Objective:To compare the patient-reported outcomes and short-term clinical outcomes between robotic-assisted and laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric cancer.Methods:This single-center prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from October 2020 to August 2022. Patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who were to undergo radical gastrectomy were selected and randomly divided into two groups according to 1∶1, and received robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery, respectively. Patient-reported outcomes and short-term clinical outcomes (including postoperative complications, surgical quality and postoperative short-term recovery) were compared between the two groups by independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, repeated ANOVA, generalized estimating equation, χ2 test and Fisher′s exact test. Results:A total of 237 patients were enrolled for modified intention-to-treat analysis (120 patients in the robotic group, 117 patients in the laparoscopic group). There were 180 males and 59 females, aged (63.0±10.2) years (range: 30 to 85 years). The incidence of postoperative complications was similar between the robotic group and laparoscopic group (16.7% (20/120) vs. 15.4% (18/117), χ2=0.072, P=0.788). The robotic group had higher patient-reported outcomes scores in general health status, emotional, and social domains compared to the laparoscopic group, differences in time effect, intervention effect, and interaction effect were statistically significant (general health status: χ2 value were 275.68, 3.91, 6.38, P value were <0.01, 0.048, 0.041; emotional: χ2 value were 77.79, 6.04, 6.15, P value were <0.01, 0.014, 0.046; social: χ2 value were 148.00, 7.57, 5.98, P value were <0.01, 0.006, 0.048). However, the financial burden of the robotic group was higher, the differences in time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect were statistically significant ( χ2 value were 156.24, 4.08, 36.56, P value were <0.01, 0.043,<0.01). Conclusion:Compared to the laparoscopic group, the robotic group could more effectively relieve postoperative negative emotions and improve recovery of social function in patients.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the bleeding site,clinical features,treatment methods and curative effect of difficult-to-control epistaxis. METHODS The clinical data of 127 patients with difficult-to-control epistaxis admitted for treatment were retrospectively analyzed to investigate the common bleeding sites,clinical features,and curative effect. RESULTS There were statistically significant differences in the bleeding sites among patients of different age groups(P=0.000),whether they were combined with hypertension 2,3 grades(P=0.030),and whether patients taking long-term anticoagulants(P=0.000). Among the enrolled patients,14 patients were successful in the secondary hemostasis. Among the patients with two successful bleeding stops,the one-time cure rate of patients with hypertension 2,3 grades was significantly different from that of patients with hypertension 1 grade and non-hypertension(P=0.000). CONCLUSION Male patients with difficult-to-control epistaxis are more than female patients. The common bleeding sites are related to age,hypertension 2,3 grades,and long-term use of anticoagulants. Nasal endoscopic electrocoagulation is the preferred treatment method. The cure rate of electrocoagulation is related to blood pressure,and blood pressure control is necessary for patients with poor blood pressure control.

Objective:To compare the patient-reported outcomes and short-term clinical outcomes between robotic-assisted and laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric cancer.Methods:This single-center prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from October 2020 to August 2022. Patients with locally advanced gastric cancer who were to undergo radical gastrectomy were selected and randomly divided into two groups according to 1∶1, and received robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery, respectively. Patient-reported outcomes and short-term clinical outcomes (including postoperative complications, surgical quality and postoperative short-term recovery) were compared between the two groups by independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, repeated ANOVA, generalized estimating equation, χ2 test and Fisher′s exact test. Results:A total of 237 patients were enrolled for modified intention-to-treat analysis (120 patients in the robotic group, 117 patients in the laparoscopic group). There were 180 males and 59 females, aged (63.0±10.2) years (range: 30 to 85 years). The incidence of postoperative complications was similar between the robotic group and laparoscopic group (16.7% (20/120) vs. 15.4% (18/117), χ2=0.072, P=0.788). The robotic group had higher patient-reported outcomes scores in general health status, emotional, and social domains compared to the laparoscopic group, differences in time effect, intervention effect, and interaction effect were statistically significant (general health status: χ2 value were 275.68, 3.91, 6.38, P value were <0.01, 0.048, 0.041; emotional: χ2 value were 77.79, 6.04, 6.15, P value were <0.01, 0.014, 0.046; social: χ2 value were 148.00, 7.57, 5.98, P value were <0.01, 0.006, 0.048). However, the financial burden of the robotic group was higher, the differences in time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect were statistically significant ( χ2 value were 156.24, 4.08, 36.56, P value were <0.01, 0.043,<0.01). Conclusion:Compared to the laparoscopic group, the robotic group could more effectively relieve postoperative negative emotions and improve recovery of social function in patients.

