Objective To analyze the chemical components of Xiaoshi Lidan pills by using UPLC-MS/MS and explore the mechanism of Xiaoshi Lidan pills in the treatment of cholelithiasis through network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques.Methods The pharmacologically active components of Xiaoshi Lidan pills were analyzed through UPLC-MS/MS and compared with standard references.Potential targets of these components were obtained by searching the TCMSP and ETCM databases,and disease-related targets for cholelithiasis were identified using the DisGeNET database.The overlapping targets were used to construct a protein-protein interaction(PPI)network in the String database,and a"drug-component-target"network was built using Cytoscape 3.9.1.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed for the core targets.Finally,the top 5 compounds with strong activity were selected as ligands for molecular docking with the screened disease target genes.The anti-inflammatory activity was verified by RAW264.7 cells,and the mRNA expression of TNF-a and other inflammatory factors was detected by RT-PCR.Results UPLC-MS/MS identified 30 compounds in Xiaoshi Lidan pills,among which baicalin,quercetin,wogonin,baicalein-7-O-glucuronide,and emodin were identified as key components of Xiaoshi Lidan pills.Network pharmacology identified 107 targets associated with cholelithiasis,with Alb,TP53,ESR1,TNF,and INS identified as core targets.GO analysis indicated the involvement in inflammation response and steroid binding,while KEGG pathways were primarily related to lipid metabolism,atherosclerosis,and the TNF signaling pathway.Molecular docking analysis and anti-inflammatory screening in vitro showed that Xiaoshi Lidan pills exhibited certain anti-inflammatory activity by regulating inflammatory factors such as TNF and inhibiting NO production through baicalein,quercetin,emodin and other components.Conclusion Xiaoshi Lidan pills exerts its therapeutic effect on cholelithiasis by regulating TNF-related pathways through components such as baicalin,thereby inhibiting the inflammatory response.

Clostridioides difficile is a key pathogen of antibiotic related diarrhea and hospital associated infection, causing several outbreaks in Europe and North Americans and resulting in severe disease burden. However, the standardized diagnostic principle and detection specifications in C. difficile infection (CDI) survey are limited in China, and the infection rate and disease burden of CDI in China are unclear. Therefore, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention,National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, together with another 11 institutions, draft the group standard entitled "Diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection (T/CPMA 008-2020)" of Chinese Preventive Medicine Association. Based on the principle of "legality, scientificity, advancement, and feasibility", this standard clarifies risk factors, diagnosis principles, diagnoses and differential diagnoses in order to improve the accuracy of CDI diagnosis in clinical practice, guide the surveillance for CDI, and understand the infection rate and disease burden of CDI in China .

