Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of laparoscopic surgery and interventional embolization for varicocele.Methods A computerized retrieval of academic papers concerning the laparoscopic surgery and interventional embolization for varicocele from the databases of Weipu Science and technology periodical database,CNKI science and technology core periodical database by using"interventional""laparoscopy"and"varicocele"as keywords,as well as from PubMed database by using"interventional embolization""varicocele""laparoscope"as keywords was conducted.The retrieval time period was from the establishment of the database to June 2023.The semen concentration,sperm survival rate,pregnancy rate,complications and length of hospital stay were compared between laparoscopic surgery and interventional embolization.RevMan 5.4 software was used to make meta-analysis of the results.Results A total of 8 articles were included in this analysis.There were statistically significant differences in the length of hospital stay(P＜0.000 1)and medical cost(P=0.005)between interventional embolization group and laparoscopic surgery group,while no statistically significant differences in the semen quality(P=0.85),pregnancy rate(P=0.20),sperm survival rate(P=0.28),complications(P=0.55)existed between the two groups.The difference in surgical effect of different degrees of varicocele between the two groups was not statistically significant(P=0.59).Conclusion For the treatment of varicocele,laparoscopic surgery and interventional embolization have the similar effectiveness and safety,while the length of hospital stay and the medical cost in the interventional embolization group are significantly lower than those in the laparoscopic surgery group.

Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics of patients with occupational melanosis. Methods Diagnostic data of 69 patients with occupational melanosis was analyzed using retrospective analysis. Results The main occupational hazards for the 69 patients with occupational melanosis were coal tar, petroleum and its fractionated products, pigments and dyes and their intermediates, rubber additives and rubber products. The median length of occupational exposure and disease latency were 8.0 and 6.0 years, respectively, with a highly positive correlation between them (Spearman correlation coefficients=0.962, P<0.01). Skin lesions were mainly found on exposed areas such as the face-to-neck and limbs, prevalence of 94.2% and 75.4% respectively. And 78.3% of patients had skin lesion on more than two sites. The lesions were mostly in the form of irregular flakes (59.4%), with a gray-black color (44.9%). About 43.5% of patients experienced skin itching. Complete blood count, liver function, and kidney function were all within normal ranges. Skin biopsy results showed that epidermal hyperkeratosis, thinning of the spinous layer, liquefaction degeneration of basal cells, increased superficial dermal melanocytes, and infiltration of lymphocytes, histiocytes, and melanocytes around the blood vessels. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) detection showed focal liquefaction degeneration of basal cells in the lesions, with a significant infiltration of melanocytes and inflammatory cells in the dermal papillae and superficial layers. Conclusion The primary target organ of occupational melanocytes is the skin, and no damage to other organs was identified thus far. Results from skin biopsies and RCM examinations can be used for differential diagnosis.