Objective:To investigate the influence of perioperative probiotics supplement on short-term clinical outcomes in gastric cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy.Methods:The prospective randomized controlled study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 80 patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from July 2020 to September 2021 were selected. Based on random number table, patients were allocated into two groups. Patients undergoing perioperative probiotics supplement were allocated into the experiment group, and patients undergoing perioperative conventional treatment were allocated into the control group, respectively. Observation indicators: (1) grouping situations of the enrolled patients; (2) intraoperative situations; (3) follow-up and postoperative situations; (4) inflammation related hematological indexes. Follow-up was conducted using telephone interview and outpatient examina-tion to detect postoperative complications and startup of adjuvant chemotherapy up to October 31,2021. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the independent sample t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was performed using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Comparison of ordinal data was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Repeated measurement data were analyzed by the repeated ANOVA or generalized estimating equation. Results:(1) Grouping situations of the enrolled patients. A total of 80 patients were selected for eligibility. There were 51 males and 29 females, aged 64(42-80)years. Of the 80 patients, there were 40 patients in the experiment group and 40 patients in the control group, respectively. (2) Intraoperative situations. All patients in the experiment group and the control group underwent radical gastrectomy successfully. Cases with yield pathologic TNM (ypTNM) stage 0, stage Ⅰ, stage Ⅱ, stage Ⅲ after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, cases undergoing laparoscopic radical gastrectomy or Da Vinci robotic radical gastrectomy, the operation time, the volume of intraoperative blood loss, cases undergoing digestive tract recons-truction as Billroth Ⅱ anastomosis or Roux-en-Y anastomosis were 2, 7, 15, 13, 19, 21,205(180-240)minutes, 50(30-60)mL, 6, 34 in the experiment group, versus 4, 6, 12, 16, 23, 17, 218(190-251)minutes, 50(43-60)mL, 11, 29 in the control group, showing no significant difference in the above indicators between the two groups ( U=683.00, χ2=0.80, U=668.00, 681.00, χ2=1.87, P>0.05). (3) Follow-up and postoperative situations. All the 80 patients were followed up for 1 month after surgery. Cases with postoperative infectious complications were 6 in the experiment group, versus 15 in the control group, showing a significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=5.23, P<0.05). The application of antimicrobial agent, time to postoperative first flatus, time to postoperative first defecation, time to tolerance of solid food, duration of postoperative hospital stay, time to postopera-tive startup of adjuvant chemotherapy were 3(3-6)doses, 53(49-66)hours, 72(62-82)hours, (72±18)hours, 6.0(5.5-7.0)days, 26.0(25.0-28.0)days in the experiment group, versus 6(3-10)doses, 66(60-88)hours, 94(82-112)hours, (107±23)hours, 7.0(6.4-8.3)days, 30.0(28.0-33.0)days in the control group, showing significant differences in the above indicators between the two groups ( U=471.50, 432.00, 343.50, t=-7.62, U=411.50, 319.50, P<0.05). (4) Inflam-mation related hematological indexes. ① The white blood cell counts before surgery and at postoperative day 1, 3, 5 were (5.6±1.4)×10 9/L, (9.9±3.2)×10 9/L, (7.7±2.6)×10 9/L, (6.8±1.8)×10 9/L in the experiment group, versus (6.1±1.9)×10 9/L, (12.3±2.9)×10 9/L, (9.7±3.6)×10 9/L, (7.8±2.7)×10 9/L in the control group, meeting the mauchly′s test of sphericity ( χ2=4.17, P>0.05). Results of intrasubject effect test showed that there were significant differences in the time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect of white blood cell counts between the two groups ( F=106.61, 10.45, 4.56, P<0.05). ② The neutrophilic granulocyte percentages before surgery and at postoperative day 1, 3, 5 were 55%±10%, 76%±11%, 73%±9%, 69%±9% in the experiment group, versus 56%±9%, 84%±5%, 79%±8%, 74%±9% in the control group, not meeting the mauchly′s test of sphericity ( χ2=16.63, P<0.05). Results of multi-variate test showed that there were significant differences in the time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect of neutrophilic granulocyte percentages between the two groups ( F=92.42, 11.46, 5.55, P<0.05). ③ The levels of C-reactive protein before surgery and at postoperative day 1, 3, 5 were 1.35(1.15-1.97)mg/L, 14.94(8.24-21.22)mg/L, 33.39(13.02-66.02)mg/L, 18.36(8.27-60.43)mg/L in the experiment group, versus 1.62(0.97-2.27)mg/L, 24.03(10.42-36.52)mg/L, 81.66(31.20-116.76)mg/L, 46.84(28.30-80.26)mg/L in the control group, not meeting the normal distribution. Results of generalized estimation equation test showed that there were significant differences in the time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect of levels of C-reactive protein between the two groups ( Waldχ2=145.74, 9.48, 9.90, P<0.05). ④ The levels of procalcitonin before surgery and at postoperative day 1, 3, 5 were 0.02(0.02-0.04)μg/L, 0.08(0.06-0.12)μg/L, 0.12(0.07-0.21)μg/L, 0.09(0.06-0.15)μg/L in the experiment group, versus 0.02(0.02-0.04)μg/L, 0.14(0.07-0.71)μg/L, 0.35(0.14-0.71)μg/L, 0.24(0.10-0.48)μg/L in the control group, not meeting the normal distribution. Results of generalized estimation equation test showed that there were signifi-cant differences in the time effect, intervention effect and interaction effect of levels of procalcitonin between the two groups ( Waldχ2=62.88, 14.71, 18.33, P<0.05). Conclusion:Perioperative supple-ment of probiotics can reduce the incidence of postoperative infectious com-plications and the application of antimicrobial agent, promote recovery of gastrointestinal function, reduce the level of inflammation related indexes, shorten the duration of postoperative hospital stay and the time to postoperative startup of chemotherapy in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with radical gastrectomy.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by increased fat depositions in the liver while the patients do not have drinking history.NAFLD has a prevalence of 10％ ～40％ in global,25％ ～26％ in Western populations.From 2004 to 2013,the numbers of new patients on the waitlist who had NASH increased by 170％ in America.The prevalence of NAFLD in China is 20％.With the decrease of HBV and HCV and the increase of diabetes mellitus type 2 and obesity,NAFLD will become the most common chronic liver disease in China over the next 20 years.NAFLD related end-stage liver disease will become the most common indication of liver transplantation.In this paper,the epidemiological features,pathogenesis,indication and prognosis of liver transplantation are reviewed.

