Identification of HLA-C alleles using PCR—single-strand-conformation polymorphism and direct sequencing

Alleles encoding HLA-C antigens in Japanese were identified by polymerase chain reaction followed by single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and nucleotide sequencing analyses. The results showed that at least sixteen different alleles code for eight serologically detectable antigen groups and undetectable blanks. Cwl was mainly encoded by Cw*0102, whereas two split antigens of Cw3, Cw9 and Cw10, were encoded by Cw*0303 and Cw*0304, respectively. Cw4 and Cw6 were encoded by Cw*0401 and Cw*0602, respectively. Seven alleles, Cw*0801, Cw*0803, Cw*1202, Cw*1203, Cw*1402, Cw*1403 and Cw*1502, were found to encode serological HLA-C "blanks" in Japanese. Moreover, errors in the published nucleotide sequences of Cw*0501 and Cw*1201 were corrected. Twenty-one HLA-C alleles were distinguished from each other by means of group-specific PCR amplification followed by the SSCP method developed in the present study. The system using genomic DNAs can be used effectively for identification of new HLA-C alleles.     

PDCA管理后死亡医学证明书填写质量分析

目的探讨PDCA管理对死亡医学证明书填写质量的影响。方法选择2018年10月—2019年5月我院实施PDCA管理前开具的死亡医学证明书68份作为对照组,选择2019年10月—2020年5月我院实施PDCA管理后开具的死亡医学证明书71份作为研究组,比较两组填写质量。结果研究组的死亡医学证明书患者基本信息填写完整率、准确率高于对照组(P<0.05)。研究组的死亡医学证明书死因项填写不规范率低于对照组(P<0.05)。研究组的网络直报数据不准确率低于对照组(P<0.05)。研究组的死亡医学证明书填报延时率低于对照组(P<0.05)。研究组的死亡医学证明书填写质量评分高于对照组(P<0.05)。结论PDCA管理可保证死亡医学证明书填写完整性、准确性及规范性,提高填报质量,促进了上报的时效性,从而有效提高人口死亡信息登记管理水平。     

食管癌手术患者医院感染直接经济损失分析

 目的 分析食管癌患者术后发生医院感染情况及其造成的直接经济损失,为医院感染防控提供依据。方法 采用1∶1病例对照研究方法回顾性分析某院2018年1月—2019年12月食管癌手术患者,术后发生医院感染者为病例组,术后未发生感染者为对照组,比较两组患者住院时间和医疗费用的差异。结果 病例组患者住院日数中位数为37.0 d,对照组为16.0 d,因感染导致住院日数增加21.0 d,差异有统计学意义（P<0.001）。病例组患者住院总费用中位数为131 170.3元,对照组为90 455.6元,因感染导致直接经济损失40 714.7元,差异有统计学意义（P<0.001）。多部位感染患者住院日数、住院费用均高于单部位感染患者,差异有统计学意义（均P<0.05）,其中肺部合并血流感染患者的住院日数、住院费用均高于对照组。结论 食管癌患者术后发生医院感染明显延长其住院时间,增加住院费用,不同感染部位对患者的直接经济损失影响有一定差别,应针对重点环节加强食管癌手术患者医院感染的防控工作。     

无创神经脑刺激在儿童心理障碍治疗中的应用

无创神经脑刺激治疗儿童心理障碍是当下较为先进的物理治疗手段。本文着重介绍了无创神经脑刺激的两种代表技术-经颅磁刺激与经颅直流电刺激的工作原理,两者分别在儿童抑郁症、注意缺陷多动障碍与孤独症谱系障碍中的治疗应用,以及对无创神经脑刺激在儿童心理障碍治疗中存在的问题与未来的发展,其中人工智能的引用是其发展很具潜力的方向。     

A review of burn symptoms and potential novel neural targets for non-invasive brain stimulation for treatment of burn sequelae

