Objective To Explore the feasibility and value of deep learning technology for quality control of echocardiography images.Methods A total of 180985 echocardiography images collected from Sichuan Provin-cial People's Hospital between 2015 and 2022 were selected to establish the experimental dataset.Two task models of the echocardiography standard views quality assessment method were trained,including intelligent recognition of seven types of views(six standard views and other views)and quality scoring of six standard views.The predictions of the models on the test set were compared with the results of the sonographer's annotation to assess the accuracy,feasibility,and timeliness of the runs of the two models.Results The overall classification accuracy of the stan-dard views recognition model was 98.90%,the precision was 98.17%,the recall was 98.18%and the F1 value was 98.17%,with the classification results close to the expert recognition level;the average PLCC of the six standard views quality scoring models was 0.933,the average SROCC was 0.929,the average RMSE was 7.95 and the average MAE was 4.83,and the prediction results were in strong agreement with the expert scores.The single-frame inference time after deployment on the 3090 GPU was less than 20 ms,meeting real-time requirements.Conclusion The echocardiography standard views quality assessment method can provide objective and accurate quality assessment results,promoting the development of echocardiography image quality control management towards real-time,objective,and intelligent.

This article summarizes the current status of the application of ablation in thyroid tumors with reference to relevant guidelines and expert consensus.The application of ablation in treating benign thyroid tumors has gradually gained maturity in recent years,but the application in malignant thyroid tumors is controversial.Currently,some clinical practices are constantly trying to broaden the application of ablation in treating malignant thyroid tumors.Ablation,which is mainly applied to benign thyroid tumors,has good prognosis and high patient satisfaction.Since this technique cannot avoid the potential recurrence risk of malignant thyroid tumors or eradicate local or distant occult metastases,the indications for the use of ablation in malignant thyroid tumors should be strictly controlled.

Purpose This study aims to observe the hemodynamic state of the carotid artery in healthy volunteers and diabetes patients via ultrasound vector flow imaging(V-Flow),and to quantitatively analyze the characterization of wall shear stress(WSS)in different degrees of atherosclerosis carotid artery.Materials and Methods This was a cross-sectional study.Forty four diabetic patients diagnosed in Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital from April 2019 to June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.Routine carotid ultrasound examination and V-Flow imaging were performed on 44 diabetic patients(88 vessels)and 15 controls(30 vessels).According to the results of carotid ultrasound examination,diabetic patients were divided into normal intima-media thickness(IMT)group,IMT thickening group and plaque group.The differences of WSS in different parts of carotid artery between diabetic patients and controls were observed,and the changes of WSS in different groups of diabetic patients were further compared and analyzed.Results In this study,the WSS(including WSSmax and WSSmean)of the bifurcation and middle segment of the common carotid artery in diabetic patients were significantly lower than those in the normal control group(P=0.001,P=0.003).WSS at the bifurcation of common carotid artery was significantly smaller than that at the middle segment of common carotid artery in both normal control group and diabetic group(P=0.001).WSS at the bifurcation of common carotid artery in diabetic patients was changed with the severity of atherosclerosis(P=0.018 and P=0.043),and was highest in the plaque group[WSSmax(2.58±0.69)Pa;WSSmean(0.86±0.25)Pa],followed by IMT thickening group[(2.37±0.69)Pa;(0.77±0.35)Pa].The WSS was lowest in the normal IMT group[(2.13±0.52)Pa;(0.69±0.20)Pa].There was no significant difference in WSS of the middle segment of common carotid artery among the three groups(P>0.05).Conclusion The WSS in the bifurcation and middle section of common carotid artery in diabetic patients is lower than that in controls,and it changed with the increase of atherosclerosis degree.Therefore,the V-Flow technique of ultrasonic vector flow imaging has a certain value in evaluating the progression of carotid atherosclerosis in diabetic patients.

