Objective:To evaluate postoperative biochemical and clinical remission rates in patients with unilateral primary aldosteronism and analyze related influencing factors.Methods:A total of 406 patients of primary aldosteronism with confirmed subtyping, who underwent adrenalectomy and completed follow-up in the Department of Endocrinology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from November 2013 to March 2022 were retrospectively enrolled. Clinical and biochemical data were recorded. Postoperative clinical and biochemical outcomes were assessed according to Primary Aldosteronism Surgery Outcome(PASO) consensus.Results:Complete biochemical success was achieved in 391(96.31%) of 406 primary aldosteronism patients, while partial and absent biochemical success in only 4(0.99%) and 11(2.71%) primary aldosteronism patients; Complete clinical success was seen in 217(53.45%) patients, and partial clinical success in 189(46.55%) patients. Compared to the partial clinical success group, the complete clinical success group was younger, had a greater proportion of women, a smaller body mass index, a shorter duration of hypertension, a smaller daily defined dose value for antihypertensive medication, a higher estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR), and a lower proportion of family history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Multifactorial logistic regression analysis further showed that gender( OR=2.49, 95% CI 1.42-4.35, P=0.001), body mass index( OR=1.16, 95% CI 1.05-1.28, P=0.003), antihypertensive drug daily defined dose( OR=1.83, 95% CI 1.37-2.44, P<0.001), family history of hypertension( OR=2.16, 95% CI 1.22-3.83, P=0.008), history of diabetes( OR=2.47, 95% CI 1.15-5.29, P=0.021), and eGFR( OR=0.98, 95% CI 0.97-0.99, P=0.001) were independent factors influencing clinical prognosis of primary aldosteronism. Conclusion:The postoperative complete biochemical success is higher in patients with unilateral primary aldosteronism, but only about half of all patients achieve complete clinical success.

Objective:To investigate the appropriate cut-off for diagnosis of primary aldosteronism (PA) by seated saline suppression test (SSST) based on liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).Methods:In this cross-sectional study, patients who underwent SSST for suspected PA in the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2018 to March 2022 were evaluated. Briefly, 300 patients with PA and 119 with essential hypertension (EH) were included. Plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) after SSST was determined by LC-MS/MS. Primary aldosteronism confirmatory testing (PACT) score was used as the reference standard for diagnosis of PA, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to explore the cut-off value.Results:The average age of the PA group was (50.8±10.5) years, and males accounted for 53.00% ( n=159); the average age of the EH group was (49.4±11.2) years, and males accounted for 26.89% ( n=32). The area under the ROC curve of PAC post-SSST was 0.819 (95% CI 0.775-0.862). When 40 pg/ml (110.8 pmol/L) was selected as the appropriate cut-off for diagnosis of PA, the sensitivity was 83.67% (95% CI 78.88%-87.56%) and specificity was 60.50% (95% CI 51.10%-69.21%). Thus, 95.09% (155/163) of patients with unilateral PA could be identified. Conclusion:PAC after SSST determined by LC-MS/MS has high efficacy for diagnosis of PA, and 40 pg/ml is recommended as the appropriate cut-off value.