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy and prognostic influencing factors of radical surgery for duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 741 duodenal GIST patients who under-went radical surgery in 17 medical centers, including 121 cases in Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 121 cases in Chinese PLA General Hospital, 116 cases in Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 77 cases in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 77 cases in West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 31 cases in Guangdong Provincial People′s Hospital, 24 cases in Fujian Cancer Hospital, 22 cases in Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 25 cases in Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, 19 cases in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 23 cases in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, 17 cases in Liaoning Cancer Hospital＆Institute, 17 cases in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, 15 cases in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 14 cases in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 14 cases in Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University and 8 cases in General Hospital of Chinese People′s Liberation Army Air Force, from January 2010 to April 2020 were collected. There were 346 males and 395 females, aged 55(range, 17?86)years. Observation indicators: (1) neoadjuvant treatment; (2) surgical and postoperative situations; (3) follow-up; (4) stratified analysis. Follow-up was conducted using outpatient examination or telephone interview. Patients were followed up once every 3?6 months during neoadjuvant therapy and once every 6?12 months after radical surgery to detect tumor recurrence and survival of patient up to April 2022. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was conducted using chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves and calculate survival rates. Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. The COX regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Propensity score matching was done by the 1∶1 nearest neighbor matching method, and the matching tolerance was 0.02. Results:(1) Neoadjuvant therapy. Of the 741 patients, 34 cases received neoadjuvant therapy for 8(range, 3?44)months. Cases assessed as partial response, stable disease and progressive disease before the radical surgery of the 34 cases were 21, 9, 4, respectively. The tumor diameter of the 34 patients before the neoadjuvant therapy and before the radical surgery were 8.0(range, 3.0?26.0)cm and 5.3(range, 3.0?18.0)cm, with the regression rate as 31.9%(range, ?166.7% to 58.3%). (2) Surgical and postoperative situations. Of the 741 patients, 34 cases underwent radical surgery after receiving neoadjuvant therapy, and 707 cases underwent radical surgery directly. All the 741 patients underwent radical surgery successfully, in which 633, 102 and 6 cases received open surgery, laparoscopic surgery and endoscopic treatment, respectively. Of the 633 cases receiving open surgery and the 102 cases receiving laparoscopic surgery, cases with surgical resection range as pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) was 238, and cases with surgical resection range as duodenal limited resection, including duodenal wedge resection, distal gastrectomy, segmental duodenal resection, local resection of duodenal tumor or segmental duodenum combined with subtotal gastrectomy, was 497, 226, 55, 204, 12. Of the 741 patients, 131 cases had post-operative complications including 113 cases with grade Ⅰ?Ⅱ complications and 18 cases with ≥ grade Ⅲ complications of the Clavien-Dindo classification. The duration of postoperative hospital stay of the 741 patients was 13(range, 4?120)days. Of the 707 patients receiving direct radical surgery, 371 cases were evaluated as extremely low risk, low risk, medium risk of the modified National Institutes of Health (NIH) risk classification after surgery, and 336 cases were evaluated as high risk in which 205 cases receive postoperative adjuvant imatinib therapy with the treatment time as 24(range, 6?110)months. (3) Follow-up. All the 741 patients were followed up for 58(range, 7?150)months. During the follow-up, 110 patients had tumor recurrence and metastasis. The 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival rates and 1-, 3-, 5-year disease-free survival rates of the 741 patients were 100.0%, 98.6%, 94.5% and 98.4%, 90.9%, 84.9%, respectively. The 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival rates and 1-, 3-, 5-year disease-free survival rates of the 707 patients receiving direct radical surgery were 100.0%, 98.5%, 94.3% and 98.4%, 91.1%, 85.4%, respectively. (4) Stratified analysis. ① Analysis of prognostic factors in patients undergoing radical surgery directly. Results of univariate analysis showed that primary tumor location, tumor diameter, mitotic count, modified NIH risk classification and tumor gene information were related factors affecting the overall survival of 707 patients with primary duodenal GIST who underwent direct radical surgery ( hazard ratio=0.43, 0.18, 0.22, 0.06, 0.29, 95% confidence intervals as 0.20?0.93, 0.09?0.35, 0.10?0.50, 0.03?0.12, 0.09?0.95, P<0.05). The primary tumor location, tumor diameter, mitotic count, modified NIH risk classification were related factors affecting the disease-free survival of 707 patients with primary duodenal GIST who underwent direct radical surgery ( hazard ratio=0.65, 0.25, 0.25, 0.10, 95% confidence intervals as 0.41?1.03, 0.17?0.37, 0.15?0.42, 0.07?0.15, P<0.05). Results of multivariate analysis showed that primary tumor located at the horizontal segment of duodenum, mitotic count >5/50 high power field, tumor gene KIT exon 9 mutation were independent risk factors affecting the overall survival of 365 patients with primary duodenal GIST after removing 342 patients without tumor gene information who underwent direct radical surgery ( hazard ratio=2.85, 2.73, 3.13, 95% confidence intervals as 1.12?7.20, 1.07?6.94, 1.23?7.93, P<0.05). Tumor diameter >5 cm and mitotic count >5/50 high power field were independent risk factors affecting the disease-free survival of 707 patients with primary duodenal GIST who underwent direct radical surgery ( hazard ratio=3.19, 2.98, 95% confidence intervals as 2.05?4.97, 1.99?4.45, P<0.05). ② Effect of postoperative adjuvant therapy on prognosis of high-risk patients of modified NIH risk classification. Of the 336 patients evaluated as high risk of the modified NIH risk classification, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 94.6% and 77.3% in the 205 cases with postoperative adjuvant therapy, versus 83.2% and 64.4% in the 131 cases without postoperative adjuvant therapy, showing significant differences between them ( χ2=8.39, 4.44, P<0.05). Of the 205 patients evaluated as high risk of the modified NIH risk classification who received postoperative adjuvant therapy, there were 106 cases receiving postoperative adjuvant therapy <36 months, with the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 87.1% and 58.7%, and there were 99 cases receiving post-operative adjuvant therapy ≥36 months, with the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 100.0% and 91.5%. There were significant differences in the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate between the 106 patients and the 99 patients ( χ2=13.92, 29.61, P<0.05). ③ Comparison of clinical efficacy of patients with different surgical methods. Before propensity score matching, cases with primary tumor located at bulb, descending, horizontal, ascending segment of duodenum, cases with tumor diameter ≤5 cm and >5 cm were 95, 307, 147, 34, 331, 252, in the 583 patients receiving open surgery with complete clinical data, versus 15, 46, 17, 5, 67, 16 in the 83 patients receiving laparoscopic surgery with complete clinical data, showing no significant difference in the primary tumor location ( χ2=0.94, P>0.05), and a significant difference in the tumor diameter ( χ2=17.33, P<0.05) between them. After propensity score matching, the above indicator were 16, 39, 20, 8, 67, 16 in the 83 patients receiving open surgery, versus 15, 46, 17, 5, 67, 16 in the 83 patients receiving laparoscopic surgery, showing no significant difference between them ( χ2=1.54, 0.00, P>0.05). Cases with postoperative complications, cases with grade Ⅰ?Ⅱ complica-tions and ≥grade Ⅲ complications of the Clavien-Dindo classification, duration of postoperative hospital stay, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 17, 12, 5, 11(range, 5?120)days, 92.0%, 100.0% in the 83 patients receiving open surgery, versus 9, 7, 2, 11(range, 5?41)days, 91.6%, 97.3% in the 83 patients receiving laparoscopic surgery, showing no signi-ficant difference in postoperative complications, duration of postoperative hospital stay, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate ( χ2=2.91, Z=3 365.50, χ2=3.02, 1.49, P>0.05) between them. There was no significant difference in complications of the Clavien-Dindo classification between them ( P>0.05). ④ Comparison of clinical efficacy of patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent surgery with different surgical resection scopes. Before propensity score matching, cases with tumor diameter ≤5 cm and >5 cm, cases with tumor located at opposite side of mesangium and mesangium were 71, 85, 28, 128 in the 156 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent PD with complete clinical data, versus 92, 41, 120, 13 in the 133 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent duodenal limited resection with complete clinical data, showing significant differences between them ( χ2=16.34, 150.10, P<0.05). After propensity score matching, the above indicator were 28, 13, 16, 25 in the 41 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent PD with complete clinical data, versus 28, 13, 16, 25 in the 41 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent duodenal limited resection with complete clinical data, showing no significant difference between them ( χ2=0.00, 0.00, P>0.05). Cases with postopera-tive complications, cases with grade Ⅰ?Ⅱ complications and ≥grade Ⅲ compli-cations of the Clavien-Dindo classification, duration of postoperative hospital stay, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 13, 11, 2, 15(range, 9?62)days, 94.2%, 64.3% in the 41 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent PD with complete clinical data, versus 9, 8, 0, 15(range, 7?40)days, 100.0%, 78.8% in the 41 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent duodenal limited resection with complete clinical data, showing no significant difference in post-operative complica-tions, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate ( χ2=0.99, 0.34, 1.86, P>0.05) between them. There was no significant difference in complications of the Clavien-Dindo classification ( P>0.05) and there was a significant difference in duration of postopera-tive hospital stay ( Z=614.50, P<0.05) between them. Conclusions:The clinical efficacy of radical surgery for duodenal GIST are ideal. Primary tumor located at the horizontal segment of duodenum, mitotic count >5/50 high power field, tumor gene KIT exon 9 mutation are independent risk factors affec-ting the overall survival of patients undergoing direct radical surgery and tumor diameter >5 cm and mitotic count >5/50 high power field are independent risk factors affecting the disease-free survival of patients. There is no significant difference in the short-term efficacy and long-term prognosis between patients undergoing open surgery and laparoscopic surgery. For patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum, the duration of postoperative hospital stay is longer in patients undergoing PD compared with patients undergoing duodenal limited resection. For patients evaluated as high risk of the modified NIH risk classification, posto-perative adjuvant therapy and treatment time ≥36 months are conducive to improving the prognosis of patients.

