Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for pyogenic spinal infections.Methods:A total of 255 patients diagnosed with pyogenic spinal infections were enrolled between September 2022 and September 2024 at Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Shandong University Affiliated Public Health Clinical Center, and the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Among them, 155 were male and 100 were female, with an average age of 62.5±14.2 years (ranging from 13 to 90 years). All patients had samples of infected tissue and/or pus collected for microbial culture and mNGS testing. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by microbial culture and mNGS were compared. Using culture results as the gold standard, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed for mNGS testing and the combined method of mNGS and microbial culture, calculating the area under the curve (AUC) and 95% CI. Results:All 255 cases were clinically diagnosed as pyogenic spinal infections, with 194 cases providing microbiological evidence. The most common Gram-positive bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus, while the most common Gram-negative bacterium was Escherichia coli. A total of 33 pathogenic microorganisms were detected by mNGS, while microbial culture detected 18 pathogenic microorganisms. The positive rate of mNGS was 72.2% (184 out of 255), which was significantly higher than that of 30.2% (77 out of 255) for microbial culture, showing a significant difference (χ 2=90.150, P<0.001); the positive rate of mNGS combined with microbial culture was 76.1% (194 out of 255) with significant difference compared to mNGS alone (χ 2=8.100, P<0.001). Among 178 culture-negative samples, the detection rate of mNGS was 65.7% (117 out of 178); among 77 culture-positive samples, the detection rate of mNGS was 87.0% (67 out of 77), and 97.0% (65 out of 67) of the detected pathogens matched the culture results at the species level. The AUCs of the ROC curves for mNGS testing and the combination of mNGS with microbial culture were 0.606 [95% CI (0.534, 0.678)] and 0.671 [95% CI (0.606, 0.736)], respectively, with significant differences compared to microbial culture ( P=0.007; P=0.007). Conclusions:mNGS demonstrates superior performance over conventional culture in identifying pathogens in pyogenic spinal infections. Moreover, combining mNGS with culture further improves diagnostic yield, supporting its integration into clinical practice.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for pyogenic spinal infections.Methods:A total of 255 patients diagnosed with pyogenic spinal infections were enrolled between September 2022 and September 2024 at Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Shandong University Affiliated Public Health Clinical Center, and the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Among them, 155 were male and 100 were female, with an average age of 62.5±14.2 years (ranging from 13 to 90 years). All patients had samples of infected tissue and/or pus collected for microbial culture and mNGS testing. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by microbial culture and mNGS were compared. Using culture results as the gold standard, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed for mNGS testing and the combined method of mNGS and microbial culture, calculating the area under the curve (AUC) and 95% CI. Results:All 255 cases were clinically diagnosed as pyogenic spinal infections, with 194 cases providing microbiological evidence. The most common Gram-positive bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus, while the most common Gram-negative bacterium was Escherichia coli. A total of 33 pathogenic microorganisms were detected by mNGS, while microbial culture detected 18 pathogenic microorganisms. The positive rate of mNGS was 72.2% (184 out of 255), which was significantly higher than that of 30.2% (77 out of 255) for microbial culture, showing a significant difference (χ 2=90.150, P<0.001); the positive rate of mNGS combined with microbial culture was 76.1% (194 out of 255) with significant difference compared to mNGS alone (χ 2=8.100, P<0.001). Among 178 culture-negative samples, the detection rate of mNGS was 65.7% (117 out of 178); among 77 culture-positive samples, the detection rate of mNGS was 87.0% (67 out of 77), and 97.0% (65 out of 67) of the detected pathogens matched the culture results at the species level. The AUCs of the ROC curves for mNGS testing and the combination of mNGS with microbial culture were 0.606 [95% CI (0.534, 0.678)] and 0.671 [95% CI (0.606, 0.736)], respectively, with significant differences compared to microbial culture ( P=0.007; P=0.007). Conclusions:mNGS demonstrates superior performance over conventional culture in identifying pathogens in pyogenic spinal infections. Moreover, combining mNGS with culture further improves diagnostic yield, supporting its integration into clinical practice.