Leishmaniasis is a prevalent cause of death and animal morbidity in underdeveloped countries of endemic area. However, there is few vaccine and effective drugs. Antimicrobial peptides are involved in the innate immune response in many organisms and are being developed as novel drugs against parasitic infections. In the present study, we synthesized a 5-amino acid peptide REDLK, which mutated the C-terminus of Pseudomonas exotoxin, to identify its effect on the Leishmania tarentolae. Promastigotes were incubated with different concentration of REDLK peptide, and the viability of parasite was assessed using MTT and Trypan blue dye. Morphologic damage of Leishmania was analyzed by light and electron microscopy. Cellular apoptosis was observed using the annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis detection kit, mitochondrial membrane potential assay kit and flow cytometry. Our results showed that Leishmania tarentolae was susceptible to REDLK in a dose-dependent manner, disrupt the surface membrane integrity and caused parasite apoptosis. In our study, we demonstrated the leishmanicidal activity of an antimicrobial peptide REDLK from Pseudomonas aeruginosa against Leishmania tarentolae in vitro and present a foundation for further research of anti-leishmanial drugs.

One hundred and forty-five patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) admitted from 2006 to 2013 were enrolled in the study. The diagnosis of PA was confirmed by upright furosemide test and all patients met the following criteria: ① round-or oval-shaped lesion of low density with diameter>1 cm in one adrenal gland shown in contrast CT scan; ② no lesion or abnormality in contralateral adrenal gland; ③serum potassium level<3.5 mmol/L. Of 145 patients, 106 underwent total adrenalectomy, 36 partial adrenalectomy and 3 tumor enucleation. Serum potassium was (2.75±0.55) mmol/L before and (4.03±0.46) after surgery. Potassium was normalized after treatment in 141 cases (97.2％) with correction or improvement in hypertension; 4 patients (2.8％) remained hypokalemic and received spironolactone. Patients with normalized potassium were followed up for a medium period of 74 months (22—103 months), of whom 32 (22.7％) dropped off; the remaining 109 (77.3％) patients did not have hypokalemia. Multivariate linear correlation analysis showed that serum potassium level was negatively correlated with tumor diameter (r=?0.273,95％ CI:?0.086—?0.564, P=0.026) and basal serum aldosterone level (r=?0.261,95％ CI:?0.047— ?0.514, P=0.036). In PA patients with unilateral adrenal macroadenoma and hypokalemia, satisfactory surgical resolution can be achieved without adrenal venous sampling in majority of patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of robotic and laparoscopic-assisted radical total gastrectomy on lymph node dissection and short-term outcomes in patients with Siewert type II adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG). METHODS: Inclusion criteria: the tumor center was located between 2 cm above and below the esophagogastric junction and was confirmed as adenocarcinoma by endoscopic biopsy. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: tumor with local invasion of the liver,spleen, pancreas or other organs; intraoperative finding of tumor dissemination or distant metastasis; patients undergoing palliative surgical treatment or preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy; patients with serious heart diseases, lung diseases, liver diseases, kidney diseases and other comorbidities; patients with multiple primary cancers;patients receiving emergency surgery. According to the above criteria, 82 patients with Siewert type II AEG who underwent gastrointestinal surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from October 2014 to October 2018 were enrolled in the study. They were randomly divided into robotic surgery groups (41 cases) and laparoscopic group (41 cases) according to a computer-generated randomized allocation table. Both groups underwent radical