Background: The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing yearly, some of the IBD patients have extraintestinal manifestations (EIM), and EIM has impact on the treatment of IBD. Aims: To summarize the clinical characteristics of IBD patients associated with EIM, and evaluate the therapeutic effect of infliximab (IFX). Methods: The clinical data of IBD patients associated with EIM from January 2010 to December 2020 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University were retrospectively analyzed, and the therapeutic effect of IFX was investigated. Results: In 811 patients with IBD, 50 (6.17%) patients had EIM. The commonly seen EIM was arthritis (78.00%) and erythema nodosum (26.00%); 52.00% had one EIM; 68.42% of UC patients with EIM involved E3, and 50.00% of CD patients with EIM involved L3. A total of 21 patients received IFX treatment, 2 weeks after medication, HB and ALB significantly increased, while ESR, CRP and PLT significantly decreased. Twenty⁃two weeks after medication, 83.33% of UC patients turned mild, and 70.00% of CD patients entered the remission phase. After the use of IFX, the first disappearance time of arthritis was significantly decreased when compared with those without using IFX (2.50 days vs. 10.50 days, P<0.05). The median time for the first disappearance of arthritis in patients with elevated CRP was significantly decreased than in patients with normal CRP (3.00 days vs. 9.00 days, P<0.05). Conclusions: Arthritis and erythema nodosum are common EMI in patients with IBD, and the treatment with IFX can significantly shorten the time of the first disappearance of some EIM.

