Preliminary exploration of using ultrasound to quantitatively evaluate the development of epiphyseal cartilage and analyze its correlation with bone age, based on the ultrasound findings of the long bone joint end.

Bone age, the most commonly used and effective indicator for understanding children's growth and development, plays an important role in the diagnosis and efficacy evaluation of various growth and development disorders. Clinically, X-rays of the left hand and wrist are mostly taken for bone age assessment, but there is a certain radiation risk. Ultrasound can clearly display the epiphysis and secondary ossification center, and conveniently perform multi-site scanning and dynamic measurement without radiation. In recent years, great progress has been made in the research and clinical application of ultrasound in bone age assessment. This article, by reviewing the latest literature, discusses the value of musculoskeletal ultrasound and quantitative ultrasound in bone age assessment, raises the problems in the study of ultrasound assessment of bone age, and suggests direction for improvement.

To research on area ossification ratio (AOR), a novel parameter for quantitatively assessing adolescent bone age by conventional ultrasonography, and evaluate the correlation between AOR and radiographic bone age.

To evaluate the correlation between ultrasound ossification ratio(OR) and exercise intensity among adolescents.

Transient perivascular inflammation of the carotid artery (TIPIC) syndrome is a relatively rare disease, and ultrasound is the first screening method for initial diagnosis of the disease. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has unique advantages in the follow-up of patients with TIPIC syndrome. This paper reports a patient with TIPIC syndrome who was treated with acute left neck pain. The inflammation was significantly relieved and subsided after treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The ultrasound changes of carotid artery lesions in this patient during follow-up were analyzed, and the application value of CEUS in the follow-up diagnosis of this disease was summarized, in the hope of providing clinical reference.

Background: Long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in recovered patients (RPs) is gradually recognized by more people. However, how long it will last and the underlining mechanism remains unclear. Methods: We conducted a prospective follow-up study to evaluate the long-term symptoms and clinical indices of RPs at one-year after discharge from Union Hospital, Wuhan, China between December 2020 to May 2021. We also performed the 16S rRNA sequencing of stool samples from RPs and healthy controls (HCs) and analyzed the correlation between the gut microbiota and long COVID-19. Results: In total, 187 RPs were enrolled, among them, 84 (44.9%) RPs reported long COVID-19 symptoms at one-year after discharge. The most common long-term symptoms were cardiopulmonary symptoms, including chest tightness after activity (39/187, 20.9%), palpitations on exercise (27/187, 14.4%), sputum (21/187, 11.2%), cough (15/187, 8.0%) and chest pain (13/187, 7.0%), followed by systemic symptoms including fatigue (34/187, 18.2%) and myalgia (20/187, 10.7%), and digestive symptoms including constipation (14/187, 7.5%), anorexia (13/187, 7.0%), and diarrhea (8/187, 4.3%). Sixty-six (35.9%) RPs presented either anxiety or depression (42/187 [22.8%] and 53/187 [28.8%] respectively), and the proportion of anxiety or depression in the long symptomatic group was significantly higher than that in the asymptomatic group (41/187 [50.6%] vs. 25/187 [24.3%]). Compared with the asymptomatic group, scores of all nine 36-Item Short Form General Health Survey domains were lower in the symptomatic group (all P < 0.05). One hundred thirty RPs and 32 HCs (non-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infected subjects) performed fecal sample sequencing.Compared with HCs, symptomatic RPs had obvious gut microbiota dysbiosis including significantly reduced bacterial diversities and lower relative abundance of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producing salutary symbionts such as Eubacterium_hallii_group, Subdoligranulum, Ruminococcus, Dorea, Coprococcus, and Eubacterium_ventriosum_group. Meanwhile, the relative abundance of Eubacterium_hallii_group, Subdoligranulum, and Ruminococcus showed decreasing tendencies between HCs, the asymptomatic group, and the symptomatic group. Conclusion This study demonstrated the presence of long COVID-19 which correlates with gut microbiota dysbiosis in RPs at one-year after discharge, indicating gut microbiota may play an important role in long COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Although intensively studied in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the prognostic value of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) has little been elucidated in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). This study aimed to reveal the prognostic value of DBP in AECOPD patients. METHODS: Inpatients with AECOPD were prospectively enrolled from 10 medical centers in China between September 2017 and July 2021. DBP was measured on admission. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality; invasive mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit (ICU) admission were secondary outcomes. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and multivariable Cox regressions were used to identify independent prognostic factors and calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for adverse outcomes. RESULTS: Among 13,633 included patients with AECOPD, 197 (1.45%) died during their hospital stay. Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that low DBP on admission (<70 mmHg) was associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality (HR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.53-3.05, Z = 4.37, P <0.01), invasive mechanical ventilation (HR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.32-2.05, Z = 19.67, P <0.01), and ICU admission (HR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.24-1.69, Z = 22.08, P <0.01) in the overall cohort. Similar findings were observed in subgroups with or without CVDs, except for invasive mechanical ventilation in the subgroup with CVDs. When DBP was further categorized in 5-mmHg increments from <50 mmHg to ≥100 mmHg, and 75 to <80 mmHg was taken as reference, HRs for in-hospital mortality increased almost linearly with decreased DBP in the overall cohort and subgroups of patients with CVDs; higher DBP was not associated with the risk of in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: Low on-admission DBP, particularly <70 mmHg, was associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes among inpatients with AECOPD, with or without CVDs, which may serve as a convenient predictor of poor prognosis in these patients. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION Chinese Clinical Trail Registry, No. ChiCTR2100044625.
Humans ; Blood Pressure ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/therapy* ; Cohort Studies ; Respiration, Artificial ; Inpatients ; Hospital Mortality

