Brachytherapy: An emblematic example of extreme hypofractionated regimen

In order to provide more convenient irradiation regimens for patient comfort, radiation facility organization and health expenses, new hypofractionated protocols have been evaluated. Moderately (dose/fraction: 2.3 to 3 Gy), then ultra (dose/fraction: 5.2 to 6.1 Gy) hypofractionated irradiations were first validated. The current question is: is it possible to go forward using extreme hypofractionated regimens (EHR) based on 1 to 3 fractions. Different irradiation techniques are under investigation. However, brachytherapy remains the smartest way to deliver a high dose in a small volume. We report prospective and retrospective study results which evaluated EHR for breast and prostate brachytherapy. While oncological outcome and toxicity profile appear extremely encouraging for low-risk breast cancer after a 1 to 4 fractions (6.25 to 20 Gy/fraction), the use of a single fraction of 19 to 23 Gy appears debatable for prostate cancer. Brachytherapy represents an emblematic example of EHR but longer follow-up and more mature results are awaited in order to specify the right indications and refine the EQD2 calculation method including new biological and technical factors.     

Enlarged high frequency oscillations of the median nerve somatosensory evoked potential and survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

ObjectiveA large N20 and P25 of the median nerve somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) predicts short survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We investigated whether high frequency oscillations (HFOs) over N20 are enlarged and associated with survival in ALS.MethodsA total of 145 patients with ALS and 57 healthy subjects were studied. We recorded the median nerve SEP and measured the onset-to-peak amplitude of N20 (N20o-p), and peak-to-peak amplitude between N20 and P25 (N20p-P25p). We obtained early and late HFO potentials by filtering SEP between 500 and 1 kHz, and measured the peak-to-peak amplitude. We followed up patients until endpoints (death or tracheostomy) and analyzed the relationship between SEP or HFO amplitudes and survival using a Cox analysis.ResultsPatients showed larger N20o-p, N20p-P25p, and early and late HFO amplitudes than the control values. N20p-P25p was associated with survival periods (p = 0.0004), while early and late HFO amplitudes showed no significant association with survival (p = 0.4307, and p = 0.6858, respectively).ConclusionsThe HFO amplitude in ALS is increased, but does not predict survival.SignificanceThe enlarged HFOs in ALS might be a compensatory phenomenon to the hyperexcitability of the sensory cortex pyramidal neurons.     

血府逐瘀汤合温胆汤加减联合西药治疗高血压颈动脉硬化的临床观察

目的:观察血府逐瘀汤合温胆汤加减联合西药治疗高血压颈动脉硬化的效果。方法:选取2017年6月至2018年6月聊城市中医院收治的高血压颈动脉硬化患者92例作为研究对象,按照随机数字表法随机分为对照组与观察组,每组46例。对照组患者给予左旋氨氯地平+阿托伐他汀口服,观察组在对照组基础上加用血府逐瘀汤合温胆汤加减口服。观察患者血压、血脂控制情况,测定颈动脉内膜中层厚度(IMT)、斑块面积、血管皮内皮功能、血清蛋白酶分子水平。结果:与对照组比较,观察组治疗后的血压SBP、DBP及血脂TG、TC、LDL-C等指标更低(P<0.05);颈动脉粥样硬化斑块IMT厚度、斑块面积明显缩小(P<0.05),血管内皮功能指标ET-1、AngⅡ、TXB2水平明显降低,NO水平明显升高(P<0.05);血清CatK、MMP-9水平明显降低(P<0.05);观察组不良反应发生率8.70%明显低于对照组不良反应发生率21.74%(P<0.05)。结论:血府逐瘀汤合温胆汤加减联合西药更利于控制高血压颈动脉硬化患者的血压,调节脂质代谢,改善血管内皮功能,降低血清蛋白酶分子的含量,用药安全。     

李延应用泽泻汤合温胆汤治疗舒张压高的临床经验

随着社会的发展,人类生活方式的改变,高血压病越来越高发,具有低龄化趋势,代谢综合征常伴随发生,此种情况下的高血压往往是以舒张压升高为主,临床表现常与“亚健康”状态混淆,未能引起患者甚至部分医生的重视,然而事实上越来越多的科学研究证实舒张压高之危害十分明显,不容忽视。尽管现代医学对舒张压高的病因及病理机制有明确的阐述,但是暂时没有特效的药物。李延教授在治疗高血压病方面有着丰富的临床经验,临床中运用泽泻汤合温胆汤加减治疗舒张压高之眩晕,切中病机,加减灵活,屡有良效。文中从中医角度阐述舒张压高的病因病机,介绍李师辨病辨证思路,组方用药特点,附三则典型验案,另加个人心得体会,以期为舒张压高的有效治疗提供思路。     

