Objective To investigate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)combined with shear wave elastography(SWE)in the diagnosis of liver tumors.Methods This study was conducted according to the PRISMA guideline,with a PROSPERO registration number of CRD42023491288.PubMed,Embase,the Cochrane Library,CNKI,VIP,and Wanfang Data were searched for articles on CEUS combined with SWE in the diagnosis of liver tumors published from January 2000 to October 2023,and a total of 12 articles were included,with 1 328 patients in total.The QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the quality of the articles included.Stata 15.0 software was used to calculate pooled sensitivity,specificity,positive likelihood ratio,negative likelihood ratio,diagnostic odds ratio,and heterogeneity.The summary receiver operating characteristic(SROC)curve was plotted,and the area under the SROC curve(AUC)was calculated.Results There were 1 457 lesions for the patients included,among whom there were 764 malignant lesions and 693 benign lesions,with a positive rate of 52.44%and a negative rate of 47.56%.Calculations obtained a pooled sensitivity of 0.94(95%confidence interval[CI]:0.91—0.96),a specificity of 0.92(95%CI:0.87—0.95),a positive likelihood ratio of 12.00(95%CI:7.40—19.40),a negative likelihood ratio of 0.06(95%CI:0.04—0.10),and a diagnostic odds ratio of 191(95%CI:87—417).The tests for heterogeneity showed Q=54.78,df=11.00,P<0.001,and I2=79.92%(95%CI:69.18%—90.66%),with an AUC of 0.98.Conclusion CEUS combined with SWE has a relatively high diagnostic value for benign and malignant liver tumors and thus holds promise for clinical application.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical effect of orbital fat releasing and repositioning through supra-suborbicularis oculi fat (SOOF) in lower eyelid blepharoplasty.Methods:The authors retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients who received lower eyelid blepharoplasty in the Department of Plastic Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital from January 2017 to January 2023. Lower eyelid blepharoplasty with orbital fat releasing and repositioning through supra-SOOF was performed. The tear trough ligament and orbicularis retaining ligament were released between the orbicularis oculi muscle and SOOF via skin approach. Orbital septal fat was released to this space, lateral fat flap was fixed to the SOOF capsule, medial fat flap was fixed to the superficial fascia of the levator labii superioris muscle, orbital septum was repositioned, and lateral canthus was suspended. After the operation, lower eyelid morphology and complications were evaluated.Results:A total of 58 patients were enrolled, including 8 males and 50 females with the age of (49.8 ± 10.4) years (32 to 70 years). All patients had obvious lower eyelid bags on both sides, combining the tear trough deformity and (or) palabromalar groove. Fifty-seven patients were followed up for (29.1 ± 16.9) months (6-67 months). All patients were satisfied with the operation. The appearance of lower eyelid was greatly improved, with elimination of fat prominence and tear trough deformity. Mild lower eyelid ectropion was observed two cases 1 week after the operation, and were relieved by moderate massage 2 weeks postoperatively. In one case, mild lower eyelid retraction was observed 1 month postoperatively, with no complaint of discomfort or further treatments. Bulbar conjunctival hemorrhage occurred in 1 case and recovered without further interventions.Conclusion:Lower eyelid blepharoplasty with orbital fat releasing and reposting through supra-SOOF can effectively release the tear trough ligament and the orbicularis retaining ligament, with stronger fat fixation and less surgical difficulty. After the operation, eyelid contour was flat and tight with fewer complications and higher patient satisfaction.

