OBJECTIVE: To investigate the accuracy and safety of pedicle screw placement using 3D-printed auxiliary guides in scoliosis correction surgery for adolescents. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 51 patients who underwent posterior scoliosis correction surgery from January 2020 to March 2023. Among them, there were 35 cases of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and 16 cases of congenital scoliosis. The patients were divided into two groups based on the auxiliary tool used:the 3D-printed auxiliary guide screw placement group (3D printing group) and the free-hand screw placement group (free-hand group, without auxiliary tools). The 3D printing group included 32 patients (12 males and 20 females) with an average age of (12.59±2.60) years;the free-hand group included 19 patients (7 males and 12 females) with an average age of (14.58±3.53) years. The two groups were compared in terms of screw placement accuracy and safety, spinal correction rate, intraoperative blood loss, number of intraoperative fluoroscopies, operation time, hospital stay, and preoperative and last follow-up scores of the Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 707 pedicle screws were placed in the two groups, with 441 screws in the 3D printing group and 266 screws in the free-hand group. All patients in both groups successfully completed the surgery. There was a statistically significant difference in operation time between the two groups (P<0.05). The screw placement accuracy rate of the 3D printing group was 95.46% (421/441), among which the Grade A placement rate was 89.34% (394/441);the screw placement accuracy rate of the free-hand group was 86.47% (230/266), with a Grade A placement rate of 73.31% (195/266). There were statistically significant differences in the accuracy of Grade A, B, and C screw placements between the two groups (P<0.05), while no statistically significant differences were observed in intraoperative blood loss, number of fluoroscopies, correction rate, or hospital stay (P>0.05). In the SRS-22 questionnaire scores, the scores of functional status and activity ability, self-image, mental status, and pain of patients in each group at the last follow-up were significantly improved compared with those before surgery (P<0.05), but there were no statistically significant differences in all scores between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION In scoliosis correction surgery, compared with traditional free-hand screw placement, the use of 3D-printed auxiliary guides for screw placement significantly improves the accuracy and safety of screw placement and shortens the operation time.
Humans ; Male ; Scoliosis/surgery* ; Female ; Adolescent ; Printing, Three-Dimensional ; Retrospective Studies ; Pedicle Screws ; Child

PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between dislocation and functional outcomes in supination-external rotation (SER) ankle fractures. METHODS: A retrospective case series study was performed on patients with ankle fractures treated surgically at a large trauma center from January 2015 to December 2021. The inclusion criteria were young and middle-aged patients of 18 - 65 years with SER ankle fractures that can be classified by Lauge-Hansen classification and underwent surgery at our trauma center. Exclusion criteria were serious life-threatening diseases, open fractures, fractures delayed for more than 3 weeks, fracture sites ≥ 2, etc. Then patients were divided into dislocation and no-dislocation groups. Patient demographics, injury characteristics, surgery-related outcomes, and postoperative functional outcomes were collected and analyzed. The functional outcomes of SER ankle fractures were assessed postoperatively at 1-year face-to-face follow-up using the foot and ankle outcome score (FAOS) and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle hindfoot score and by 2 experienced orthopedic physicians. Relevant data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 by Chi-square or t-test. RESULTS: During the study period, there were 371 ankle fractures. Among them, 190 (51.2%) were SER patterns with 69 (36.3%) combined with dislocations. Compared with the no-dislocation group, the dislocation group showed no statistically significant differences in gender, age composition, fracture type, diabetes, or smoking history, preoperative waiting time, operation time, and length of hospital stay (all p > 0.05), but a significantly higher Lauge-Hansen injury grade (p < 0.001) and syndesmotic screw fixation rate (p = 0.033). Moreover, the functional recovery was poorer, revealing a significantly lower FAOS in the sport/rec scale (p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed that among SER IV ankle fracture patients, FAOS was much lower in pain (p = 0.042) and sport/rec scales (p < 0.001) for those with dislocations. American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle hindfoot score revealed no significant difference between dislocation and no-dislocation patients. CONCLUSION Dislocation in SER ankle fractures suggests more severe injury and negatively affects functional recovery, mainly manifested as more pain and poorer motor function, especially in SER IV ankle cases.
Humans ; Ankle Fractures/physiopathology* ; Male ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Supination ; Aged ; Young Adult ; Rotation ; Joint Dislocations/surgery* ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/methods* ; Adolescent ; Recovery of Function ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: Our understanding of the correlation between postdischarge cancer and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) remains incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between postdischarge cancers and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in CAD patients. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, 25% of CAD patients without prior cancer history who underwent coronary artery angiography between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2015, were randomly enrolled using SPSS 26.0. Patients were monitored for the incidence of postdischarge cancer, which was defined as cancer diagnosed after the index hospitalization, survival status and cause of death. Cox regression analysis was used to explore the association between postdischarge cancer and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in CAD patients. RESULTS: A total of 4085 patients were included in the final analysis. During a median follow-up period of 8 years, 174 patients (4.3%) developed postdischarge cancer, and 343 patients (8.4%) died. A total of 173 patients died from cardiovascular diseases. Postdischarge cancer was associated with increased all-cause mortality risk (HR = 2.653, 95% CI: 1.727-4.076, P < 0.001) and cardiovascular mortality risk (HR = 2.756, 95% CI: 1.470-5.167, P = 0.002). Postdischarge lung cancer (HR = 5.497, 95% CI: 2.922-10.343, P < 0.001) and gastrointestinal cancer (HR = 1.984, 95% CI: 1.049-3.750, P = 0.035) were associated with all-cause mortality in CAD patients. Postdischarge lung cancer was significantly associated with cardiovascular death in CAD patients (HR = 4.979, 95% CI: 2.114-11.728, P < 0.001), and cardiovascular death was not significantly correlated with gastrointestinal cancer or other types of cancer. CONCLUSIONS Postdischarge cancer was associated with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in CAD patients. Compared with other cancers, postdischarge lung cancer had a more significant effect on all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in CAD patients.

