2023. The patients were divided into TgAb-positive group (246 cases (36 males, 210 females), age: 43.5(31.0, 52.0) years) and TgAb-negative group (1 378 cases (439 males, 939 females), age: 44.0(34.0, 53.0) years). The efficacy was evaluated 6-12 months post 131I therapy based on serological tests (TgAb, Tg) and imaging results (ultrasonography, CT, 131I-whole body scan (WBS), SPECT/CT imaging), and the patients were divided into disease persistence/recurrence and non-persistence/recurrence groups. The χ2 test was used to analyze the difference in efficacy between the TgAb-positive group and the TgAb-negative group. Among TgAb-positive patients, the clinical characteristics of disease persistence/recurrence group were compared with those of non-persistence/recurrence ones by χ2 test or Mann-Whitney U test, and the independent risk factors affecting the efficacy of 131I therapy were analyzed by binary logistic regression. Results:The disease persistence/recurrence were found in 38 cases (15.4%, 38/246) of the TgAb-positive group and 143 cases (10.4%, 143/1 378) of the TgAb-negative group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=5.42, P=0.020). Among the TgAb-positive patients, statistically significant differences were found in lymph node metastasis (35 vs 23 cases), the interval between surgery and 131I therapy (2.0(1.5, 3.0) vs 2.3(2.0, 3.0) months), stimulated Tg(sTg) level before the initial 131I therapy (0.18(0.04, 5.78) vs 0.04(0.04, 0.46) μg/L), and TgAb level before the initial 131I therapy (40.15(19.13, 156.15) vs 22.25(7.53, 76.20) kU/L) between disease persistence/recurrence group and non-persistence/recurrence group ( χ2=117.13, z values: -2.29, -2.41, -2.80, all P<0.05). Lymph node metastasis was an independent risk factor (odds ratio( OR)=89.326, 95% CI: 25.005-319.106, P<0.001) for the efficacy of 131I therapy in patients with TgAb-positive PTC. Conclusion:The overall efficacy of 131I therapy in patients with TgAb-positive PTC is relatively poor, and lymph node metastasis is an independent risk factor for the efficacy of 131I therapy, while the level of TgAb is not an independent risk factor for the efficacy of 131I therapy in these patients.

Objective: 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT is often used for detecting malignancy in patients with newly diagnosed hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), with acceptable sensitivity but relatively low specificity. The aim of this study was to improve the diagnostic ability of 18F-FDG PET/CT in identifying malignancy in patients with HLH by combining 18F-FDG PET/CT and clinical parameters. Materials and Methods: Ninety-seven patients (age ≥ 14 years) with secondary HLH were retrospectively reviewed and divided into the derivation (n = 71) and validation (n = 26) cohorts according to admission time. In the derivation cohort, 22 patients had malignancy-associated HLH (M-HLH) and 49 patients had non-malignancy-associated HLH (NM-HLH). Data on pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT and laboratory results were collected. The variables were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test or Pearson’s chi-square test, and a nomogram for predicting M-HLH was constructed using multivariable binary logistic regression. The predictors were also ranked using decision-tree analysis. The nomogram and decision tree were validated in the validation cohort (10 patients with M-HLH and 16 patients with NM-HLH). Results: The ratio of the maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of the lymph nodes to that of the mediastinum, the ratio of the SUVmax of bone lesions or bone marrow to that of the mediastinum, and age were selected for constructing the model. The nomogram showed good performance in predicting M-HLH in the validation cohort, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.875 (95% confidence interval, 0.686–0.971). At an appropriate cutoff value, the sensitivity and specificity for identifying M-HLH were 90% (9/10) and 68.8% (11/16), respectively. The decision tree integrating the same variables showed 70% (7/10) sensitivity and 93.8% (15/16) specificity for identifying M-HLH. In comparison, visual analysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT images demonstrated 100% (10/10) sensitivity and 12.5% (2/16) specificity. Conclusion 18F-FDG PET/CT may be a practical technique for identifying M-HLH. The model constructed using 18F-FDG PET/CT features and age was able to detect malignancy with better accuracy than visual analysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT images.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of Ilizarov technique of tibial bone transverse transport combined with flap transfer in the treatment of severe diabetic foot.Methods:From April 2016 to March 2020, 7 patients with severe diabetic foot were treated by Ilizarov technique of tibial bone transverse transport combined with flap transfer in the Department of Hand and Foot Surgery of Foshan Nanhai Public Health Hospital. Diabetes Wagner classification: 2 cases were in Grade 3, in which, 1 case was ulcer in right heel and deep plantar with abscess and infection, and 1 case was ulcer in left great toe and phalanx infection; Other 5 cases were in Grade 4, of them, 2 cases were gangrene in proximal and distal of left great toe, 1 case were gangrene and infection in proximal, middle and distal segment of right 2nd toe, 1 case were gangrene and infection in proximal, middle and distal segment of left 4th toe, and 1 case were gangrene in distal segment of left 4th toe. Wound area was 2.0 cm×2.0 cm-6.0 cm×12.0 cm. Sural neurouascular flaps were used in 1 case, dorsal plantar artery flaps in 4 cases and medial plantar artery flaps in 2 cases. Size of flap was 2.0 cm×2.0 cm-6.0 cm×12.0 cm. Follow-up was conducted regularly by outpatient clinic, telephone and WeChat interviews. Content of the follow-up included foot wound healing, skin temperature of dorsal foot, lower limb paralysis, puncture exudation of external fixation stent, and blood supply of calf skin. Foot function was assessed according to the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Association (AOFAS) score.Results:All 7 patients entered the follow-up for 6-28 months, with an average of 8.2 months. All the foot ulcers healed. The pain of affected limbs eased off in 5 patients, and 2 patients had significant pain relief in affected limbs. Foot paralysis significantly alleviated in 7 patients, with calf skin temperature increased (1.81±0.56) ℃, and no recurrence of foot ulcers. According to AOFAS score, 3 cases were excellent, 3 cases were good and 1 case was fair.Conclusion:Ilizarov technique of tibial bone transverse transposition combined with flap transfer in the treatment of severe diabetic foot has a good clinical effect and it could be an option in the treatment of diabetic foot.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by the malfunction of pancreatic β cells. Susceptibility and pathogenesis of T2D can be affected by multiple factors, including sex differences. However, the mechanisms underlying sex differences in T2D susceptibility and pathogenesis remain unclear. Using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), we demonstrate the presence of sexually dimorphic transcriptomes in mouse β cells. Using a high-fat diet-induced T2D mouse model, we identified sex-dependent T2D altered genes, suggesting sex-based differences in the pathological mechanisms of T2D. Furthermore, based on islet transplantation experiments, we found that compared to mice with sex-matched islet transplants, sex-mismatched islet transplants in healthy mice showed down-regulation of genes involved in the longevity regulating pathway of β cells. Moreover, the diabetic mice with sex-mismatched islet transplants showed impaired glucose tolerance. These data suggest sexual dimorphism in T2D pathogenicity, indicating that sex should be considered when treating T2D. We hope that our findings could provide new insights for the development of precision medicine in T2D.