Objective To carry out carrier screening for spinal muscular atrophy(SMA)in 3 302 preg-nant women from Xinjiang region and preliminarily determine the SMA carrier frequency among pregnant women in the region.Methods A total of 29 089 pregnant women who underwent prenatal visits at this hos-pital from April 2020 to February 2023 were educated,of whom 3 302 were received SMA carrier screening.SMA carriers were screened by detecting the copy numbers of SMN1 exons 7(E7)and 8(E8)using quantita-tive fluorescence PCR.Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification(MLPA)was used for prenatal diag-nosis of high-risk fetuses in couples who were both SMA carriers.Results The acceptance rate of SMA carri-ers screening was 11.35％.Among the 3 302 pregnant women,58 were found to be SMA carriers,and the total carrier frequency was 1.76％(1/57).Among them,there were 45 cases of Han ethnicity,with a carrying fre-quency of 1.63％(1/61),and there were 13 cases of ethnic minorities,with a carrying frequency of 2.39％(1/42).Among the 58 carriers,46 spouses were received SMA screening,and the results showed that two couples were both SMA carriers.Further prenatal diagnosis was performed,and the results of MLPA indicated that the fetuses were all heterozygous deletions of SMN1 E7 and E8,suggesting continued pregnancy.Conclusion This study has preliminarily determined the SMA carrier frequency among pregnant women in Xinjiang region.SMA carrier screening in pregnant women and prenatal diagnosis of high-risk fetuses are of great significance for the prevention and control of birth defects.

Objective:To investigate the causality between intestinal flora and hypertrophic scars (HS) of human.Methods:This study was a study based on two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) analysis. The data on intestinal flora ( n=18 473) and HS ( n=208 248) of human were obtained from the genome-wide association study database. Genetically variable genes at five levels (phylum, class, order, family, and genus) of known intestinal flora, i.e., single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), were extracted as instrumental variables for linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis. Human genotype-phenotype association analysis was performed using PhenoScanner V2 database to exclude SNPs unrelated to HS in intestinal flora and analyze whether the selected SNPs were weak instrumental variables. The causal relationship between intestinal flora SNPs and HS was analyzed through four methods of TSMR analysis, namely inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, weighted median, and weighted mode. Scatter plots of significant results from the four aforementioned analysis methods were plotted to analyze the correlation between intestinal flora SNPs and HS. Both IVW test and MR-Egger regression test were used to assess the heterogeneity of intestinal flora SNPs, MR-Egger regression test and MR-PRESSO outlier test were used to assess the horizontal multiplicity of intestinal flora SNPs, and leave-one-out sensitivity analysis was used to determine whether HS was caused by a single SNP in the intestinal flora. Reverse TSMR analyses were performed for HS SNPs and genus Intestinimonas or genus Ruminococcus2, respectively, to detect whether there was reverse causality between them. Results:A total of 196 known intestinal flora, belonging to 9 phyla, 16 classes, 20 orders, 32 families, and 119 genera, were obtained, and multiple SNPs were obtained from each flora as instrumental variables. LD analysis showed that the SNPs of the intestinal flora were consistent with the hypothesis that genetic variation was strongly associated with exposure factors, except for rs1000888, rs12566247, and rs994794. Human genotype-phenotype association analysis showed that none of the selected SNPs after LD analysis was excluded and there were no weak instrumental variables. IVW, MR-Egger regression, weighted median, and weighted mode of TSMR analysis showed that both genus Intestinimonas and genus Ruminococcus2 were causally associated with HS. Among them, forest plots of IVW and MR-Egger regression analyses also showed that 16 SNPs (the same SNPs number of this genus below) of genus Intestinimonas and 15 SNPs (the same SNPs number of this genus below) of genus Ruminococcus2 were protective factors for HS. Further, IVW analysis showed that genus Intestinimonas SNPs (with odds ratio of 0.62, 95% confidence interval of 0.41-0.93, P<0.05) and genus Ruminococcus2 SNPs (with odds ratio of 0.62, 95% confidence interval of 0.40-0.97, P<0.05) were negatively correlated with the risk of HS. Scatter