The typical manifestations of primary aldosteronism (PA) are hypertension with or without hypokalemia, high aldosterone, and low renal level. However, PA with normal blood pressure is rare in clinical practice. This article reported the diagnosis and treatment of a patient with subclinical PA, admitted for "adrenal accidental tumor" with normal blood pressure and serum potassium. We summarized and analyzed the clinical characteristics and treatment strategies, in order to provide some reference for clinicians.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography （ERCP） during pregnancy and puerperium through a comparative analysis. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 22 patients in pregnancy and 39 patients in puerperium who received ERCP in Digestive Endoscopy Center of The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from January 2007 to August 2022. The two groups of patients were compared in terms of baseline data， diagnosis during ERCP， interventions， laboratory results before and after ERCP， post-ERCP complications， and delivery and fetal outcomes. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups， and the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. ResultsThere were no significant differences between the patients in pregnancy and those in puerperium in all baseline data （all P>0.05） except the rate of CT examination （22.73% vs 58.97%， χ²=7.44， P=0.006）. During the ERCP procedure， compared with the patients in puerperium， the patients in pregnancy had a significantly lower proportion of the patients who underwent biliary stone extraction or endoscopic papillary balloon dilation （χ²=4.007 and 4.315， both P<0.05） and a significantly higher proportion of the patients who did not receive X-ray fluoroscopy （χ²=12.103， P=0.001）. After ERCP， both groups had significant improvements in white blood cell count， total bilirubin， direct bilirubin， alanine aminotransferase， and aspartate aminotransferase （all P<0.05）. The overall incidence rate of post-ERCP complications was 7.04% （5/71） for all patients， with post-ERCP biliary infection as the most common complication （3/71，4.23%）， and there was no significant difference in the incidence rate of post-ERCP complications between the two groups （P>0.05）. As for delivery and fetal outcomes， compared with the patients in puerperium， the patients in pregnancy had a significantly higher proportion of patients with early termination of pregnancy （50.00% vs 0，χ²=20.528， P<0.001） and a significantly lower proportion of patients with cesarean section （36.36% vs 76.92%， χ²=4.756， P=0.029）. There were no significant differences in the incidence rates of adverse events such as abnormal fetal development and stillbirth between the two groups （P>0.05）. ConclusionWith strict control of ERCP indications and timing， ERCP is effective and relatively safe in both pregnancy and puerperium and has a comparable incidence rate of post-ERCP complications to that in the general population， with relatively good delivery and fetal outcomes.

Objective:To test and evaluate the reliability and clinical effectiveness of osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture (OTLF) scoring and classification system.Methods:A multicenter retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 530 OTLF patients admitted to 8 hospitals including Honghui Hospital Affiliated to Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2021 to June 2022. There were 212 males and 318 females, aged 55-90 years [(72.6±10.8)years]. There were 4 patients with grade C and 18 with grade D according to American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) classification. According to the osteoporotic thoracolumbar injury classification and severity (OTLICS) score, all patients had an OTLICS score over 4 points and required surgical treatment. Among them, 410 patients had acute symptomatic OTLF (ASOTLF), including 24 patients with type I, 159 type IIA, 47 type IIB, 31 type IIC, 136 type IIIA, 8 type IIIB, 2 type IV (absence of neurological symptoms) and 3 type IV (presence of neurological symptoms), and 120 patients had chronic symptomatic OTLF (CSOTLF), including 62 patients with type I, 21 type II, 17 type III, 3 type IV (reducible under general anesthesia), 9 type IV (not reducible under general anesthesia), 1 type V (reducible under general anesthesia), 5 type V (presence of neurological symptoms), and 2 type V (not reducible under general anesthesia). Surgical procedures included percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP), positional repositioning plus PVP, percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP), posterior open reduction combined with bone graft fusion and bone cement augmented screw internal fixation, posterior open reduction combined with decompression, bone graft fusion and bone cement augmented screw internal fixation, and posterior open reduction combined with osteotomy and orthopedics, bone graft fusion and bone cement augmented screw internal fixation. A weighted Kappa was used to test the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of the OTLICS score, the ASOTLF classification, and the CSOTLF classification. The visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry disability index (ODI), ASIA classification were compared before, at 1 month after surgery and at the last follow-up. Incidence of postoperative complications was observed.Results:The percentage of mean interobserver agreement for OTLICS staging was 93.4%, with a mean confidence Kappa value of 0.86, and the percentage of mean intraobserver agreement was 93.0%, with a mean confidence kappa value of 0.86. The percentage of mean interobserver agreement for ASOTLF staging was 94.2%, with a mean confidence Kappa value of 0.84, and the percentage of mean intraobserver agreement was 92.5%, with a mean confidence Kappa value of 0.83. The percentage of mean interobserver agreement