Cryotherapy ; Humans ; Hypopharynx ; Respiratory System

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical therapeutic effect of fire needling stripping after local anesthesia, simple fire needling and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy on verruca vulgaris. METHODS: A total of 900 patients with verruca vulgaris were randomized into a fire needling stripping group (300 cases, 2 cases dropped off), a fire needling group (300 cases, 4 cases dropped off) and a liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group (300 cases, 5 cases dropped off). After local anesthesia of compound lidocaine cream, fire needling therapy was adopted, and the necrotic tissue of verruca was stripped in the fire needling stripping group. Simple fire needling therapy was adopted in the fire needling group, without local anesthesia and stripping. Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy was adopted in the liquid nitrogen cryotherapy group. The treatment was given once a week, and totally 3 weeks were required in the 3 groups. The skin lesion scores of number, area, thickness, color, pruritus, isomorphism and the level of T lymphocyte (CD RESULTS: Compared before treatment, the skin lesion scores were decreased ( CONCLUSION Fire needling stripping after local anesthesia can effectively treat the verruca vulgaris, improve the skin lesion and immunity, its therapeutic effect is superior to simple fire needling and liquid nitrogen cryotherapy.
Anesthesia, Local ; Cryotherapy ; Humans ; Treatment Outcome ; Vascular Surgical Procedures ; Warts/therapy*

BACKGROUND: Bronchoscopy is a useful diagnostic and therapeutic tool. However, the clinical use of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) in adults with acute respiratory failure for diagnostic and invasive procedures has not been well evaluated. We present our experiences of well-tolerated diagnostic bronchoscopy as well as cases of improved saturation in hypoxaemic patients after a therapeutic bronchoscopic procedure. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data of hypoxaemic patients who had undergone bronchoscopy for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes from October 2015 to February 2017. RESULTS: Ten patients (44–75 years of age) were enrolled. The clinical purposes of bronchoscopy were for diagnosis in seven patients and for intervention in three patients. For the diagnoses, we performed bronchoalveolar lavage in six patients. One patient underwent endobronchial ultrasonography with transbronchial needle aspiration of a lymph node to investigate tumour involvement. Patients who underwent bronchoscopy for therapeutic interventions had endobronchial mass or blood clot removal with cryotherapy for bleeding control. The mean saturation (SpO2) of pre-bronchoscopy in room air was 84.1%. The lowest and highest mean saturation with HFNC during the procedure was 95% and 99.4, respectively. The mean saturation in room air post-bronchoscopy was 87.4%, which was 3.3% higher than the mean room air SpO2 pre-bronchoscopy. Seven patients with diagnostic bronchoscopy had no hypoxic event. Three patients with interventional bronchoscopy showed improvement in saturation after the procedure. Bronchoscopy was well tolerated in all 10 cases. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the use of HFNC in hypoxaemic patients during diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy procedures has clinical effectiveness.
Adult ; Anoxia ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Bronchoscopy ; Catheters* ; Cryotherapy ; Diagnosis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Needles ; Oxygen ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome* ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
Cryotherapy ; Foot ; Warts

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of oral cryotherapy on oral mucositis, reactive oxygen series, inflammatory cytokines, and oral comfort in patients undergoing chemotherapy for gynecologic cancers. METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=25, receiving oral cryotherapy during chemotherapy) and the control group (n=25, receiving the usual care consisting of 0.9% normal saline gargles three times before meals). Oral mucositis was assessed using the oral assessment guide, while oral comfort was assessed using the oral perception guide. Reactive oxygen series was measured as total oxidant stress, and the level of two inflammatory markers, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), were examined. The data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the oral mucositis score, reactive oxygen series score, TNF-α level, and oral comfort score between the two groups, and there were significant changes over time and in the group-by-time interactions. There was a significant difference in the IL-6 score between the two groups, but there were no significant changes over time or in the group-by-time interactions. CONCLUSION: The study results revealed that oral cryotherapy was more effective than the usual care regime of normal saline gargles for reducing oral mucositis, reactive oxygen series, and inflammatory cytokines and for improving oral comfort in gynecologic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Cryotherapy ; Cytokines ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; Mucositis ; Oxygen ; Stomatitis ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Circumscribed palmar or plantar hypokeratosis is a rare condition characterized by the occurrence of an erythematous, well-circumscribed, and depressed macule or patch on the palms or soles. Histopathologically, it is characterized by sharp, stair-like abrupt thinning of the horny layer between the affected and unaffected skin. The pathogenesis of this condition remains unclear. Recently, the human papilloma virus has been implicated as a possible etiological contributor. Circumscribed palmar or plantar hypokeratosis usually shows a benign course. Previous reports have not described malignant changes in these lesions. However, its association with actinic keratosis has been reported in a previous case. We report a case of circumscribed palmar hypokeratosis showing bowenoid epidermal change with expression of the human papilloma virus types 6 and 16 in a patient who was successfully treated with ingenol mebutate gel and cryotherapy.
Cryotherapy ; Humans* ; Keratosis, Actinic ; Papillomaviridae* ; Skin