plots showed that SNPs of genus Intestinimonas and genus Ruminococcus2 were protective factors of HS. Both IVW test and MR-Egger regression test showed that SNPs of genus Intestinimonas (with Q values of 5.73 and 5.76, respectively, P>0.05) and genus Ruminococcus2 (with Q values of 13.67 and 15.61, respectively, P>0.05) were not heterogeneous. MR-Egger regression test showed that the SNPs of genus Intestinimonas and genus Ruminococcus2 had no horizontal multiplicity (with intercepts of 0.01 and 0.06, respectively, P>0.05); MR-PRESSO outlier test showed that the SNPs of genus Intestinimonas and genus Ruminococcus2 had no horizontal multiplicity ( P>0.05). Leave-one-out sensitivity analysis showed that no single intestinal flora SNP drove the occurrence of HS. Reverse TSMR analysis showed no reverse causality between HS SNPs and genus Intestinimonas or genus Ruminococcus2 (with odds ratios of 1.01 and 0.99, respectively, 95% confidence intervals of 0.97-1.06 and 0.96-1.04, respectively, P>0.05). Conclusions:There is a causal relationship between intestinal flora and HS of human, in which genus Intestinimonas and genus Ruminococcus2 have a certain effect on inhibiting HS.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical effect of orbital fat releasing and repositioning through supra-suborbicularis oculi fat (SOOF) in lower eyelid blepharoplasty.Methods:The authors retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients who received lower eyelid blepharoplasty in the Department of Plastic Surgery, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital from January 2017 to January 2023. Lower eyelid blepharoplasty with orbital fat releasing and repositioning through supra-SOOF was performed. The tear trough ligament and orbicularis retaining ligament were released between the orbicularis oculi muscle and SOOF via skin approach. Orbital septal fat was released to this space, lateral fat flap was fixed to the SOOF capsule, medial fat flap was fixed to the superficial fascia of the levator labii superioris muscle, orbital septum was repositioned, and lateral canthus was suspended. After the operation, lower eyelid morphology and complications were evaluated.Results:A total of 58 patients were enrolled, including 8 males and 50 females with the age of (49.8 ± 10.4) years (32 to 70 years). All patients had obvious lower eyelid bags on both sides, combining the tear trough deformity and (or) palabromalar groove. Fifty-seven patients were followed up for (29.1 ± 16.9) months (6-67 months). All patients were satisfied with the operation. The appearance of lower eyelid was greatly improved, with elimination of fat prominence and tear trough deformity. Mild lower eyelid ectropion was observed two cases 1 week after the operation, and were relieved by moderate massage 2 weeks postoperatively. In one case, mild lower eyelid retraction was observed 1 month postoperatively, with no complaint of discomfort or further treatments. Bulbar conjunctival hemorrhage occurred in 1 case and recovered without further interventions.Conclusion:Lower eyelid blepharoplasty with orbital fat releasing and reposting through supra-SOOF can effectively release the tear trough ligament and the orbicularis retaining ligament, with stronger fat fixation and less surgical difficulty. After the operation, eyelid contour was flat and tight with fewer complications and higher patient satisfaction.

Objective:To explore the application experience of autologous fat transplantation in improving the facial contour of young cosmetic patients.Methods:From October 2017 to October 2020, the plastic surgery department of Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital admitted 10 young cosmetic patients with poor facial contours, including 1 male and 9 females, aged 18-35 years, with an average of 28 years. Autologous subcutaneous fat was harvested by liposuction and static purification and then injected into the areas with poor facial contour with an amount of 10%-30% over.Results:The facial contour of 10 young cosmetic patients was well improved, and there were no postoperative complications such as facial asymmetry, local uneven skin, skin infection and necrosis or fat embolism. 8 cases were filled once and 2 cases were filled twice. The patients were followed up for 6-24 months and the postoperative effect was good. The excellent and good rate evaluated by patients, plastic surgeon and the third party doctor was more than 80%.Conclusions:The use of autologous fat to improve the facial contour of young cosmetic patients is easy to operate with less trauma and good effect, which is worthy of promotion.