复方丹参滴丸对老年冠心病患者血流变学、血脂及炎性反应递质的影响

目的：探究复方丹参滴丸对老年冠心病患者血流变学、血脂及炎性反应递质的影响。方法：选取2015年1月至2017年12月海南省人民医院收治的老年冠心病患者154例作为研究对象，按照随机数字表法随机分为对照组和观察组，每组77例。对照组采用常规西药治疗，观察组在此基础上加服复方丹参滴丸。比较治疗前后2组患者的血流变学、血脂、炎性反应递质和疗效。结果：观察组治疗有效率为92.21%，明显高于对照组治疗有效率79.22%，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。治疗后，2组总胆固醇（TC）、三酰甘油（TG）和低密度脂蛋白（LDL）水平均升高，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05），且观察组高于对照组，2组差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。2组血流变学指标、高密度脂蛋白（HDL）、IL-6和TNF-α水平治疗后均降低（P<0.05），且观察组降低更明显，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论：复方丹参滴丸联合常规西药治疗冠心病患者，能够调节脂代谢，降低炎性反应，改善血流变学。     

Differentiating autoimmune pancreatitis from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with CT radiomics features

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine whether computed tomography (CT)-based machine learning of radiomics features could help distinguish autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Materials and MethodsEighty-nine patients with AIP (65 men, 24 women; mean age, 59.7 ± 13.9 [SD] years; range: 21–83 years) and 93 patients with PDAC (68 men, 25 women; mean age, 60.1 ± 12.3 [SD] years; range: 36–86 years) were retrospectively included. All patients had dedicated dual-phase pancreatic protocol CT between 2004 and 2018. Thin-slice images (0.75/0.5 mm thickness/increment) were compared with thick-slices images (3 or 5 mm thickness/increment). Pancreatic regions involved by PDAC or AIP (areas of enlargement, altered enhancement, effacement of pancreatic duct) as well as uninvolved parenchyma were segmented as three-dimensional volumes. Four hundred and thirty-one radiomics features were extracted and a random forest was used to distinguish AIP from PDAC. CT data of 60 AIP and 60 PDAC patients were used for training and those of 29 AIP and 33 PDAC independent patients were used for testing.ResultsThe pancreas was diffusely involved in 37 (37/89; 41.6%) patients with AIP and not diffusely in 52 (52/89; 58.4%) patients. Using machine learning, 95.2% (59/62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 89.8–100%), 83.9% (52:67; 95% CI: 74.7–93.0%) and 77.4% (48/62; 95% CI: 67.0–87.8%) of the 62 test patients were correctly classified as either having PDAC or AIP with thin-slice venous phase, thin-slice arterial phase, and thick-slice venous phase CT, respectively. Three of the 29 patients with AIP (3/29; 10.3%) were incorrectly classified as having PDAC but all 33 patients with PDAC (33/33; 100%) were correctly classified with thin-slice venous phase with 89.7% sensitivity (26/29; 95% CI: 78.6–100%) and 100% specificity (33/33; 95% CI: 93–100%) for the diagnosis of AIP, 95.2% accuracy (59/62; 95% CI: 89.8–100%) and area under the curve of 0.975 (95% CI: 0.936–1.0).ConclusionsRadiomic features help differentiate AIP from PDAC with an overall accuracy of 95.2%.     

Experimental determination of the recombination correction factor kS for SNC 125c,SNC 350p and SNC 600c ionization chambers in pulsed photon beams

Accurate ionization chamber measurements of the absorbed dose to water require the correction of incomplete collection of charges created within the chamber volume. According to current dosimetry protocols such as the TRS-398 or the DIN 6800-2, incomplete charge collection is accounted for by the correction factor k_s, which can be determined numerically or experimentally. The method proposed by Burns & McEwen (Phys. Med. Biol., 1998) was used in this study to determine the coefficients γ and δ used for the calculation of the correction factor k_s of three ionization chambers, the SNC 125c, the SNC 600c and the SNC 350p (all Sun Nuclear Corp., Melbourne, Florida) for an absorbed dose to water range of 0.2 mGy to 1.6 mGy per pulse in pulsed photon beams. The shift of the effective point of measurement from the reference point Δz and the correction factor k_r were determined for the SNC 350p according to the draft DIN 6800-2:2019-07.     

黄连解毒汤对重度颅脑损伤合并肺部感染患者血气指标和炎症因子影响分析

目的:观察黄连解毒汤对重度颅脑损伤合并肺部感染患者血气指标和炎症因子的影响,探讨其治疗效果。方法:随机抽签方式将77例重度颅脑损伤合并肺部感染患者分为两组。对照组35例接受常规治疗,研究组42例在常规治疗基础上,联合黄连解毒汤直肠灌注及全身擦浴治疗。评估两组临床效果,记录两组呼吸机使用时间、ICU入住时间及治疗费用,测定两组治疗前后血气指标和炎症因子。结果:两组临床治疗效果间差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。与对照组比,研究组呼吸机使用时间和ICU入住时间明显缩短,ICU治疗费用显著减少(P<0.01)。治疗后两组SaO、PaO₂水平明显上升,PaCO₂及血清PCT、IL-1β、HMGB-1、CRP水平明显下降(P<0.05)。组间比较,研究组SaO、PaO₂水平高于对照组,PaCO₂及血清PCT、IL-1β、HMGB-1、CRP水平低于对照组(P<0.05)。结论:黄连解毒汤直肠灌注联合全身擦浴可明显控制重度颅脑损伤合并肺部感染患者感染病症,改善血气指标,调节炎症反应,缩短呼吸机使用时间和ICU入住时间,减少患者的治疗费用。