Distal junctional problem (DJP) is one of the severe complications after spinal correction, fixation and fusion. As the number of patients receiving spinal surgery increased recently, the incidence of DJP also increased dramatically. Compared with proximal junctional problem, the incidence of DJP is low. However, the clinical symptoms are severe, and the rate of surgical revision is high in patients with distal junctional problems. DJP include distal junctional kyphosis (DJK) and distal junctional failure(DJF). The definition of DJK is confusing, however, and the most commonly used was that the distal junction Angle at the last follow-up was greater than 10° and increased by 10° compared with that before surgery. There are 6 DJF modes: progressive loss of lumbar lordosis,acute wedging in the disc below the instrumentation, fracture of LIV, osteoporotic fracture below the long rigid fixation, failure of the instrumentation at LIV, spinal stenosis and or segmental instability underneath the instrumentation. Possible risk factors for DJP include weight, age, type of spinal deformity, osteoporosis, choice of LIV, hip disease, deformity location, surgical approach, surgical procedure, fusion segments, fixation devices, LIV at L5, fixed to S1 with no iliac screws, poor restoration of spinal alignment, et al. Currently, there are some controversies in DJP, mainly including the incidence, risk factors whether needs to and how to revise. The review intends to conduct a simple literature review of the current DJP diagnostic criteria, incidence, risk factors, and other research progress, in order to improve the understanding of the distal junction problem.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Smith-Petersen osteotomy (SPO) assisted by releasing disk space from posterior approach for thoracolumbar kyphosis. Methods: A review was conducted on 8 patients (3 males and 5 females) with thoracolumbar kyphosis were treated with SPO assisted by releasing disk space from posterior approach at Department of Orthopaedics, Peking University Third Hospital from June 2016 to September 2017. The age was 56.5 years (range:18-71 years). There were 3 cases of Scheuermanns kyphosis, 2 cases of degenerative kyphosis, 1 case of proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) after lumbar surgery, and 2 cases of kyphosis after thoracolumbar laminectomy. The paired t test was used for statistical analysis in thoracolumbar kyphosis angle, osteotomy segment kyphosis angle, sagittal vertical value (SVA), visual analogue score (VAS), Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI) before and after surgery. Statistical difference was confirmed with P<0.05. Results: Osteotomy level included 2 cases in T_11-12, 3 cases in T₁₂-L₁, 3 cases in L_1-2. The average operation time was 339 min (range: 247-416 min), bleeding volume was 1 275 ml (range: 500-2 500 ml). The mean follow-up time was 16.5 months (range: 12-24 months). The average thoracolumbar kyphosis angle was 59.9° (range: 40°-73°) pre-operation, 9.5°(range:-5.1°-20°) post-operation and 13.5°(range:-1.3°-28°) at the latest follow-up. It made an average correction with 46.4°and corrective rate with 78.0%. The osteotomy segment kyphosis angle was 37.9° (range: 26°-46°) pre-operation, -1.3° (range:-11°-13°) post-operation making an 39.2° open-up angle, and 2.0° (range:-13.5°-13°) at the latest follow-up. Lumbar lordosis was 47.5° (range: 2°-76°) pre-operation, 41.2°(range:15°-62°) post-operation and 36.9°(range:15°-58°) at the latest follow-up. SVA was 54 mm(range:-34 mm-149 mm) pre-operation and 39 mm(range:-3 mm-119 mm) at the latest follow-up. VAS score of low back pain was 6.3(range:0-9) pre-operation and 3.0(range:0-6) at the latest follow-up. ODI score was 21.9(range: 0-42) pre-operation and 11.0(range: 0-26) at latest follow-up. Comparing to pre-operation value, there were statistical difference in the thoracolumbar kyphosis angle(t= 8.547, P=0.000), osteotomy segment kyphosis angle(t=9.739, P=0.000), VAS(t=3.077, P=0.018), ODI(t=5.800, P=0.001) at the latest follow-up. There was no neuropathic complication in all patients. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage occurred in 2 cases with spinal surgery history, and recovered after symptomatic treatment. Conclusions SPO assisted by releasing disk space from posterior approach could safely achieve effective correction of rigid thoracolumbar kyphosis deformity within 40°.

Osteoporosis is a common metabolic bone disease in the elderly. It may be one of the factors which contributes to instrumentation failure in spinal surgery. Bone cement augmentation of the pedicle screw is a technique to enhance fixation strength, and it is now mainly applied in patients with osteoporosis and revision surgery, as well as spinal tumor surgery. According to clinical studies, bone cement augmentation can decrease screw loosening rate, prevent correction loss of the spine deformity, and increase the fusion rate. Pedicle screw fracture and pulloutare rare following screw augmentation surgery. The pedicle screw loosening rates following screw augmentation surgery with bone cement are higher in patients with osteoporotic vertebral fracture and lower in patients with spinal degenerative diseases. The main material for bone cement augmentation is Polymethylmethacrylate, and the volume for each screw is about 1-3 ml. Some researchers suggest less volume use in thoracic vertebrae than lumbar vertebrae. Both traditional and cannulated screws can be applied as the augmented pedicle screws, as well as the expandable pedicle screw. Cannulated screws can decrease the risk of bone cement extravasation compared with traditional screws. The mini-mally invasive technique of screw augmentation with bone cement can be used both in primary spinal surgery and augmentation of loosed screws. The main complications of the bone cement augmentation technique are cement leakage and pulmonary cement em-bolism. X-ray fluoroscopy is generally used to detect cement extravasation during the bone cement procedure. The 3D navigation and neurological monitoring are also recommended to reduce cement leakage in some studies. Most local cement leakage events are asymptomatic and need no treatment. Management of pulmonary cement embolism depends on the clinical presentation and the position of the emboli, including regular follow-up, oxygen inhalation, anti-coagulation therapy and embolectomy.