BACKGROUND: Medical informatics accumulated vast amounts of data for clinical diagnosis and treatment. However, limited access to follow-up data and the difficulty in integrating data across diverse platforms continue to pose significant barriers to clinical research progress. In response, our research team has embarked on the development of a specialized clinical research database for cardiology, thereby establishing a comprehensive digital platform that facilitates both clinical decision-making and research endeavors. METHODS: The database incorporated actual clinical data from patients who received treatment at the Cardiovascular Medicine Department of Chinese PLA General Hospital from 2012 to 2021. It included comprehensive data on patients' basic information, medical history, non-invasive imaging studies, laboratory test results, as well as peri-procedural information related to interventional surgeries, extracted from the Hospital Information System. Additionally, an innovative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered interactive follow-up system had been developed, ensuring that nearly all myocardial infarction patients received at least one post-discharge follow-up, thereby achieving comprehensive data management throughout the entire care continuum for high-risk patients. RESULTS: This database integrates extensive cross-sectional and longitudinal patient data, with a focus on higher-risk acute coronary syndrome patients. It achieves the integration of structured and unstructured clinical data, while innovatively incorporating AI and automatic speech recognition technologies to enhance data integration and workflow efficiency. It creates a comprehensive patient view, thereby improving diagnostic and follow-up quality, and provides high-quality data to support clinical research. Despite limitations in unstructured data standardization and biological sample integrity, the database's development is accompanied by ongoing optimization efforts. CONCLUSION The cardiovascular specialty clinical database is a comprehensive digital archive integrating clinical treatment and research, which facilitates the digital and intelligent transformation of clinical diagnosis and treatment processes. It supports clinical decision-making and offers data support and potential research directions for the specialized management of cardiovascular diseases.

Objective To evaluate the value of pre-ascent 6-minute walking test performed at a high altitude in predicting the incidence of acute mountain sickness(AMS)induced by rapid ascent to a very high altitude.Methods After baseline information was collected,participants completed the 6-minute walking test at a high altitude of 2 900 m.Then,they rapidly ascended to a very high altitude of 5 000 m.The Lake Louise score was recorded to assess AMS.Results The AMS group showed a shorter pre-ascent 6-minute walking distance(6MWD)at the high altitude than the non-AMS group[480.00(450.00,521.75)m vs.546.00(516.50,568.50)m,P=0.006].No difference was observed regarding the pre-ascent heart rate or peripheral oxygen saturation(both P>0.05).The pre-ascent 6MWD at the high altitude was negatively correlated with the Lake Louise score assessed after rapid ascent to the very high altitude(r=-0.497,P=0.012).Logistic regression analysis confirmed that the pre-ascent 6MWD at the high altitude was associated with the risk of AMS induced by rapid ascent to the very high altitude(OR=0.971,95% CI=0.947-0.996,P=0.022).The results indicated that the pre-ascent 6MWD demonstrated ideal prediction performance(area under receiver operating characteristic curve=0.846,P=0.006).Conclusion The pre-ascent 6MWD recorded at the high altitude is a convenient and reliable predictor of the AMS induced by rapid ascent to the very high altitude.
Humans ; Altitude Sickness/diagnosis* ; Male ; Adult ; Female ; Young Adult ; Middle Aged ; Acute Disease ; Walk Test ; Walking ; Altitude ; Exercise Test