Objective To propose the method of dose distribution calculated by one-step optimization with 7 shells (Cao method) and compare with that by three-step optimization with 4 shells (Blanck method) and CyberKnife treatment plans for pancreatic cancer. Methods 20 cases of pancreatic cancer who underwent CyberKnife treatment were retrospectively analyzed,and CT was performed to localize and delineate the target area and endangering organs. Dosage was optimized and evaluated with Blanck method and Cao method. The planning target volume (PTV) conformity index (CI), new conformity index (nCI), homogeneity index (HI),gradient index (GI), coverage, dose-volume and doses to organs at risk were compared. Results Compared with Blanck method, CI (1.11 ± 0.05 vs 1.15 ± 0.05), nCI (1.20 ± 0.06 vs 1.23 ± 0.06), coverage [(92.48 ± 1.85)% vs (93.53 ± 2.15)%], volumes encompassed by 100% and 30% prescription dose line (36.46 ± 16.64 vs 38.19 ± 17.68; 286.19 ± 126.52 vs 320.93 ± 154.82) and monitor unit (56 369 ± 20 019 vs 57 814 ± 20 531) were significantly decreased,while GI was increased (3.22 ± 0.19 vs 3.11 ± 0.19), and all the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Additionally, Dmax of the intestine (21.17 ± 2.90 vs 20.63 ± 3.13), D10cc of the stomach (12.78 ± 2.57 vs 13.11 ± 2.43), D5ccof the duodenum (11.01 ± 3.45 vs 11.50 ± 3.25), D10ccof the duodenum (9.30 ± 3.31 vs 9.78 ± 3.07) and D0.35ccof the spinal cord (6.09 ± 0.98 vs 6.59 ± 0.92) were all significantly decreased (P<0.05). No significant differences were found on other parameters. Conclusions Better dose distributions are accessible by one-step optimization with 7 shells in CyberKnife treatment plans for pancreatic cancer.