for CSOTLF subtyping was 91.9%, with a mean confidence Kappa value of 0.80, and the percentage of mean intraobserver agreement was 91.3%, with a mean confidence Kappa value of 0.81. All the patients were followed up for 6-12 months [(9.0±2.1)months]. The VAS and ODI scores were significantly lower in patients with ASOTLF and CSOTLF classifications at 1 month after surgery and at the last follow-up than those before surgery (all P<0.05). The VAS scores in patients with ASOTLF types IIA, IIB, IIC, IIIA, and IV were significantly lower at the last follow-up than that at 1 month after surgery; the ODI scores in patients with ASOTLF types I, IIA, IIB, IIIA, IIIB and IV were significantly lower at the last follow-up than those at 1 month after surgery. The VAS scores in patients with CSOTLF types II, III, IV, and V were significantly lower at the last follow-up than those at 1 month after surgery, and the ODI scores in patients with all CSOTLF types were significantly lower at the last follow-up than those at 1 month after surgery (all P<0.05). Two patients with ASIA grade C recovered to grade D, and the rest recovered to grade E at the last follow-up ( P<0.01). No major vessel or nerve injury or internal fixation failure was found during follow-up. There were 18 patients with cement leakage, none of whom showed relevant clinical symptoms. There were 35 patients with new vertebral fractures, all of whom recovered well after symptomatic treatment. Conclusions:The OTLICS score, ASOTLF classification and CSOTLF classification have a high degree of reliability. Application of stepwise treatment for patients with different levels of injury according to the scoring and classification system can reduce pain, promote recovery of the spinal function, and reduce complications, which is of some significance in guiding the selection of clinical treatment.

Objective:To compare the efficacy of forceful reduction percutaneous pedicle screw and ordinary percutaneous pedicle screw in the treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar burst fracture with kyphosis.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 566 patients with osteoporotic thoracolumbar burst fracture with kyphosis admitted to Honghui Hospital, Xi ′an Jiaotong University from January 2015 to December 2018, including 191 males and 375 females, with age range of 48-79 years [(61.7±10.7)years]. Fracture segments were located at T 11 in 134 patients, T 12 in 154, L 1 in 160, and L 2 in 118. All fractures were type IIIA according to the acute symptomatic osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture classification (ASOTLF). The thoracolumbar osteoporotic fracture severity score assessment system (TLOFSAS) score was ≥5 points. A total of 275 patients underwent forceful reduction and percutaneous pedicle screw internal fixation (forceful reduction screw group), and 291 patients underwent common percutaneous pedicle screw internal fixation (common screw group). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, times of X-ray exposure on patients and measures documented before operation, at 3 days after operation and at 2 years after operation including anterior height ratio of the injured vertebrae, sagittal Cobb angle of the injured vertebrae, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and visual analog scale (VAS) were compared between the two groups. Moreover, degree of correction of Cobb angle at 3 days after operation, loss of correction of Cobb angle at 2 years after operation and postoperative complications were observed. Results:All patients were followed up for 25-34 months [(29.9±3.4)months]. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss and times of X-ray exposure on patients in forceful reduction screw group were (69.4±10.2)minutes, (60.3±13.1)ml and (26.8±3.7)times, less than (80.6±11.9)minutes, (80.7±15.4)ml and (30.4±3.4)times in common screw group (all P<0.01). There was no significant difference in anterior height ratio of the injured vertebrae between the two groups before operation and at 3 days after operation (all P>0.05). The anterior height ratio of the injured vertebrae in forceful reduction screw group was (95.5±2.3)% at 2 years after operation, significantly higher than (85.4±1.7)% in common screw group ( P<0.01). There was no significant difference in sagittal Cobb angle of the injured vertebrae between the two groups before operation ( P>0.05). The sagittal Cobb of the injured vertebrae in forceful reduction screw group at 3 days and 2 years after operation were (7.9±1.6)° and (8.8±1.5)°, lower than (10.6±1.1)° and (12.3±1.2)° in common screw group ( P<0.05 or 0.01). There were no significant difference in JOA score and VAS between the two groups before operation, at 3 days and at 2 years after operation (all P>0.05). The degree of correction of Cobb angle in forceful reduction screw group was (19.4±2.5)°, higher than (17.3±2.6)° in common screw group ( P<0.05). The loss of correction of Cobb angle in forceful reduction group was less than that in common screw group at 2 years after operation, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications in forceful reduction screw group was 12.4% (34/275), compared to 14.1% (41/291) in common screw group ( P>0.05). There were no complications such as iatrogenic nerve injury, fracture or loosening of internal fixator or leakage of bone cement in the spinal canal in both groups. Conclusions:For osteoporotic thoracolumbar burst fracture with kyphosis, forceful reduction and percutaneous pedicle screw internal fixation can significantly shorten operation time, reduce intraoperative blood loss and times of X-ray exposure on patients, restore height of the injured vertebrae, correct kyphosis and maintain reduction height of the injured vertebrae in contrast with conventional percutaneous pedicle screw internal fixation.