Objective To investigate the safety and effectiveness of posterior approach laminectomy combined with localized resection of ossified posterior longitudinal ligament and dekyphosis for multilevel ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in the thoracic spine.Methods Thirty-one cases of thoracic multilevel OPLL was treated with this new technique between August of 2012 and August of 2016.Twenty-nine among the 31 cases were successfully followed up more than two years.Among these 29 cases,9 were male and the other 20 were female,with an average age of 48.5±7.1 years.The average segment number of OPLLwas 6.5±2.2 (range,3-11).The average segment number of laminectomy was 7.9±2.5 (range,4-13).There were 26 cases combined with ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF).Posterior approach laminectomy combined with localized resection of OPLL and dekyphosis for multilevel OPLL in the thoracic spine was applied to all cases.Firstly,en-bloc laminectomy was performed to all the segments of OPLL.Then the nearest segment of ossification to the kyphotic apex and the most stenotie level was selected and limitedly resected.Finally,wedge-shaped osteotomy was conducted to decrease the kyphosis.The outcomes including recovery rate of myelopathy and the radiological changes were recorded during the post-operative follow-up.Single group pre and post analysis was conducted by using paired t-test.Results Twenty-seven cases underwent one-level circumferential decompression,and the other two case underwent two-level localized resection of the ossified posterior longitudinal ligament.The average operation time was 245.2±75.1 min (range,131-423 min).The average blood loss was 1 307.9±1 457.7 ml(range,300-6 000 ml).The average follow-up time was 40.2± 14.9 months (range,25-69 months).The kyphotic angle of the stenotic segments decreased 11.4°±3.5° averagely after the surgery,from pre-operative 28.7°±9.6° to post-operative 17.3°±8.6°.The decreased kyphotic angle was 7.4°±3.1 ° at the final follow-up with an average kyphotic angel of 22.3°± 10.3°.The average length of the resected ossified posterior longitudinal ligament was 11.3±3.9 mm,and the average shortening length of the spinal column was 5.0±3.0 mm (range,0.4-13.8 mm).The pre-operative Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score was 4.3±2.2 averagely (range,1-9),and the final JOA score increased to 9.3±2.3 (rang,3-11).The average recover rate was 85.7％ (range,-100％ to 100％),and the rate of excellent or good was 89.7％.Among the 29 cases,6 cases occurred post-operative transient deterioration and regained a satisfactory recovery eventually;one case occurred post-operative paraplegia and never recovered;19 cases occurred post-operative cerebrospinal fluid leakage and healed under conservative treatment.Conclusion For the thoracic multilevel OPLL,one-stage posterior approach laminectomy combined with localized resection of the ossified posterior longitudinal ligament and dekyphosis can significantly improve the outcomes of the myelopathy with low rate of post-operative paraplegia.Therefore,this new surgery technique is a safe and effective treatment for multilevel OPLL in thoracic spine.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective clinical review. PURPOSE: To investigate the difference in clinical manifestations and severity between polymicrobial and monomicrobial infections after spinal surgery. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Surgical site infections (SSIs) after spinal surgery are a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for spinal surgeons. Polymicrobial infections after spinal surgery seem to result in poorer outcomes than monomicrobial infections because of complementary resistance to antibiotics. However, comparison of the clinical manifestations and severity between polymicrobial and monomicrobial infections are limited. METHODS: Sixty-seven patients with SSIs after spinal surgery were studied: 20 patients with polymicrobial infections and 47 with monomicrobial infections. Pathogenic bacteria identified were counted and classified. Age, sex, and body mass index were compared between the two groups to identify homogeneity. The groups were compared for clinical manifestations by surgical site, postoperative time to infection, infection site, incisional drainage, incisional swelling, incisional pain, neurological signs, temperature, white blood cell count, and the percentage of neutrophils. Finally, the groups were compared for severity by hospital stay, number of rehospitalizations, number of debridements, duration of antibiotics administration, number of antibiotics administered, and implant removal. RESULTS: Polymicrobial infections comprised 29.9% of SSIs after spinal surgery, and most polymicrobial infections (70.0%) were caused by two species of bacteria only. There was no difference between the groups in terms of clinical manifestations and severity. In total, 96 bacterial strains were isolated from the spinal wounds: 60 strains were gram-positive and 36 were gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacter cloacae were cultured in order of the frequency of appearance. CONCLUSIONS: Most polymicrobial infections were caused by two bacterial species after spinal surgery. There was no difference in clinical manifestations or severity between polymicrobial and monomicrobial infections.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Body Mass Index ; Coinfection ; Debridement ; Drainage ; Enterobacter cloacae ; Escherichia coli ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Leukocyte Count ; Neutrophils ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies* ; Spine ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; Surgeons ; Surgical Wound Infection ; Wounds and Injuries