Objective:To explore combined detection of mad2 with anti-nuclear mitotic spindle apparatus antibody(MSA)and anti-centromere antibody(ACA)and their clinical value for the diagnosis of small cell lung cancer(SCLC).Methods:One hundred and twen-ty SCLC patients,110 non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients,and 115 pulmonary nodule(PN)patients were enrolled in this study. The expression of mad2 was analyzed by qt-PCR.MSA and ACA were detected by indirect immunofluorescence(IIF)staining.Results:mad2 was overexpressed in SCLC and NSCLC samples(P<0.05).There were significant differences between the results obtained for SCLC and NSCLC samples by qt-PCR(P<0.05).AUC in ROC curve for mad2 expression was 0.799 with an intermediate diagnostic value. In the correlative analysis,the odds ratio of MSA and ACA was 6.94 and 5.60,respectively.In the correlation analysis,Kappa value of mad2 with MSA was 0.49,and Kappa value of mad2 with ACA was 0.42.In the parallel analysis,the sensitivity and specificity was 83.31% and 79.34%,respectively,while the Youden Index was 0.62.Moreover,in the serial analysis,the sensitivity and specificity was 65.32% and 93.35%,respectively,and the Youden Index was 0.59.Conclusions:In comparison with the NSCLC and PN samples,mad2 was overexpressed in SCLC samples.Therefore,mad2 ought to play a critical role in the pathology of SCLC.The combined expression of mad2 with MSA and ACA may contribute to enhancing the sensitivity and specificity of detection;this expression may allow early diag-nosis and clinical diagnosis of SLCC and may be a promising treatment for SCLC.

OBJECTIVETo retrospectively analyze the clinicopathology of patients with gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor(gGIST) who underwent radical excision within 18 years in 10 domestic medical centers in order to understand the status of domestic surgical treatment of gGIST.

METHODSClinicopathological data of gGIST patients undergoing radical excision in 10 medical centers from January 1998 to January 2016 were collected, and their operational conditions, postoperative adjuvant therapy, gene detection and survival were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSA total of 1 846 cases were recruited in this study, including 246 cases from Guangdong General Hospital, 331 cases from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 374 cases from Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 342 cases from Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, 265 cases from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 148 cases from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 49 cases from West China Hospital of Sichuan University, 43 cases from Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, 28 cases from the 81st Hospital of Pepole's Liberation Army(PLA), 20 cases from Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital and Institute. There were 918 male (49.7%) and 928 female patients (50.3%) with median onset age of 59(18 to 95) years old. Fundus(735 cases, 39.8%) and body (781 cases, 42.3%) of stomach were the common sites of lesions. The average size of tumor was (5.3±4.6) cm. There were 1 421 cases with mitotic count ≤5(77.0%). According to the operation procedure, 924 cases (50.1%) underwent laparoscopic surgery, 759 cases (41.1%) laparotomy, 120 cases (6.5%) endoscopic surgery, and 20 cases (1.1%) laparoscopic combined with endoscopic surgery, 6 cases (0.3%) laparoscopic excision surgery through gastric wall and cavity, and 17 cases (0.9%) laparoscopy and then were transferred to laparotomy. Wedge excision were performed in 1 308 cases (70.9%), proximal gastric excision in 226 cases(12.2%), distal gastric excision in 92 cases (5.0%), total gastrectomy in 94 cases (5.1%), and local gastrectomy in 126 cases(6.8%). Multi-visceral excision was performed in 138 cases, and the splenectomy was performed in 83 cases(60.1%)with the highest ratio. According to modified NIH classification, 399 cases(21.6%) were extreme low risk, 580 cases(31.4%) were low risk, 424 cases(23.0%) were moderate risk, 443 cases (24.0%) were high risk. A total of 461 cases received postoperative imatinib adjuvant therapy, accounting for 53.2%(461/867) of patients with moderate and high risk. Among 1 846 cases, 1 402 cases (75.9%) had complete follow-up data and the median follow-up time was 33.6 (0.1 to 158) months. The 5-year survival rates of extreme low risk, low risk, moderate risk and high risk were 100%, 98.5%, 92.5%, and 79.2% with significant difference(P=0.000).