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the progression risk of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) with different clinical managements. METHODS: Women with their first diagnosis of ASCUS cytology were retrieved from the national cervical cancer screening database and linked to the national health insurance research database to identify the management of these women. The incidences of developing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 and invasive cervical cancer (CIN3+) were calculated, and the hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the National Taiwan University Hospital and is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02063152). RESULTS: There were total 69,741 women included. Various management strategies including colposcopy, cervical biopsies and/or endocervical curettage, and cryotherapy, failed to reduce the risk of subsequent CIN3+ compared with repeat cervical smears. Loop electrosurgical excision procedure/conization significantly decreased risk of subsequent CIN3+ lesions (HR=0.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.07–0.68; p=0.010). Women in their 40s–50s had an approximately 30% risk reduction compared to other age groups. Women with a previous screening history >5 years from the present ASCUS diagnosis were at increased risk for CIN3+ (HR=1.24; 95% CI=1.03–1.49; p=0.020). CONCLUSION: In women of first-time ASCUS cytology, a program of repeat cytology can be an acceptable clinical option in low-resource settings. Caution should be taken especially in women with remote cervical screening history more than 5 years.
Atypical Squamous Cells of the Cervix* ; Biopsy ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia* ; Cohort Studies* ; Colposcopy ; Cryotherapy ; Curettage ; Diagnosis ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mass Screening ; National Health Programs ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Risk Reduction Behavior ; Taiwan ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Vaginal Smears

For the several decades, the treatment of clinically localized prostate cancers has been largely represented by surgery, radiotherapy, and observation. Until recently, this has not changed much. In particular, curative treatment through surgery or radiotherapy is considered to be of no great benefit in elderly patients with low-risk groups. Thus, these strategies are recommended only in moderate or high-risk patients with a life expectancy of 10 years or more. In general, surgery and radiotherapy have been reported to be similar in terms of oncologic outcomes, but the level 1 evidence was lacking to support this to date. Recent advances in imaging modalities have led to the introduction of treatments for the concept of focal therapy, such as high-intensity frequency ultrasound or cryotherapy. Subsequently, positive results have been reported in terms of functional outcomes. However, the level of evidence is not high due to the short follow-up period and the absence of large-scale prospective studies. For the reasons described above, counseling and decision-making were not straightforward. Consequently, the treatment strategy for each individual patient was determined mainly on the risk of incontinence, erectile dysfunction, or other adverse effects of radiotherapy. To overcome these limitations, substantial studies have been reported evaluating survival outcomes and complications following treatments of localized prostate cancer for the past several years. In this review, we aimed to summarize recent literatures on surgery, radiotherapy, and expectant management, which have been the mainstays of treatment for localized prostate cancer; and introduce several treatments for the concept of focal therapy.
Aged ; Counseling ; Cryotherapy ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Life Expectancy ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Radiotherapy ; Ultrasonography

Candidiasis is a common fungal infection that usually affects the oral cavity. It is occasionally difficult to diagnose candidiasis because of its various clinical manifestations. Moreover, chronic inflammation of the lips can obscure clarification of its disease entity in patients with chronic cheilitis. Here we aimed to investigate patients with refractory chronic cheilitis who were initially diagnosed with candidiasis. We screened patients with lip lesions that were clinically suspected to have candidiasis. Our two 65-year-old patients with refractory chronic cheilitis were initially diagnosed with candidal infection. Punch biopsies were performed of the lesions and a diagnosis of actinic cheilitis was made in both patients. Since we did not note prominent improvement after conservative treatment and cryotherapy, we applied 0.015% ingenol mebutate gel for further treatment and then observed significant improvement.
Actins* ; Aged ; Biopsy ; Candidiasis ; Cheilitis* ; Cryotherapy ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lip ; Mouth

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA) affects anagen hair follicles resulting in non-scarring hair loss. Since its introduction, superficial cryotherapy has been used as one of the meaningful treatment modalities for AA. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to clarify the therapeutic efficacy and safety of superficial cryotherapy for treatment of AA. METHODS: In 19 patients with multiple bilateral AA patches on their scalp, superficial cryotherapy was performed on the right side, every 2 weeks. Prednicarbate 0.25% solution was applied twice a day to both the treated and the control sides. Clinical improvement was estimated using the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score by 3 different dermatologists, along with the changes in terminal and vellus hair count and hair thickness analyzed by phototrichogram. RESULTS: After 4 months of treatment, mean terminal hair count on the right scalp was 1.6-fold increased (p=0.005), while mean terminal hair count on the left scalp showed no significant change (110.1% increase, p=0.285). Mean SALT score decrease on the right was 4-fold greater than that on the left (40.7% and 9.6%), without statistical significance (p=0.282). Mean vellus hair count and mean hair thickness did not show significant changes after superficial cryotherapy. No remarkable adverse event was observed. CONCLUSION: Superficial cryotherapy is an efficacious treatment modality with advantages of simplicity and noninvasiveness. It can be considered as a meaningful therapeutic modality for AA, especially when the disease status is limited to minimal to mild, or the conventional AA treatment is not applicable.
Alopecia Areata* ; Alopecia* ; Cryotherapy* ; Hair ; Hair Follicle ; Humans ; Prospective Studies* ; Scalp