Objective:To retrospectively review the efficacy of enhanced epidural anesthesia in the patients undergoing cesarean section.Methods:The data from patients who underwent cesarean section in our hospital from August 2008 to December 2021 were retrospectively collected. The method of epidural anesthesia, drug dosage, onset time, blocking level, anesthesia effect, remedial medication, and complications related to the method were recorded. The main points of enhanced epidural anesthesia included: ① test negative pressure by rotating the epidural puncture needle in situ to determine the position of the needle tip; ② catheterization after administering local anesthetic through epidural puncture needle to assess the clinical application of this technique. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 134 anesthesiologists with qualifications for epidural procedures. The questionnaire addressed whether to perform routine needle rotation during epidural procedures, direction of needle rotation, and the percentage of the dosage of local anesthetic administered through puncture needle. Results:A total of 10 054 patients received epidural anesthesia (10 016 cases) and switched to general anesthesia because of poor epidural effect or intraoperative emergencies (38 cases) were enrolled. The consumption of local anesthetics for epidural anesthesia was 18 (15, 20) ml.There were 7 287 cases with block plane records, of which the ratio of the block level reached T 6-8 was 86.84%. The time from the beginning of anesthesia to skin incision was 25 (20, 30) min. Sixteen patients (0.159%) switched to general anesthesia because of poor epidural effect.Among 10 016 patients underwent epidural anesthesia, 925 patients (9.235%) received intravenous adjunctive drugs.No patients experienced total spinal anesthesia, 25 patients (0.248%) had epidural perforation due to puncture or needle rotation, and 4 cases (0.039%) local anesthetic intoxication, 3 cases (0.030%) postoperative nerve injury, and 142 patients (1.412%) requiring intervention with vasoactive drugs due to hemodynamic instability within 30 min after epidural administration. Questionnaire survey: The proportion of anesthesiologists rotating epidural puncture needles was 85.1%, and the proportion of anesthesiologists using epidural puncture needles to inject local anesthesia drugs with a dose greater than 50% of the total dose before catheterization was 84.2%. Conclusions:Enhanced epidural anesthesia can provide effective anesthesia for the patients undergoing cesarean section without increasing the risk of complications related to epidural procedures.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of retrograde intrarenal surgery(RIRS) with holmium laser lithotripsy in the management of calyceal diverticular calculi.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on 56 patients with calyceal diverticular calculi admitted to Huashan Hospital of Fudan University from January 2017 to May 2020. The 56 cases included 25 males and 31 females. The average age was 37.4 (ranging 22-67) years. Calyceal diverticular stones were located in the upper pole of the kidney in 32 cases, middle pole in 16 case and lower pole in 8 cases, with 32 cases on the left side and 24 cases on the right side. Multiple stones occurred in 46 cases, and single stone in 10 cases. The mean diameter of stones was 11.5 (ranging 3.0-17.5)mm. All 56 patients had different degrees of lumbar pain and/or hematuria preoperatively. Among them, 17 patients received extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) with failure. Moreover, 9 cases suffered with urinary infection. All 56 patients with calyceal diverticular calculi underwent retrograde flexible ureterorenoscopic Ho: YAG laser lithotripsy under general anesthesia. The flexible ureterorenoscope was advanced into the kidney through the ureteral access sheath, looking for the cervical orifice of calyceal diverticulum. After finding renal diverticulum, holmium laser was used to incise and expand the neck or weak part of the diverticulum. The diverticular calculi were fragmented into particles less than 3 mm. Larger fragments were removed through a nitinol stone basket one by one. A F6 D-J stent was indwelled. The intraoperative conditions, postoperative complication rate and stone free rate were statistically analyzed.Results:The calyceal diverticular calculi in all 56 patients were discovered, and the diverticulum orifice were identified in 48 patients(85.7%). 