Objective:To evaluate the morphological and functional changes of the heart during second trimester fetuses with ventricular septal defect (VSD) using fetal heart quantification (fetal HQ) technology.Methods:A prospective study was conducted from July 2022 to January 2024 at Chengdu Women′s and Children′s Central Hospital, collecting 91 singleton fetuses diagnosed with isolated VSD (VSD group) and 91 normal fetuses matched for gestational age (control group). Fetal HQ technology was used to measure the length and width of the four-chamber view of the fetal heart, obtaining the global sphericity index (GSI). Speckle tracking technology was used to track the endocardial motion trajectories of the left and right ventricles during diastole and systole, obtaining parameters such as left and right ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS and RV-GLS), end-diastolic diameter (EDD), 24-segment sphericity index (SI), 24-segment fraction of shortening (FS), left ventricular ejection fraction (LV-EF), fraction of area change (FAC), left ventricular stroke volume (LV-SV), and left ventricular cardiac output (LV-CO).The differences between groups were compared, and the correlations between the values of VSD and GSI, GLS, and FAC were evaluated.Results:The EDD of the left ventricular segments 20-23 in the VSD group was lower, while the SI value of the right ventricular segments 1-4 in the VSD group was higher than that in the control group (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in GSI between the two groups ( P>0.05). LV-GLS in the VSD group was lower than that in the control group ( P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in RV-GLS ( P>0.05). Values of LV-FAC, LV-EF, LV-SV, and LV-CO in the VSD group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The FS value of left ventricular segments 1-10 in the VSD group presented lower, but the FS value of right ventricular segments 7-21 higher compared to controls(all P<0.05). LV-GLS and LV-FAC absolute values were negatively correlated with the size of VSD ( r=-0.309, P=0.004; r=-0.264, P=0.015), while GSI, RV-GLS, and RV-FAC showed no significant correlation with the size of VSD (all P>0.05). Conclusions:The overall sphericity index of second trimester VSD fetuses is normal, but there are changes in the shape of the left ventricular apical segments and the right ventricular basal segments, with the left heart chamber tending to be flatter and the right heart chamber more fusiform. The left ventricular systolic function of VSD fetuses is significantly reduced, the local systolic function of right ventricular increases while the global systolic function shows no significant change. The absolute values of LV-GLS and LV-FAC in VSD fetuses are negatively correlated with the size of VSD.

BACKGROUND: Vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become the primary approach in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. Studies have shown that vaccination against COVID-19 has adverse effects, particularly on human reproductive health, despite the fact that vaccination rates are still on the rise. However, few studies have reported whether vaccination affects the outcome of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or not. In this study, we compared the outcome of IVF-ET and the development of follicles and embryos between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. METHODS: A single-center retrospective cohort study of 10,541 in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles was conducted from June 2020 to August 2021. 835 IVF cycles with a history of vaccination against COVID-19 and 1670 IVF cycles that served as negative controls were selected and analyzed utilizing the Matchlt package of R software ( http://www.R-project.org/ ) and the nearest neighbor matching algorithm for propensity-matched analysis at a 1:2 ratio. RESULTS: The number of oocytes collected in the vaccinated group and the unvaccinated group were 8.00 (0, 40.00) and 9.00 (0, 77.00) ( P  = 0.073) and the good-quality embryo rates of the two groups were 0.56±0.32 and 0.56±0.31 averagely ( P  = 0.964). Clinical pregnancy rates for the vaccinated group and unvaccinated group were 42.4% (155/366) and 40.2% (328/816) ( P  = 0.486) and biochemical pregnancy rates were 7.1% (26/366) and 8.7% (71/816) ( P  = 0.355). Two other factors were analyzed in this study; vaccination among different genders and different types (inactivated vaccine or recombinant adenovirus vaccine) showed no statistically significant effect on the above outcomes. CONCLUSIONS In our findings, vaccination against COVID-19 showed no statistically significant effect on the outcomes of IVF-ET and the development of follicles and embryos, nor did the gender of the vaccinated person or the formulation of vaccines show significant effects.
Pregnancy ; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Embryo Transfer ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Pregnancy Rate ; Vaccination

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of phenolamine in the treatment of sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction and its effect on cardiac function, myocardial injury index, and hemodynamics in patients.Methods:The clinical data of 79 patients with sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction who received treatment in Huangshi Central Hospital, Edong Healthcare Group from February 2017 to February 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into a control group (without phenolamine treatment, n = 41) and an observation group (with phenolamine treatment, n = 38) according to whether they received phenolamine treatment or not. Clinical efficacy, cardiac function, myocardial injury index, and hemodynamic index pre- and post-treatment were compared between the two groups. Results:There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality rate between the two groups ( P > 0.05). Intensive care unit length of stay and mechanical ventilation duration in the observation group were (9.33 ± 3.52) days and 83.00 (28.50, 138.00) hours, which were significantly shorter than (12.17 ± 4.15) days and 111.00 (47.50, 169.00) hours in the control group ( t = 3.26, Z = -2.27, both P < 0.05). The response rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [81.58% (31/38) vs. 60.98% (25/41), χ2 = 4.05, P < 0.05]. After 7 days of treatment, the left ventricular ejection fraction in each group was significantly increased, and the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and left ventricular end-systolic diameter in each group were significantly decreased compared with before treatment (all P < 0.05). After 7 days of treatment, the left ventricular ejection fraction in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group ( t = 3.29, P < 0.05), and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and left ventricular end-systolic diameter were significantly lower than those in the control group ( t = 5.94, 11.21, both P < 0.05). N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and cardiac troponin I levels in each group were significantly decreased with time (both P < 0.05). At 24 and 72 hours and 7 days after treatment, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and cardiac troponin I levels in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (both P < 0.05). After 7 days of treatment, heart rate in each group decreased significantly compared with that before treatment (both P < 0.05), mean arterial pressure, cardiac index, and stroke output index in each group increased significantly compared with those before treatment (all P < 0.05). After 7 days of treatment, heart rate in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group ( t = 4.90, P < 0.05), and mean arterial pressure, cardiac index, and stroke output index in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group ( t = 4.37, 3.23, 6.01, all P < 0.05). Conclusion:Phentolamine can improve hemodynamics, reduce myocardial injury and improve cardiac function in patients with sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction.