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of flexion-lateral curvature-supination reduction combined with primary anterior surgery for the treatment of lower cervical dislocation with unilateral facet inter-locking.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed in the 32 patients who had been admitted to Department of Spine Surgery, Honghui Hospital for lower cervical dislocation with unilateral facet interlocking from November 2015 to October 2018. According to their treatments, they were divided into 2 groups. In the emergency group treated by flexion-lateral curvature-supination reduction combined with primary anterior surgery, there were 13 males and 3 females, aged from 24 to 63 years. In the traction group treated by cranial traction reduction combined with secondary anterior surgery, there were 12 males and 4 females, aged from 20 to 64 years. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, bone graft fusion, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score were compared between the 2 groups.Results:There was no significant difference in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, showing they were comparable ( P<0.05). All patients were followed up from 26 to 40 months. The hospital stay for the emergency group [(7.2±1.2) d] was significantly shorter than that for the traction group[(10.9±1.2) d] ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the operation time, blood loss, ASIA grade or JOA score between the 2 groups ( P>0.05). All patients achieved osseous fusion of intervertebral space. Conclusion:Compared with traditional methods, flexion-lateral curvature-supination reduction combined with primay anterior surgery shows no significant difference in the recovery of neurological function but leads to a shorter hospital stay.

To investigate the renal venous and spermatic venous sampling in assisting the diagnosis of reninoma. The case of reninoma was retrospectively reviewed together with the literature review of reninoma diagnosed with renal venous and spermatic venous sampling. A young patient with hypertension and headache was admitted to our hospital. Laboratory test showed high plasma renin concentration (>500 mIU/L), and enhanced computed tomography(CT) in the upper abdomen showed a mass in left inferior renal pole. The concentration of renin in the left spermatic vein was significantly higher than that in renal veins and branches, and peripheral vein, which was considered the left reninoma possibility. The left renal mass was resected surgically and pathologic exam revealed reninoma. The renin level and the blood pressure recoveried normal after operation.The literature reported that the positive rate of renal vein segmental blood collection for locating renin tumor was only 8.3%-64%. The possible reason was that reninoma usually located in the renal cortex, and the tumor blood might be collected by renal capsule vein instead of renal vein. In fact, the renal capsule vein intersects with the lateral division of the spermatic vein, but there have been no reports about the localization of reninoma by spermatic vein sampling. Since renin secreted by reninoma may go into the spermatic vein through renal capsule vein, it should be noted that spermatic venous blood should be collected simultaneously in renal vein sampling when locating reninoma.

Objective:To explore the risk factors of residual back pain (RBP) in patients undergone PVP within 1 month and further analyze the correlation.Methods:Between March 2013 and January 2015, 1 316 patients with OVCF were treated by PVP. RBP after PVP was defined as a visual analogue scale (VAS) score of > 4 both 1 week and 1 month post-operatively. According to the pain relief, the patients were divided into two groups, the satisfied group and the unsatisfied group. All patients were scheduled for follow-up at1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year post-operatively, during which radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and short time inversion recovery (STIR) sequences) were recommended to detect the existence of secondary OVCF. VAS scores and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were recorded. Demographic data, surgical information, anesthesia method, number of OVCF, injection amount of cement of single vertebral bone, imaging data and other comorbidity informations of patients in the two groups were analyzed by Logistic regression for the factors related to RBP after PVP.Results:Among 1 316 patients, 60 cases complained RBP, and the prevalence was 4.6%. VAS score and ODI of the two groups were significantly different at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after surgery, suggesting there was a certain degree of residual pain in the lower back of patients in the unsatisfied group, which was more severe than that in the satisfied group. However, the above differences disappeared in the follow-up of 12 months after surgery.Univariate analysesshowed that preoperative bone mineral density (BMD), number of fracture, cement distribution and volume injected per level and lumbodorsal fascia contusion were associated with RBP after PVP ( P< 0.01, retrospectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that the absolute value of pre-operative BMD(odds ratio ( OR)=3.577, P=0.029), combined withlumbodorsal fascia contusion ( OR=3.805, P=0.002), number of fracture ( OR=3.440, P<0.001), satisfactory cement distribution ( OR=3.009, P=0.013) and combined with depression ( OR=3.426, P=0.028) were positively correlated with RBP after PVP, and these were risk factors. The injection amount of cement of single vertebral bone ( OR=0.079, P<0.001) was negatively correlated with RBP after PVP, which was a protective factor. Conclusion:Pre-operative low BMD, lumbodorsal fascial injury, multiple segment OVCF, insufficient cement injected volume, unsatisfactory cement distribution and depression were risk factors associated with RBP after PVP in patients with OVCF.