Objective To investigate the osteogenic differentiation potency of ligament cells in thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (TOLF) and analyze further by using transcriptome high-throughput sequencing.Methods Clinically,the patients with non-TOLF and TOLF (n=10 in each group) who underwent surgery in our hospital from October 2015 to April 2016 were included in this study.The primary ligament cells that derived from the two groups were separately cultured and induced osteogenesis with 15％ strength of cyclic mechanical stress for 12h and 24h using a device called Flexcell FX-4000.The ALP activity was determined to evaluate the osteogenesis using quantitative analysis and ALP staining assay.Real-time PCR and westernblotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of osteogenic-related genes including ALP,BMP-2 and Osteocalcin.Then,three patients in each group were included in the study of transcriptome high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis using Illumina HiSeqTM 2500 sequencing platform to compare further.Results The morphology of the cells that derived from two groups was basically similar,all presented an elongate spindle-shape.To evaluate the ostogenesis,ALP activity assays including quantitative and staining assays were performed.Under microscope,the ALP staining in the TOLF group was higher than non-TOLF group and increased with the longer duration of stress induction.The result of semi-quantitative analysis showed the stained area and positive cells in TOLF group were more than non-TOLF group significantly at 0 h,and were increased with the induction.The results of quantitative analysis showed ALP activity in the TOLF group was significantly higher than non-TOLF group and were increased with the induction significantly all the time.But no significant change in ALP staining or quantitative analysis was found in non-TOLF.The results of real-time PCR indicated that the expression of ostegenic markers above in the TOLF group was more than non-TOLF group significantly except the expression of OCN at 0 h.The expression of the three ostegenic markers in TOLF group was increased with the stress induction for 12 h and 24 h significantly except the expression of BMP-2 and OCN at 12 h.The results of western-blotting indicated that the expression of the three ostegenic markers above in the TOLF group was more than non-TOLF group significantly except the expression of ALP at 0 h.The expression of the three ostegenic markers in TOLF group was increased with the stress induction for 12 h and 24 h,but only the expression of ALP at 24 h was significant.And no significant change in the expression of mRNA and protein was found in non-TOLF group.In the transcriptome analysis,671 genes of TOLF group were up-regulated and 314 genes were found to be down-regulated compared to the control group.In addition,22 significant GO terms associated with upregulated genes were found to be closely related to ossification.Conclusion TOLF ligament cells have high osteogenic differentiation potency,which could express obvious osteogenesis-related gene spectrum,and differentially expressed genes including L1RL1 、PTHLH、DKK1 、BMP6、SPP1 and FGF1 may be related with the osteogenic potency of ligament cells in thoracic ossification.