Objective To investigate the acoustic characteristics of speech prosody in patients after stroke and to select sensitive acoustic parameters of speech prosody.Methods A total of 30 patients after stroke(stroke group)and 30 healthy adults of similar age(control group)were collected.Both groups read short texts aloud,and each syllable and pause of all short sentences in the whole text were recorded under the spectrogram.Acoustic analysis was performed on the inter-rogative sentence"What do you want to buy for your grandson's birthday?"and the stressed sentence"I want to buy toys!"The rhythm(unnatural pause number,speech rate,articulation rate),intonation(whole sentence fundamental frequency,fundamental frequency standard deviation and fundamental frequency slope of interrogative sentences,boundary tone funda-mental frequency and fundamental frequency slope of interrogative sentences,fundamental frequency and fundamental fre-quency slope of four tones),and stress(average intensity of stressed syllables,peak intensity,and stressed syllables dura-tion)of speech prosody were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Results The unnatural pause number and the stressed syllables duration in the stroke group were significantly higher than those in the normal control group(P＜0.01).The speech rate,articulation rate,whole sentence fundamental frequency standard deviation,whole sentence funda-mental frequency slope,and fourth tone fundamental frequency slope in the stroke group were significantly lower than those in the normal control group(P＜0.01).The boundary tone fundamental frequency slope of interrogative sentences and the third tone fundamental frequency slope were significantly lower than those in the normal control group(P＜0.05).Conclu-sion Patients after stroke have poor rhythm control,manifested as excessive pauses and slow speech rate;insufficient into-nation expression,manifested as insufficient interrogative sentence tone,and poor control ability of the third and fourth tones;compensatory expression of stress,characterized by prolonging the expression time of stressed syllables.

This study was designed to explore the effect of DNA methyltransferase 1(DNMT1)on podocyte apoptosis and inflammatory cytokine release induced by high glucose(HG),and analyze the related molecular mechanisms.Podocyte MPC-5 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into control and HG groups.DNMT1 and SOCS1 were either silenced or overexpressed using small RNA interference technology and liposome transfection technology.The expression levels of DNMT1 and SOCS1 genes were measured using qRT-PCR.Apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry,while ELISA was employed to determine the levels of inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1).Western blot was used to detect the expression of DNMT1,SOCS1 proteins,and the proteins involved in the Janus kinase 2(JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)signaling pathway.Data showed that HG elevated MPC-5 cell apoptosis rate,the level of inflammatory factors and DNMT1 mRNA expression,and the expression of DNMT1,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins,while reduced SOCS1 mRNA and protein expression(P＜0.05).Both silencing DNMT1 and overexpressing SOCS1 resulted in reduce of MPC-5 cell apoptosis rate,inflammatory factors level,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins expression(P＜0.05).Additionally,silencing DNMT1 increased SOCS1 mRNA and protein expressions(P＜0.05).Conversely,silencing SOCS1 counteracted the effects of DNMT1 silencing on MPC-5 cell apoptosis,inflammation,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins expression.Therefore,silencing DNMT1 expression can reduce the apoptosis and inflammation of podocytes induced by HG,and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway activation by upregulating SOCS1 expression.