Objective:To develop the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) symptom scores of qi depression and phlegm obstruction patternfor dyslipidemia patients, in order to optimize the TCM pattern evaluation method.Methods:According to Delphi method, the two roundsquestionnaires were distributed to experts through face-to-face interviews or emails, survey were recorded and analyzed via Excel 2016 and SPSS 17.0.Results:The experts are members of the Standing Committee of the Cardiovascular Diseases Branch of the China Association of Chinese Medicine, and the number of experts in the two rounds was 30 and 33, respectively. Active coefficients of both rounds were 100%. The Cronbach’s Alpha of consultations in the first and second rounds were 0.896 and 0.885, respectively. There were 36 symptom items in the initial scales of TCM symptom scores. In the first round, 17 items were eliminated, and in the second round, 1 item was added, 5 items were eliminated. The 15 items scales includededobesity, dizziness, head weight such as wrapping, head faintness, mouth viscosity, phlegm, chest depression, chest and flank distension, abdominal distension, heavy numbness, fatigue and fatigue, body weight, depression, stagnant stool and sighing frequently. The items for symptom rating scale were suitable.Conclusion:The TCM symptom scores of qi depression and phlegm obstruction pattern can be used to evaluate the effect of TCM treatment for the patients with dyslipidemia and TCM pattern of qi depression with phlegm obstruction, and the studyprovides important guidance for TCM in the diagnosis and treatment of dyslipidemia. In addition, the enthusiasm and authority of experts, as well as its concentration, reliability and coordination, are all well considered in this study, and the results of this consultation are desirable.

The segmentation of organs at risk is an important part of radiotherapy. The current method of manual segmentation depends on the knowledge and experience of physicians, which is very time-consuming and difficult to ensure the accuracy, consistency and repeatability. Therefore, a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) is proposed for the automatic and accurate segmentation of head and neck organs at risk. The data of 496 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were reviewed. Among them, 376 cases were randomly selected for training set, 60 cases for validation set and 60 cases for test set. Using the three-dimensional (3D) U-NET DCNN, combined with two loss functions of Dice Loss and Generalized Dice Loss, the automatic segmentation neural network model for the head and neck organs at risk was trained. The evaluation parameters are Dice similarity coefficient and Jaccard distance. The average Dice Similarity coefficient of the 19 organs at risk was 0.91, and the Jaccard distance was 0.15. The results demonstrate that 3D U-NET DCNN combined with Dice Loss function can be better applied to automatic segmentation of head and neck organs at risk.