Objective:To propose a new grading system-the posterior ligament-bone injury classification and severity (PLICS) score for subaxial cervical spine injury, and evaluate its value in guiding the approach selection for subaxial cervical fracture and dislocation.Methods:All of 394 cases of subaxial cervical fracture and dislocation who received single anterior reduction and fixation in our hospital from January 2002 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 354 cases were finally included in this study. The Patients experienced internal fixation failure, postoperative kyphosis or interspinal process space dilation during follow-up were included into the failure group. Other patients were included into the successful group. The difference of visual analogue scale (VAS), neck disability index (NDI), ASIA score and PLICS score before and after surgery between the two groups was compared respectively. The PLICS score is composed of left, right and posterior columns. The injury of the posterior column was classified into mild, moderate and severe degrees, with 1-3 points respectively. The evaluation of lateral column injury included ligament and bone structure. The evaluation of ligament injury included: 1 point for the subluxation of the facet joint, 2 points for the dislocation or the facet joint; Fractures of the lateral column was classified into mild, moderate and severe degrees, with 1-3 points respectively. For the evaluation of the lateral column, the highest score of ligament or bone structure injury was reflected as the score of posterior column injury and was taken into the calculation of the final PLICS score.Results:All 354 patients had complete follow-up data, and the average follow-up time was 18.0±4.0 months, including 339 patients of successful group and 15 patients of failure group. At the 12 month follow-up, the average VAS score of the patients in the successful group decreased from 6.9±0.6 before the operation to 1.9±0.6 ( t=22.481, P<0.0001), and the average VAS score of the patients in the failure group decreased from 5.6±1.0 to 1.1±0.3 ( t=77.252, P<0.0001). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant. The NDI score of the successful group was significantly lower than that of the failure group (7.1%±1.2% vs 15.7%±2.7%, t=24.993, P<0.0001). PLICS score in two groups of patients were analyzed. There was a significant difference in PLICS scores between the two groups ( t=8.777, P<0.0001). According to the PLICS score, the ROC operating curve of the failure of internal fixation after anterior-only surgery was determined. The area under the curve was 0.981, and the 95% confidence interval was 0.943, 1.000. When the PLICS score was 6.5, the maximum value of the Jordan index was 0.927, the sensitivity was 0.994, and the specificity was 0.067. Considering the clinical practicality of PLICS score and the different clinical outcomes of the sub-classification groups of the PLICS score=7, we finally set the threshold as PLICS score=7 with the unilateral severe lateral mass fracture. Conclusion:The PLICS score is based on the anatomy of the posterior three-column structure of the subaxial cervical spine. It gives consideration to the bony structures, including bilateral lateral mass, spinous process, lamina, and the ligament structures. What's more, the overall damage severity of the posterior three columns of the subaxial cervical spine was quantified according to the evaluation of the injury characteristics of each column of ligament-bone structure. In this study, PLICS score and clinical efficacy were compared between two groups of patients, and it was finally determined that when PLICS score ≥7 with the unilateral severe lateral mass fracture, the risk of internal fixation failure is higher for anterior-only approach surgery alone. For these patients, anterior and posterior approach surgery may be considered.