Objective:To investigate the pathological characteristics, treatment timing, and prognosis of de Winter syndrome.Methods:Six patients with de Winter syndrome who received treatment in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First People's Hospital of Tianmen from July 2017 to September 2020 were included in this study. The clinical risk factors, characteristics of coronary artery lesions, electrocardiogram evolution, echocardiography, high-sensitivity troponin, and brain natriuretic peptide were evaluated. All patients were followed up for 12 months after discharge.Results:Among the six patients included, four patients underwent coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention. Coronary angiography results showed that anterior descending artery lesions occurred in all patients, consisting of occlusion of the anterior descending artery in three patients and severe stenosis of the anterior descending artery in one patient. After surgery, TIMI3 blood flow recovered in all patients. Electrocardiogram showed anterior wall ST segment elevation in five patients, and anterior wall and inferior wall ST segment elevation in one patient. One patient refused to undergo coronary angiography and was discharged after conservative management with drugs. de Winter syndrome was not identified in time in one patient. The patient died after being admitted to the hospital through routine procedures. Five recovered patients were followed up for 12 months, consisting of one patient who was re-admitted because of heart failure, and four patients in whom no adverse events occurred.Conclusion:Identification of electrocardiogram manifestations of de Winter syndrome and implementation of coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention as early as possible can substantially reduce mortality rate and improve long-term prognosis.

Objective:To analyze blood transfusion and prognostic factors of extracorporeal membrane pulmonary oxygenation (ECMO) for the treatment of respiratory and circulatory failure.Methods:The clinical data of 80 patients with respiratory and circulatory failure who received treatment in Huangshi Central Hospital from March 2016 to July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. According to 28-day prognosis, these patients were divided into death group ( n = 44) and survival group ( n = 36). The general data, blood transfusion during the process of ECMO, vital signs, laboratory indicators, ventilation time, and length of hospital stay were compared between the two groups. The factors affecting death during the process of ECMO were analyzed. Results:There were no significant differences in sex, age, body mass index, complications, the cause of respiratory and circulatory failure, and the mode of ECMO between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Preoperative Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, creatinine, procalcitonin and lactic acid levels in the survival group were (22.36 ± 3.71) points, (79.17 ± 9.29) μmol/L, (2.77 ± 0.79) ng/L, (2.74 ± 0.36) mmol/L, respectively, which were significantly lower than (34.27 ± 4.98) points, (94.16 ± 10.23) μmol/L, (3.69 ± 1.10) ng/L, (5.18 ± 0.42) mmol/L, respectively in the death group ( t = -11.89, -6.79, -5.62, -27.53, all P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in preoperative respiratory frequency, diastolic pressure, systolic pressure, heart rate, oxygenation index (PaO 2/FiO 2) and C-reactive protein between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The volume of blood transfused on the day of undergoing ECMO, the volume of blood transfused on the day of withdrawing ECMO, the volume of blood transfused during the whole process of ECMO, duration of ventilation, and the incidence of complications related to ECMO were(98.74 ± 16.28) mL, (37.23 ± 10.36) mL, (398.79 ± 67.81) mL, (210.39 ± 20.21) hours, 38.89% (14/36), respectively, which were significantly lower than (160.17 ± 23.14) mL, (48.26 ± 12.25) mL, (600.23 ± 70.12) mL, (320.14 ± 18.21) hours, 79.55% (35/44), respectively in the death group ( t = -13.43, -4.29, 4.94, 25.25, χ2 = 13.79, all P < 0.001). The length of hospital stay in the survival group was longer than that in the death group [(20.14 ± 5.36) days vs. (14.17 ± 4.23) days, t = 5.56, P < 0.001). Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, procalcition level, the volume of blood transfused on the day of ECMO, duration of ventilation, and the volume of blood transfused during the whole process of ECMO are risk factors for death after ECMO, while length of hospital stay is a protective factor for ECMO. Conclusion:Preoperative evaluation of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, continuous blood transfusion during the whole process of ECMO, grasping the opportunity of ventilation and preventing against complications of ECMO are the keys to increasing the survival rate of patients with respiratory and circulatory failure.

Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic value of exercise stress echocardiography combined with left ventricular two-dimensional speckle tracking layer-specific strain technique in evaluating subclinical myocardial damage and reserve function in patients with hypertension.Methods:A total of 51 healthy subjects(control group) and 55 hypertensive patients (hypertension group) were enrolled in the treadmill exercise stress test in Sichuan Provincial People′s Hospital from October 2018 to January 2020. According to the European Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension, the inclusion criteria for patients with hypertension were: blood pressure≥140/90 mmHg or who explicitly took antihypertensive drugs, and related cardiovascular diseases were excluded. The conventional parameters of resting and peak exercise, including left ventricular mass index, left ventricular end-diastolic volume index and left ventricular ejection fraction et al, were analyzed by speckle tracking software in two groups. According to the standard images in the resting and peak exercise, the endocardium /mid-myocardium /epicardium of left ventricular (three-, two-, four-chamber and global) longitudinal strain and circumferential strain (papillary muscle level) were compared respectively in two groups. The characteristics of strain differences and the systolic function reserve between the resting and peak exercise were evaluated.Results:There were significant differences in conventional ultrasound parameters between resting and peak exercise period in hypertension group, except E/A and e/a ratio (all P<0.05), and E/e value increased significantly(12.1±0.38) during peak exercise, indicating impaired diastolic reserve function. The longitudinal and circumferential layer-specific strain values from endocardial to epicardial were gradually decreased in both two groups. Compared with the control group, the resting longitudinal and circumferential endocardial strain values in hypertensive group were decreased, and the differences were more obvious at peak status, for instance global longitudinal endocardium strain at rest[control group (24.4±1.5)%, hypertension group (20.4±2.3)%], peak status[control group (30.8±2.8)%, hypertension group (22.8±2.9)%]( P<0.05). There were no significant differences of the partial layer-specific strain values between the peak exercise and resting status in hypertension group, while peak layer-specific strain of the control group were all significantly increased, suggesting that the left ventricular systolic reserve function of hypertension patients was lower than that of the control group. Conclusions:Left ventricular layer-specific strain can effectively evaluate the myocardial function in patients with hypertension, especially the endocardial strain can be used as an indicator parameter, and the peak exercise stress state is more sensitive. The systolic and diastolic reserve function of the left ventricle in patients with hypertension at the peak period are reduced to different degrees. Exercise stress echocardiography combined with left ventricular layer-specific strain technique can be used as a new method for detection of myocardial function impairment in patients with hypertension.

Objective:To assess the left ventricular (LV) myocardial mechanical dysfunction in patients with cirrhosis using ultrasonic layer-specific strain imaging and to explore its value in clinical application.Methods:A total of 80 consecutive cirrhosis patients without cardiovascular diseases were prospectively enrolled from October 2020 to March 2021 in Sichuan Provincial People′s Hospital, 39 of whom were assigned to the compensated group and 41 were assigned to the decompensated group according to the occurrence of portal hypertension. Forty-three healthy volunteers during the same period were randomly recruited as the control group. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed to assess the LV configuration and functional parameters. LV global longitudinal strain in endocardial, middle and epicardial myocardium (GLSendo, GLSmid, GLSepi), and longitudinal strain (LS) in basal, middle and apical segments, and peak strain dispersion (PSD) were obtained using ultrasonic layer-specific strain imaging. ΔLS was calculated by the formula of GLSendo-GLSepi. Then, the differences of related parameters among three groups were compared.Results:①Conventional echocardiography: compared with the control group, the interventricular septum end-diastolic thickness (IVSTd), left ventricular posterior wall end-diastolic thickness (LVPWd), left ventricular mass (LVM) and LVM index (LVMI) were increased in compensated and decompensated groups (all P<0.05), while no significant differences in conventional echocardiographic parameters were identified between the two cirrhosis groups (all P>0.05). ②Global layer-specific strain: compared with the control group, GLSendo, GLSmid, GLSepi and ΔLS were decreased and PSD was increased in compensated and decompensated groups (all P<0.05); Moreover, the decompensated group showed a more impaired GLSendo, GLSmid and GLSepi than compensated group (all P<0.05), whereas there were no significant differences of ΔLS and PSD between the two groups(all P>0.05). ③Segmental layer-specific strain: compared with the control group, LS values of three layers in compensated and decompensated groups were reduced at basal, middle and apical levels (all P<0.05); Compared with the compensated group, LS values of three layers in decompensated group tended to be reduced at above there levels, but only apical segments had significant differences (all P<0.05). Conclusions:There are different degrees of LV mechanical dysfunction in patients with variable severity of cirrhosis. Ultrasonic layer-specific strain imaging has the potential to quantitatively assess the state of cardiac involvement in patients with cirrhosis and to provide visual evidence for the early and accurate diagnosis of myocardial injuries.