Objective:To analyze the risk factors for rotator cuff tear and evaluate the corresponding prediction efficacy.Methods:A case-control study was conducted in 69 patients with rotator cuff tear admitted to Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from June 2020 to June 2021 (rotator cuff tear group) and 51 normal volunteers or medical examiners (normal control group). There were 55 males and 65 females, with the age range of 34-77 years [(58.2±7.2)years]. Body mass index (BMI) ranged from 19.5-32.4 kg/m 2 [(25.4±2.5)kg/m 2]. Univariate analysis was performed for the correlation of gender, age, history of hypertension, history of smoking, history of diabetes, BMI, angle of humeral greater tuberosity and notch angle of humeral greater tuberosity with rotator cuff tear in the two groups. Factors with statistically significant differences were included in multivariate Logistic regression analysis to determine the independent risk factors for rotator cuff tear. Spearman correlation analysis was used to find factor correlation between the two groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of relevant factors for the diagnosis and prediction of rotator cuff tear was analyzed. Results:Univariate analysis showed that age, angle of humeral greater tuberosity and notch angle of humeral greater tuberosity related to rotator cuff tear (all P<0.05). On the contrary, gender, history of hypertension, history of smoking, history of diabetes and BMI were not correlated with rotator cuff tear (all P>0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed significant correlations of angle of humeral greater tuberosity and notch angle of humeral greater tuberosity with rotator cuff tear (all P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that age was not correlated with angle of humeral greater tuberosity and notch angle of humeral greater tuberosity ( r=0.09, 0.13, all P>0.05), but there was significant positive correlation between angle of humeral greater tuberosity and notch angle of humeral greater tuberosity ( r=0.76, P<0.01). When the optimal cutoff values of angle of humeral greater tuberosity and notch angle of humeral greater tuberosity were 70.05° and 150.55°, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for predicting rotator cuff tear was 0.79 (95% CI 0.71-0.87, P<0.01) and 0.81 (95% CI 0.74- 0.89, P<0.01). Conclusions:Angle of humeral greater tuberosity and notch angle of humeral greater tuberosity are independent factors for rotator cuff tear, and larger angles suggest higher prevalence of rotator cuff tear. Besides, the notch angle of humeral greater tuberosity has relatively better predictive performance.

Objective:To explore the correlation between fibular head height and varus knee osteoarthritis occurrence and severity.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 618 participants (618 knees, 184 males and 434 females, mean age 61.12±10.98 years) who underwent standard weight-bearing full-leg radiographs and were diagnosed as non-knee osteoarthritis or varus knee osteoarthritis from January 2019 to June 2019. Knee osteoarthritis was diagnosed according to Kellgren-Lawrence grading: 0-I grades were diagnosed as non-osteoarthritis, II-IV grades were diagnosed as osteoarthritis. Joint line convergence angle (JLCA), medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) and hip-knee-ankle angle were measured on X-rays to reflect varus deformity. The fibular head height was defined as the vertical distance from upper edge of fibular head to lateral tibial plateau. Patients were divided into 5 groups according to Kellgren-Lawrence grading. Differences of age, gender, height, weight, body mass index, varus deformity (JLCA, MPTA and hip-knee-ankle angle) between Kellgren-Lawrence 0-IV grades were compared. Ordinal logistic regression was performed to analyze the correlation between fibular head height and Kellgren-Lawrence grades. Pearson's correlation analysis was used for the correlation among fibular head height, JLCA, MPTA and hip-knee-ankle angle, and the main factor of JLCA, MPTA and hip-knee-ankle angle was extracted by factor analysis. Multiple linear regressions were used to analyze the correlation between fibular head height and varus deformity score.Results:There were 68, 66, 97, 98, 289 participants in Kellgren-Lawrence grades 0-IV respectively that was 134 participants were diagnosed as non-osteoarthritis and 484 participants were diagnosed as osteoarthritis. Fibular head height and MPTA showed a decreasing trend ( F=129.076, 24.875; P<0.001) while JLCA and hip-knee-ankle angle showed an increasing trend ( F=414.346, 105.996; P<0.001) with the increase in Kellgren-Lawrence grading. Age, body mass index and fibular head height are influencing factors of Kellgren-Lawrence grading with OR(95%CI) were 1.116(1.093, 1.141), 1.363(1.060, 1.754), 0.617(0.575, 0.662) . Fibular head height was negatively correlated with JLCA and hip-knee-ankle angle ( r=-0.641, -0.478; P<0.001) , respectively, and positively correlated with MPTA ( r=0.320, P<0.001). There were significant correlations between age, fibular head height and the varus deformity score ( β=0.274, -0.457; P<0.001). Conclusion:Fibular head height of patients with varus knee osteoarthritis is lower than that of non-osteoarthritis. In addition to age and body mass index, fibular head height is a risk factor for varus knee osteoarthritis occurrence. The smaller the fibular head height is, the more serious the osteoarthritis severity and varus deformity are.