Objective To explore the impact of contrast agent concentration on the excimer laser's effect on plaque ablation.Methods Using a laser catheter with a diameter of 0.9 mm,we conducted plaque model ablation experiments employing a 308-nanometer xenon chloride excimer laser.During the excimer laser ablation process,five groups were formed based on the injected contrast agent concentrations:a saline group,25%concentration group,50%concentration group,75%concentration group,and 100%concentration group.Optical coherence tomography was utilized to assess the changes in plaque lumen area after excimer laser ablation,evaluating the impact of contrast agent concentration on the excimer laser's ablation efficacy.Simultaneously,a water manometer was used to measure the shockwave pressure generated by the excimer laser in liquids with different contrast agent concentrations,aiming to explore the correlation between the shockwave pressure of the excimer laser and its ablative effect.Results The ablation areas in the 75%concentration group and the 100%concentration group were similar(P＞0.05),both exceeding those in the 50%concentration contrast agent group,25%concentration group,and saline group(all P＜0.001).Specifically,the ablation area in the 50%concentration group was significantly larger than that in the 25%concentration group and saline group(both P＜0.001),while the 25%concentration group was larger than the saline group(P＜0.001).The influence of contrast agent concentration on the shockwave pressure of the excimer laser exhibited a similar trend.Additionally,there was a significant positive correlation between the shockwave pressure generated by the excimer laser and its ablation area(r=0.9987,P＜0.001).Conclusions The intensity of excimer laser ablation on plaque tissue can be modulated by altering the contrast agent concentration.These findings offer guidance for the application of excimer laser in conjunction with contrast agent injection techniques in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

The Chinese Journal of Interventional Cardiology,Volume 31,Issue 6,published the Chinese expert consensus on the clinical application of drug coated balloon(2nd Edition)in June 2023.The new consensus incorporates the evidence-based medicine evidence of drug-coated balloons in the field of interventional therapy for coronary heart disease in recent years,updating the indications,standardized operations,intracoronary imaging,and the application of coronary functional studies in the treatment of drug-coated balloons.Based on clinical diagnosis and treatment practices and evidence-based medicine evidence,this article interprets the highlights of the new guidelines,aiming to provide references for clinical practice.

Objective To explore the mediating effect of sleep duration on the relationship between qi stagnation constitution and anxiety/depression in junior high school students.Methods From March 20 to March 31,2020,a total of 10,325 students from 6 junior high schools in Henan,Liaoning,Shaanxi,Shandong,and Fujian provinces were sampled by cluster sampling.Firstly,the general conditions(age,gender,grade,hometown,whether they are an only child)and sleep duration were collected,and their qi stagnation constitution,depression and anxiety status were evaluated by using the Qi Stagnation Subscale in the"TCM Constitution Classification and Judgment Scale",the Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ-9)and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD-7).Secondly,Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between qi stagnation constitution,sleep duration,and anxiety/depression.Then,linear regression analysis and mediating effect test were used to explore the relationship between qi stagnation constitution and anxiety/depression in junior high school students,and the mediating effect of sleep duration was analyzed,and the results were verified.Results(ⅰ)The detection rate of anxiety in non-only children was higher than that of only children(x2=11.198,P=0.001);The detection rate of anxiety(x2=106.967,P＜0.001)or depression(x2=84.692,P＜0.001)was higher among senior students than those in lower grades,while those of girls with anxiety(x2=100.441,P＜0.001)or depression(x2=71.418,P＜0.001)were higher than those of boys.The detection rates of anxiety(x2=1 092.298,P＜0.001)and depression(x2=866.740,P＜0.001)in qi stagnation constitution students were higher than those of non-qi stagnation constitution students,and the detection rates of anxiety(x2=1 076.716,P＜0.001)and depression(x2=1 099.725,P＜0.001)in students whose sleep duration less than 8 h were higher than those of whose sleep duration more than 8 h,and the shorter the sleep duration,the higher the detection rate.(ⅱ)Qi stagnation constitution positively predicted anxiety/depression(β=0.679,P＜0.001;β=0.718,P＜0.001),and sleep duration had a negative predictive effect on anxiety/depression(β=-0.403,P＜0.001;β=-0.439,P＜0.001).(ⅲ)Sleep duration played a partial mediating role in the relationship between qi stagnation constitution and anxiety/depression in junior high school students,and the mediating effect accounted for 13.40％and 13.79％of the total effect,respectively.Conclusion Although qi stagnation constitution mainly affects anxiety/depression through direct effect,it can still be partially indirectly realized through the mediating variable of sleep duration,that is,the shorter the sleep duration,the higher the risk of anxiety/depression in junior high school students.Therefore,the mental health problems of junior high school students can be prevented and improved by regulating qi stagnation constitution and ensuring adequate sleep duration.