Burn survivors experience myriad associated symptoms such as pain, pruritus, fatigue, impaired motor strength, post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance. Many of these symptoms are common and remain chronic, despite current standard of care. One potential novel intervention to target these post burn symptoms is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS is a non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technique that modulates neural excitability of a specific target or neural network. The aim of this work is to review the neural circuits of the aforementioned clinical sequelae associated with burn injuries and to provide a scientific rationale for specific NIBS targets that can potentially treat these conditions. We ran a systematic review, following the PRISMA statement, of tDCS effects on burn symptoms. Only three studies matched our criteria. One was a feasibility study assessing cortical plasticity in chronic neuropathic pain following burn injury, one looked at the effects of tDCS to reduce pain anxiety during burn wound care, and one assessed the effects of tDCS to manage pain and pruritus in burn survivors. Current literature on NIBS in burn remains limited, only a few trials have been conducted. Based on our review and results in other populations suffering from similar symptoms as patients with burn injuries, three main areas were selected: the prefrontal region, the parietal area and the motor cortex. Based on the importance of the prefrontal cortex in the emotional component of pain and its implication in various psychosocial symptoms, targeting this region may represent the most promising target. Our review of the neural circuitry involved in post burn symptoms and suggested targeted areas for stimulation provide a spring board for future study initiatives.     

Are We Being Fooled by Fluoroscopy? Distortion May Affect Limb-Length Measurements in Direct Anterior Total Hip Arthroplasty

BackgroundDistortion is an intrinsic phenomenon associated with image-intensified fluoroscopy that is both poorly understood and infrequently appreciated by orthopedic surgeons. Little information exists regarding its potential influence on intraoperative parameters during orthopedic surgery, let alone during direct anterior (DA) total hip arthroplasty (THA). The purpose of this study was to quantify the amount of potential error caused by fluoroscopic distortion during DA THA.MethodsIntra-operative fluoroscopic pelvic images from 74 DA THAs were reviewed by two independent readers. All images were obtained using the same fluoroscopic C-arm unit with a radiopaque grid attached to the image intensifier. The vertical distortion from a straight central horizontal line at the peripheries of images were measured and summed to yield the combined vertical distortion similar to how a surgeon calculates a side to side comparison of limb lengths. Simple linear regression was used to evaluate associations between total distortion and patient demographics, operating theaters, and various operative parameters.ResultsThe average combined distortion was 10.0mm (range 2.0-20.0mm). There was a significant difference in the average distortion observed in different theaters (P < .001). There was no association between distortion and patient demographics or fluoroscopic time (all, P > .05).ConclusionFluoroscopic distortion is unpredictable and can cause a substantial amount of error when comparing limb lengths during DA THA. This is a critical finding as this amount of inaccuracy could lead to unintended implant positioning and limb-length discrepancies if unaccounted for.     

Capsular Management in Direct Anterior Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Randomized,Single-Blind,Controlled Trial

BackgroundThe direct anterior approach (DAA) is a popular approach to total hip arthroplasty (THA). Unlike the posterior approach, the importance of anterior capsular management is unknown. This randomized controlled trial compares capsular repair versus capsulectomy.MethodsThis single-surgeon, single-blinded, parallel-group randomized controlled trial occurred between 2013 and 2016. Patients undergoing unilateral, primary THA for osteoarthritis consented to undergo blinded, simple randomization to anterior capsulotomy with repair or anterior capsulectomy. Primary outcome measures included hip range of motion, hip flexion strength, and pain with seated hip flexion. Secondary outcome measures included surgical time, estimated blood loss, postoperative complications, and hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score. Data were prospectively collected intraoperatively, six weeks, six months, an average of over 5 years postoperatively.ResultsNinety-eight patients were ultimately enrolled in the trial; 50 received capsulectomy and 48 received capsulotomy. No significant differences were seen in preoperative demographics or in primary or secondary outcomes during this study. No difference was seen in pain at final follow-up at average > 5 years postoperatively.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that capsular management in DAA THA does not affect postoperative pain or range of motion. The anterior capsule’s role in prosthetic stability after DAA THA remains uncertain, but it does not currently appear that repair provides benefit and may lead to increased surgical time and blood loss. As such, capsular management in DAA THA is at surgeon discretion.     