OBJECTIVETo study the risk factors for deep surgical site infection after posterior thoracic and lumbar surgery.

METHODSThe medical data of the patients with deep surgical site infection after posterior thoracic and lumbar surgery from January 2008 to December 2013 were reviewed.For each case patient, 3 non-infected controls were randomly selected from the same database of all patients who underwent posterior thoracic and lumbar surgery.Patients who had diagnosis of spinal fractures, infection, tuberculosis, and tumor were excluded. The microbiology and related factors were collected and analyzed. T-test, χ2 test and Logistic analysis were used to analyze the data, respectively.

RESULTSNinety-nine cases were identified (infection group), 57 men and 42 women, average 54.5 years old, average body mass index 26.4 kg/m2. Fifty-five (55.6%) patients were identified with organisms, and the most common identified organism was Staphylococcus Aureus. Compared with the cases in the control group (44.4 g/L), the cases in the infection group (43.1 g/L) had a significant low albumin preoperatively (P=0.001). Multivariate Logistic analysis showed that obesity (OR=2.102, 95% CI=1.259-3.508), diabetes (OR=1.926, 95% CI=1.041-3.563), number of surgical levels≥3 (OR=1.985, 95% CI=1.130-3.486) were risk factors for this complication (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONFor deep surgical site infection after posterior thoracic and lumbar surgery, obesity, diabetes, preoperative low albumin and number of surgical levels≥3 are risk factors.

Female ; Humans ; Lumbosacral Region ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Orthopedics ; Risk Factors ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Surgical Wound Infection ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; surgery

Objective To investigate the safety and efficiency of thoracic laminectomy with dekyphosis for thoracic myelopathy due to multi-segmental ossification of the posterior ligaments.Methods The clinical data of five cases of thoracic myelopathy due to multi-segmental ossification of longitudinal ligaments who were surgically treated in our hospital between August 2012 and March 2013 were retrospectively analyzed,among which two were male and the other three were female,with an average age of 52 (range,45-56) years old.The pre-operative duration ranged from 2 months to 6 years.All five cases were suffering from progressive bilateral partial paraplegia with an average preoperative JOA score 3.8 (range,3-6),an average segment-number of ossification of the posterior ligaments 7.6 (range,5-10),and also an average segment-number of 5.0 (range,2-10) ossification of the ligamentum flavum.All the five cases showed different kyphosis at the stenotic area of thoracic spine,with an average kyphotic angle (Cobb) of 35.8° (range,22°-56°).Their pre-operative Japanese Orthopaedic Association score (JOA) was 3.8 averagely (range,3-6).Clinical features,operation time,blood loss,perioperative complications and postoperative outcome were recorded.Results The segment number of laminectomy of these five cases was 8.2 averagely.The segment number of dekyphosis was 2 for 2 cases and 1 for the other 3 cases,with a average dekyphotic degree of 7.8° (range,2°-15°).The average operation time was 6.3 hours (range,5.5-7.0 hours) and the average blood loss was 3900 ml.The perioperative complications included cerebrospinal fluid leakage in 4 cases who were treated conservatively,and epidural hematoma in 1 case who underwent reoperation for removing the hematoma.All cases were followed up for 21 to 27 months,and their average final JOA score was 10,with an average recovery rate of 85.6％,and a rate of excellent or good was 100％ by the modified Epstein standard.Conclusion The result of thoracic laminectomy combined with dekyphosis for thoracic myelopathy due to multi-segmental ossification of longitudinal ligaments is quite satisfying,however this procedure is demanding with a long operation time,a huge blood loss and a high complication rate.