total gastrectomy plus D2 lymph node dissection through the transabdominal esophageal hiatus approach. The intraoperative conditions and postoperative short-term outcomes were compared between two groups, including surgery time, intraoperative blood loss, length of esophagectomy, postoperative complications, postoperative gastrointestinal recovery time, length of hospital stay, postoperative unplanned reoperation rate and rehospitalization rate. Mean±SD is used for the measurement data that conforms to the normal distribution, and two independent sample t-tests are used to compare the two groups; the comparison of the count data is performed by the χ² test. RESULTS: There were 35 males (85.4%) with age of (62.3±10.0) years and body mass index of (24.4±3.2) kg/m² in the robotic surgery group. There were 37 males (90.2%) with age of (62.5±10.0) years and body mass index of (23.8±2.6) kg/m² in the laparoscopic group. No significant differences in the baseline data between two groups were found (all P>0.05). All the patients of both groups completed R0 resection successfully without conversion to laparotomy or perioperative death. Compared with the laparoscopic group, the robotic group had less intraoperative blood loss [(70.7±39.9) ml vs. (110.2±70.6) ml, t=3.118, P=0.003], longer resected esophagus [(3.0±0.7) cm vs. (1.9±0.5) cm, t=8.759, P<0.001], but longer setup time [(56.5±7.4) minutes vs. (36.0±6.6) minutes, t=4.241, P<0.001], and higher hospitalization costs [(122 317.31±57 789.33) yuan vs. (99 401.56±39 349.53) yuan, t=2.099, P=0.039], whose differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The total number of harvested lymph node in the robotic surgery group was 39.2±15.3,which was significantly higher than that in the laparoscopic group (33.0±12.1) (t=0.733, P=0.047). In the robotic group and the laparoscopic group, the mediastinal lymph node No.110 and No.111 were 3.6±1.2 vs. 1.5±1.0 and 3.7±2.0 vs. 1.8±1.1, respectively, with significant difference (t=10.138, P<0.001, t=8.227, P<0.001); axillary lymph node No.19 and No.20 were 2.3±1.2 vs. 1.1±0.9 and 2.0±1.0 vs. 1.0±0.1, respectively, with significant difference (t=7.082, P<0.001,t=8.672,P<0.001). There were no significant differences in the total number of abdominal lymph node and the number of lymph node in abdominal stations between two group (all P>0.05). The highest lymph node metastasis rate was approximately 20% and observed in No.1, No.2, No.3, and No.7, followed by No.8a, No.9, No.11p, and No.110 with around 5%. The lymph node metastasis rate in other stations (No.4sa, No.4sb, No.4d, No.5, No.6, No.11d, No.12a, No.19, No.20 and No.111) was less than 5%.There were no significant differences in postoperative complication rate, postoperative fever time, postoperative exhaust and defecation time, fluid diet time, and postoperative hospital stay (all P>0.05). There were 2 patients(4.9%) with unplanned reoperation and 1 patient (2.4%) with unplanned re-admission in the laparoscopic group,while 3 patients (7.3%)with unplanned reoperation and 2 patients (4.9%)with unplanned re-admission in the robotic surgery group, whose differences were also not statistically significant (χ²=0.240,P=0.675;χ²=0.346,P=1.000). CONCLUSION Robot-assisted radical total gastrectomy for Siewert II AEG is safe and feasible, which is characterized by more sophisticated operation, less blood loss and higher quality of lymph node dissection, especially for subphrenic and inferior mediastinal lymph nodes.
Adenocarcinoma ; classification ; pathology ; surgery ; Aged ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; classification ; pathology ; surgery ; Esophagectomy ; Esophagogastric Junction ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Lymph Node Excision ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotic Surgical Procedures ; Stomach Neoplasms ; classification ; pathology ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinicopathological features and prognostic factors of carcinoma in the remnant stomach (CRS).