CONCLUSIONSGastric GIST occurs mostly in fundus and body of stomach in China. Wedge excision is the main operational procedure and laparoscopic operation is over 50%. General prognosis of gastric GIST is quite good.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; China ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Imatinib Mesylate ; therapeutic use ; Laparoscopy ; Laparotomy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Period ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Splenectomy ; Stomach Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery ; Survival Rate ; Young Adult

The accurate diagnosis of burn depth is one of the important problems in the field of burn surgery.The diagnosis accuracy rate is directly related to the treatment plan and effect.The existed clinical diagnosis methods mainly depend on the experience of burn surgeon,making the accuracy rate from 50％ to 65％.In order to improve the accuracy rate of clinical burn depth diagnosis,a large number of diagnosis methods based on imaging are proposed,however,all of the methods are still in the stage of experimental research.In this paper,the research advances on the diagnosis techniques of burn depth are summarized,both the advantages and the shortcomings are pointed,and the development trend of diagnosis techniques of burn depth is expected.

Objective To investigate the Adamkiewicz artery visualization using gemstone spectral CT angiography (CTA) with optimal monochromatic technique.Methods The prospective study was approved by the local institutional review board,and written informed consents were obtained for all the examinations.The successive 58 patients with suspected aortic aneurysm or dissection underwent aortic gemstone spectral CTA.They were divided into two groups based on the different reconstruction protocols:A,optimal monochromatic reconstruction;B,polychromatic reconstruction.Visualization rate of Adamkiewicz artery in two groups were recorded.Objective(measure CT value of the descending aorta and calculate signal-to-noise ratio [CNR]) and subjective (score of Adamkiewicz artery visualization) were evaluated.Paired samples t,Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.Results CT value of descending aorta and CNR of group A [(568.4 ± 57.5)HU and (52.3 ± 8.1)] were significantly higher than group B[(346.2 ± 48.6)HU and (26.7 ± 3.7)] (t=12.70 and 15.20,P＜0.01).The visualization rate of Adamkiewicz artery in group A (94.8％,55/58) was higher than B (82.8％,48/58;x2=4.20,P=0.04).The score of group A (55 cases,3.9±0.8) was significantly higher than the group B (48 cases,3.4±1.0)(Z=-2.40,P=0.02).Conelusion Gemstone spectral CTA with optimal monochromatic reconstruction can improve the visualization efficiency and quality of the Adamkiewicz artery compared with routine polychromatic reconstruction protocol.

Objective To probe the feasibility of gemstone spectral CT in imaging pulmonary angiography with low dose contrast medium.Methods A prospective study with multi-slice spiral CT pulmonary angiography was performed in consecutive 48 patients suspected with pulmonary embolism.Two groups (n=24 respectively)were divided at random including Group A used Gemstone spectral CT with 35 mL of contrast medium and Group B using 64-slice CT with conventional 80~90 mL of contrast medium.The CT values of the pulmonary trunk,lobe artery,pulmonary vein and ascending aorta were measured.The contrast to noise ratio of the pulmonary artery was also calculated.In addition,the image quality of CTA was evaluated independently by two experienced ra-diologists.Results The CT values of the pulmonary trunk and the subsegmental branches,and the CNR in Group A were signifi-cantly higher than those in group B,exhibiting statistical differences (t=8.6,P <0.001;t=12.2,P <0.001;t=1 1.3,P <0.001 respectively).However,the CT value of aorta in Group A was significantly lower than that in Group B (t=-7.6,P <0.001).The evaluation results of the CTA images by two radiologists showed that the image quality in Group A was better than that in Group B (Z =-8.6,P <0.001;Z =-9.0,P <0.001 ).Conclusion The image quality of pulmonary angiography with gemstone spectral CT using low contrast medium dose can be improved compared with the conventional spiral CT.