Objective:To evaluate the diagnosis and critical value reporting of ruptured tubal pregnancy by ultrasound.Methods:The clinical and ultrasound data of 70 patients with ruptured tubal pregnancy diagnosed by surgery in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from August 2017 to May 2021 were retrospectively analyzed to evaluate the diagnosis and critical value reporting of ruptured tubal pregnancy by ultrasound.Results:Among the 70 patients, 68 patients underwent gynecological ultrasonography and two patients did not. Sixty-three cases (92.6%, 63/68) were accurately diagnosed as adnexal ectopic pregnancy mass, abdominal and pelvic effusion/blood clot, and 5 adnexal ectopic pregnancy masses (7.4%, 5/68) were missed.Among the 5 missed cases, 4 cases (80%, 4/5) were heterotopic pregnancy (2 cases of IVF-ET 2 embryos, 1 case of patient taking ovulation induction drugs, 1 case of gravida with twin family history) and 1 case (20%, 1/5) of single tubal pregnancy. Critical values were reported in the all 63 cases of ruptured tubal pregnancy diagnosed by preoperative ultrasound.Conclusions:Ultrasound could accurately diagnose tubal pregnancy and assess its rupture, and timely report the critical value, effectively guarantee the medical safety. The particularity and complexity of ultrasound diagnosis in early pregnancy with assisted reproductive technique deserve more attention.

Objective:To analyze the inter-observer consistency of Smart 3D super microvascular imaging (Smart-3D SMI) in evaluating the blood flow of breast lesions.Methods:Prospective study on Smart-3D SMI images of 225 cases of continuous breast lesions in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January to December 2018. Two sonographers conducted qualitative evaluation of vascular architecture(VA) under Smart-3D SMI, and took the mean value of three measurements evaluations of vascular index(VI). Weighted Kappa was used to test the consistency of the vascular architecture, and Bland-Altman scatter plot was used to calculate the 95% consistency limit of the measured data for the VI value. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to analyze whether the absolute difference of VI between observers was correlated with the mean value of VI.Results:The Weighted Kappa coefficient of Smart-3D SMI for the evaluation of VA by two sonographers was 0.839 (95% CI was 0.795-0.881, P<0.001), showing strong inter-observer consistency. Bland-Altman plot analysis of VI value showed that the value of 95.11% was within the clinically acceptable range and had good consistency, and there was a correlation between the difference of VI value between observers and the value of VI mean ( r s=0.639, P<0.001). Conclusions:There is a good inter-observer consistency in evaluating the blood vascular architecture and quantitatively measuring the blood flow abundance by Smart-3D SMI.

Objective To study the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic resection of hemangioma in the right posterior hepatic section without any blood flow occlusion.Methods Patients with hemangiomas in the right posterior section of liver operated from January 2016 to June 2018 in the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical College for Nationalities were studied retrospectively.There were 19 females and 9 males.The average age was (37.9 ± 6.1).The operation methods,perioperative factors,hospitalization cost and follow-up outcomes were recorded and analyzed.Results 28 patients with hemangiomas were treated with laparoscopic resection of right posterior hepatic section without any blood flow occlusion.An ultrasound scalpel was applied to split the liver in 27 patients,and ultrasound scalpel combined with Ligasure to split the liver in 1 patient.The mean diameter of the hepatic hemangiomas was (6.7 ± 1.3) cm.The intraoperative blood loss was (330.4 ± 139.0) ml and the operation time was (87.4 ±27.9) min.One patient required conversion to open surgery due to rupture and bleeding of the hemangioma.The conversion rate was 3.6％ (1/28).The postoperative drainage time was (45.4 ± 18.9) h.The postoperative hospitalization time was (7.5 ± 1.3) d,and the hospitalization cost was (3.1 ± 0.5) ten thousand yuan.No death or serious complications occurred.No reoperation was needed.The follow-up period ranged from 1 to 30 months,and all the patients were well on follow-up.Conclusions Laparoscopic resection of hemangioma in the right posterior hepatic section without any blood flow occlusion was safe and efficacious.This method can be used for hemangiomas in the right posterior section of liver.