METHODSClinicopathological data of 217 consecutive CRS patients from January 2000 to March 2017 at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were retrospectively analyzed. CRS was defined as the primary cancer arising from the remnant stomach following gastrectomy, regardless of the initial disease or operation, and at no special time interval. The clinicopathological features and treatment were compared between CRS after benign disease operation (CRS-B) group and CRS after gastric cancer operation (CRS-C) group, and factors influencing prognosis were analyzed using Cox regression model analysis.

RESULTSOf 217 patients, 189 were male and 28 were female with mean age of (60.9±11.2) years. The interval between the first and the second operations was (18.3±15.1) years. The CRS-B group comprised 108 patients and the CRS-C group comprised 109 patients. Compared to CRS-C group, CRS=B group had higher ratio of male [92.6% (100/108) vs. 81.7% (89/109), χ=5.779, P=0.016], longer interval [30(25-40) years vs. 4(1.5-8.0) years, Z=-1.685, P=0.000], longer tumor diameter [(5.9±3.2) cm vs. (3.9±2.4) cm, t=3.390, P=0.000] and later tumor stage [patients in stage I(, II(, III(, and IIII(: 6 (8.0%), 14 (18.7%), 41 (54.7%), and 14 (18.7%) vs. 16 (25.4%), 14 (22.2%), 21(33.3%), and 12(19.0%), respectively, Z=-2.018, P=0.044]. A total of 138 patients underwent surgery, including 118(85.5%) patients of curative resection and 20(14.5%) patients of palliative resection. The other 79 patients did not receive surgery due to extensive metastasis or miscellaneous reasons. Among 138 patients receiving surgery, 3 patients underwent endoscopic resection, 6 patients underwent minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy or robot), and 129 patients underwent laparotomy. Forty-eight patients underwent surgery involving combined resection. The median postoperative hospital stay was 10(8-14) days. The incidence of postoperative complication was 23.2%(32/138). A total of 91 patients were followed up for 7-120 months, including 51 patients in CRS-B group and 40 in CRS-C group. The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates of the 75 patients receiving curative resection were 80.7%, 55.1%, and 41.6%, respectively. The overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 73.5%, 48.3%, and 29.0% respectively in CRS-B group and 83.1%, 51.2%, and 32.5% respectively in CRS-C group. There was no significant difference between two groups (P=0.527). Multivariate analysis showed that age (RR=1.879, 95%CI: 1.015-3.479, P=0.045), radical procedure (RR=2.956, 95%CI: 1.421-6.150, P=0.004) and TNM stage (RR=1.570, 95%CI: 1.047-2.354, P=0.029) were independent prognostic factors for CRS.

CONCLUSIONSAs compared to the CRS-C group, the CRS-B group has higher percentage of male, longer interval, larger tumor diameter and later TNM stage. Radical resection indicates better prognosis.

Aged ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Gastric Stump ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Survival Rate

The present study was performed to investigate the seroprevalence and risk factors for Dirofilaria immitis infection in cats from Liaoning province, northeastern China. From October 2014 to September 2016, sera of 651 cats, including 364 domestic cats and 287 feral cats (332 females and 319 males) were assessed. They were tested for the presence of D. immitis antigen using SNAP Heartworm RT test kit. In this population, the average prevalence was 4.5%. Age and rearing conditions (feral or domestic) were found to be associated with the prevalence of D. immitis. The prevalence was significantly higher in feral cats compared with domestic cats (8.4% vs 1.4%, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between males and females (4.7% vs 4.2%, P>0.05), but older cats (≥3 years old) showed a statistically higher prevalence compared with younger cats ( < 3 years old) in feral populations (16.8 vs 2.4%, P < 0.01), while the difference between the age groups was not statistically significant in domestic cats (2.4% vs 0.51%, P>0.05), all these results suggest that outdoor exposure time may be one of the most important factors for D. immitis prevalence in cats. Results reveal that D. immitis are prevalence in domestic and feral cats in northeastern China, which indicates that appropriate preventive measures should be taken to decrease the incidence of feline heartworm disease in Liaoning province, northeastern China.
Animals ; Cats* ; China* ; Dirofilaria immitis* ; Dirofilaria* ; Dirofilariasis ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Seroepidemiologic Studies*