Impact of Dexamethasone on Length of Stay and Early Pain Control in Direct Anterior Approach Total Hip Arthroplasty With Neuraxial Anesthesia

BackgroundDexamethasone has been shown to reduce postoperative pain and opioid consumption for total joint arthroplasty patients; however, its impact on patients who received neuraxial anesthesia (NA) is not well described. We examined the impact of perioperative dexamethasone on outcomes for patients undergoing direct anterior approach total hip arthroplasty (THA) under NA.MethodsA retrospective review was conducted for 376 THA patients from a single institution. Univariate analysis was used to compare postoperative outcomes for 164 THA patients receiving dexamethasone compared to 212 who did not receive dexamethasone.ResultsNo differences in age, gender, body mass index, or American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Score were observed between the groups. Patients receiving perioperative dexamethasone reported statistically significantly lower postanesthesia care unit (PACU) pain numeric rating scale (Dexamethasone 1.6 vs No dexamethasone 2.3, P = .014) and received lower PACU morphine milligram equivalents (MME) (Dexamethasone 8.57 vs No dexamethasone 11.44, P < .001). Patients receiving dexamethasone had significantly shorter LOS (Dexamethasone 29.40 vs No dexamethasone 35.26 hrs., P < .001).ConclusionPerioperative dexamethasone is associated with decreased postoperative pain and narcotic consumption, and shorter length of stay for patients undergoing primary direct anterior approach THA with NA.     

A prospective observational study of the rapid detection of clinically-relevant plasma direct oral anticoagulant levels following acute traumatic injury

In urgent clinical situations, such as trauma, urgent surgery or before thrombolysis, rapid quantification of direct oral anticoagulant plasma drug levels is warranted. Using the ClotPro® analyser, we assessed two novel viscoelastic tests for detection of clinically-relevant plasma drug levels in trauma patients. The ecarin clotting time was used to assess the plasma concentration of dabigatran and Russell´s viper venom clotting time to determine the plasma concentration of direct factor Xa inhibitors. In parallel, plasma concentrations were analysed using plasma-based chromogenic assays. A total of 203 simultaneous measurements were performed. Strong to very strong linear correlations were detected between ecarin clotting time and plasma concentration of dabigatran (r = 0.9693), and between Russell´s viper venom clotting time and plasma concentrations of apixaban (r = 0.7391), edoxaban (r = 0.9251) and rivaroxaban (r = 0.8792), all p < 0.001. An ecarin clotting time ≥ 189 seconds provided 100% sensitivity and 90% specificity for detecting plasma dabigatran concentrations ≥ 50 ng.ml^-1. Corresponding Russell´s viper venom clotting time cut-off values were ≥ 136 seconds for apixaban (80% sensitivity, 88% specificity), ≥ 168 seconds for edoxaban (100% sensitivity, 100% specificity) and ≥ 177 seconds for rivaroxaban (90% sensitivity, 100% specificity). Detection of drug levels ≥ 100 ng.ml^-1 was also investigated: for dabigatran, an ecarin clotting time ≥ 315 seconds yielded 92% sensitivity and 100% specificity; while Russell´s viper venom clotting time cut-offs of 191, 188 and 196 seconds were calculated for apixaban (67% sensitivity, 88% specificity), edoxaban (100% sensitivity, 75% specificity) and rivaroxaban (100% sensitivity, 91% specificity), respectively. We have demonstrated strong positive correlations between plasma drug levels and clotting time values in the specific ClotPro assays. Cut-off values for detecting clinically-relevant drug levels showed high levels of sensitivity and specificity.     

中药配伍减毒增效的现代研究及思考

中药配伍是中医药临床应用的精华之一,合理配伍是保障中药临床用药有效性和安全性的重要措施。配伍后减毒增效机制的研究是诠释中药配伍合理性的关键内容。中药配伍机制研究正处于从体外到体内、成分到靶标、单一技术到多学科融合研究技术的转变历程,因此提出以“体外成分、体内过程、直接靶标”研究为基础,“中药配伍药理机制研究”为目的,从不同角度和不同层面探索中药配伍后作用机制的研究策略。