Objective:To compare the clinical prognosis of modified and traditional knotless suture bridge technique in treatment of rotator cuff tear under shoulder arthroscopy.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted to analyze 60 patients with rotator cuff tear admitted to Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from June 2018 to June 2019，including 19 males and 41 females，aged 32-74 years［（59.3±10.1）years］. There were 26 patients on the left side and 34 patients on the right side，with the body mass index（BMI）of 19.5-32.4 kg/m 2［（25.5±2.6）kg/m 2］，rotator cuff tear of 2.0-3.7 cm［（2.7±0.4）cm］and pain duration of 2-88 days［（26.2±17.1）days］. A total of 31 patients were repaired with a modified knotless suture bridge（modified group）and 29 patients with a traditional knotless suture bridge（traditional group）. Comparison was made between the two groups in aspects of range of motion of shoulder flexion，abduction and external rotation，visual analog scale（VAS），University of California Los Angeles（UCLA）should function score，Constant shoulder function score，retear and complications at postoperative 3 and 12 months. Results:All patients were followed up for 9-15 months［（12.0±1.8）months］. Three months after operation，the two groups showed no significant differences in shoulder range of motion of abduction，flexion，external rotation，UCLA shoulder function score or Constant shoulder function score（ P>0.05）；while VAS was（2.7±1.2）points in modified group，significantly lower than（3.4±1.2）points in traditional group（ P<0.05）. Twelve months after operation，the shoulder range of motion of abduction and flexion in modified group was（146.9±21.4）° and（150.4±16.2）°，significantly higher than that in traditional group［（130.7±27.4）°，（140.6±18.4）°］（ P<0.05）；There was no significant difference in external rotation activity between the two groups（ P>0.05）；VAS，UCLA shoulder function score and Constant shoulder function score［（1.2±0.5）points，（29.5±2.3）points，（80.4±5.4）points，respectively］in modified group were significantly higher than those in traditional group［（1.5±0.5）points，（27.2±2.7）points，（76.3±6.6）points，respectively］（ P<0.05）. Three months after operation，there was no significant difference in the classification of Sugaya between the two groups（ P>0.05）. Twelve months after operation，the classification of Sugaya was significantly different between the two groups（ P<0.05），with no retear in modified group but 3 patients with retear in traditional group. No postoperative complications occurred，such as non-healing，infection or persistent swelling. Conclusion:For patients with rotator cuff tear，the modified knotless suture bridge technique under shoulder arthroscopy has better range of motion and function，more obvious pain relief and a lower rate of retear than the traditional technique.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy between the pressing tendon suture with a lateral anchor and the knotted suture with a lateral anchor in the treatment of severe rotator cuff tear under shoulder arthroscopy.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted of the 42 patients who had been treated at Department of Orthopedic Sports Medicine, Affiliated Hospital to Qingdao University from December 2018 to December 2019 for severe rotator cuff tear. They were 13 males and 29 females, with an age of (58.3±10.1) years (from 32 to 74 years). The injury was on the right side in 26 cases and on the left side in 16 cases. Of them, 22 received pressing tendon suture with a lateral anchor under shoulder arthroscopy and 20 knotted suture with a lateral anchor under shoulder arthroscopy. The flexion, abduction and external rotation of the shoulder, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) score, Constant-Murley shoulder score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score and imaging MRI Sugaya grading were compared between the 2 groups 12 months after operation.Results:There was no significant difference in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, showing comparability between them ( P>0.05). At 12 months after operation, the pressing tendon suture group had better abduction and flexion of the shoulder, a lower VAS pain score and a higher ASES score than the knotted suture group, but the differences were insignificant ( P>0.05). At 12 months after operation, the pressing tendon suture group achieved significantly better external rotation (39.2°±11.7°) and significantly higher UCLA score (28.1±4.7) and Constant-Murley shoulder score (77.0±9.3) than the knotted suture group (29.8°±14.6°, 22.1±5.7 and 66.4±11.0) ( P<0.05). At 12 months after operation, the imaging MRI Sugaya grading was significantly lower for the pressing tendon suture group than that for the knotted suture group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:In the treatment of patients with severe rotator cuff tear under shoulder arthroscopy, the pressing tendon suture with a lateral anchor may lead to better clinical prognosis than the knotted suture with a lateral anchor.