53 of them underwent calyceal diverticular calculi fragmentation successfully. Lithotripsy failed in 3 cases, as the calculi were incarcerated in the lower pole calyceal diverticulum with a long narrow neck and the limitation of flexure at the end of the flexible ureteroscope. Two of them underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy instead due to the calculi located in the posterior calyx. In another one case, ESWL was performed as the calculi located in the anterior calyx. Of the 17 cases received unsuccessful ESWL, RIRS was successful in 16 cases (94.1%). The mean operative time was 68.1(ranging 37-105)min, and mean hospitalization was 1.8 (ranging 1-3)d. The complication rate was 15.1%(8/53). All of these complications were mild (Clavien Ⅰ-Ⅱ). No serious complications such as perforation of the renal pelvis and ureter or major bleeding were occurred. After mean postoperative follow-up of 6.3(ranging 3-12) months, the stone-free rate was 83.0% (44/53) after the first procedure. 7 cases with residual stones ≥4mm received a second procedure. Among them, 6 cases received flexible ureterorenoscopy and the other one received ESWL and external physical vibration lithecbole therapy. The stone-free rate and symptom remission rate was 92.5% (49/53) and 96.2% (51/53) respectively after the second procedure, and no recurrence of calyceal diverticular calculi was observed during the stage of fllow-up.Conclusions:RIRS with holmium laser lithotripsy in the treatment of calyceal diverticular calculi, using the body's natural cavities, is a minimally invasive, safe and efficient strategy with slight complications. RIRS with holmium laser lithotripsy is an optional treatment for calyceal diverticular calculi.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic cryoablation (ECA) in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).Methods:The clinical data of 9 patients with UTUC treated with ECA from April 2018 to September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients consisted of 3 males and 6 females, with median age of 76 years old (ranging from 50 to 88 years old). Among the patients, 6 cases had tumors of ureter, 1 case had tumor of renal pelvis and 2 cases had tumors of renal pelvis combined with ureter. Of the 9 patients, two had bilateral UTUC, six were presented with single lesion, three were presented with multiple lesion. The size of tumors were (1.53±0.91)cm. The tumors of all cases were localized (≤stage T 2), and there was no carcinoma or suspicious lymph node/distant metastasis. All patients enrolled in this study had strong will to choose kidney-sparing therapy. Biopsy, resection of intraluminal lesion with laser and cryoablation under ureteroscopy or percutaneous nephroscopy was performed under general aneasthesia.Ureteroscopy was performed 3 months after cryoablation. Perioperative complications and follow-up results were recorded and assessed. Results:Cryoablation was successfully performed in patients under ureteroscopy (n=8) or nephroscopy (n=1). The median cryoablation time was 6 (ranging from 4-16) minutes. The median follow-up was 16 months (ranging from 4-24 months). No tumor recurrence was observed at primary sites during follow-up. Two patients with multiple lesions were observed denovo ureteral neoplasms outside the primary sites 3 months and 6 months after cryoablation and treated with second cryoablation. One case died due to cardiovascular events 4 months after surgery. One patient underwent ureteral stricture during follow-up and received ureteroscopic balloon dilatation. No recurrent stricture was found in this case during the subsequent follow-up of 16 months. The other 5 cases showed no recurrence or complications like stricture during follow-up.Conclusions:ECA could probably be a promising treatment for localized UTUC. No recurrence in primary site and low incidence of ureteral stricture was observed during follow-up. The efficacy and safety of ECA need to be verified with large sample study.

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has reached pandemic status, and its pathogeny is the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).2019-nCoV mainly causes human respiratory infection and pulmonary inflammation; however, some COVID-19 patients are found to present viral conjunctivitis.Bilateral viral conjunctivitis is an initial symptom in some other cases.It is therefore, vital to understand whether the eye can be directly infected by the virus, as well as the consequences of the viral infection in the ocular tissue.2019-nCoV invades human cells primarily by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors.ACE2 expresses, not only in the lungs, kidneys, and cardiovascular system, but also in human conjunctiva, cornea, aqueous humor, and retina.Therefore, it is crucial to comprehensively expand the present understanding of the COVID-19 infection mechanism and pathogenesis by clarifying the distribution of ACE2 in the eye.ACE2 is not only the receptor of 2019-nCoV, but also a key enzyme in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). RAS, which appears relatively independent in the eye, plays a modulating role and is associated with many common eye diseases.This article reviews the distribution and clinical significance of ACE2 in ocular tissues.