Predictors of Occlusion of Hepatic Blood Vessels after Irreversible Electroporation of Liver Tumors

PurposeTo examine predictors of midterm occlusion in portal and hepatic veins within or adjacent to the ablation zone after irreversible electroporation (IRE) of liver tumors.Materials and MethodsThis retrospective cohort analysis included 39 patients who underwent CT-guided IRE of liver tumors. Vessels within or adjacent to the ablation zone were identified on CT images acquired immediately after the procedure, and the positional relationships with the ablation zone (within/adjacent), locations (proximal/distal), and diameters (< 4 mm or ≥ 4 mm) were evaluated. Using contrast-enhanced follow-up scans, each vessel was classified as patent, stenosed, or occluded. Associations between vessel occlusion and each variable were investigated.ResultsOverall, 33 portal veins and 64 hepatic veins were analyzed. Follow-up scans showed occlusion in 12/33 (36.7%) portal veins and 17/64 (26.6%) hepatic veins. Vessels within the ablation zone were occluded significantly more frequently than vessels adjacent to the ablation zone (portal: 55.6% [10/18] vs 13.3% [2/15], P = .04; hepatic: 45.4% [15/33] vs 6.4% [2/31], P = .011). Vessels with a diameter < 4 mm were also occluded significantly more frequently than vessels with a diameter ≥ 4 mm (portal: 72.7% [8/11] vs 18.1% [4/22], P = .011; hepatic: 54.8% [17/31] vs 0% [0/33], P < .001). The respective positive and negative predictive values for occlusion of vessels categorized as both within and < 4 mm were 88% (7/8) and 82% (20/25) for portal veins and 79% (15/19) and 96% (43/45) for hepatic veins.ConclusionsMidterm vessel occlusion after liver IRE could be predicted with relatively high accuracy by assessing ablation location and vessel diameter.     

Standard versus customised locking plates for fixation of schatzker ii tibial plateau fractures

Aim3D-printed implants could improve the capture of fracture fragments for improved stability of tibial plateau fracture fixation. The aim of this study was to compare the biomechanical strength of fixation constructs using standard and customised 3D-printed proximal tibial locking plates for fixation of tibial plateau fractures.MethodsThis is a biomechanical study utilising six pairs of cadaveric tibiae. Fractures were created in an identical fashion using an osteotome and mallet, and fixed using either a standard, commercially-available proximal tibia locking plate or a customised 3D-printed plate. Design and production of the customised plates followed a “3D printing at point-of-care” model. Customised stainless steel 316 L plates were produced within a local additive manufacturing laboratory based upon pre-operative CT scans. Determination of implant choice within each cadaver pair was performed via simple randomisation. Following fracture fixation, the tibiae were skeletalised and biomechanically tested using a customised loading jig and a size-matched femoral knee prosthesis. The constructs were loaded cyclically from 100 N to approximately three times the cadaveric body-weight at 5 Hz for 10 000 cycles. Every 1000 cycles, the test was paused and the tibia was physically checked for failure. If failure had not occurred by the end of the testing cycle, the construct was loaded to failure and the load at which the construct failed was noted.ResultsFixation constructs using the 3D-printed plates performed comparably to those using the standard plates. There was no significant difference in the degree of fracture fragment displacement in both constructs. Overall longitudinal construct stiffness and load to failure was higher in the 3D-plates group but this did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionProduction of customised plates for proximal tibia fractures at point-of-care is feasible, however fixation constructs with these plates did not provide any biomechanical advantage over standard plates in terms of axial loading stiffness.     

Comparison between a new platelet count drop method PL-11, light transmission aggregometry,VerifyNow aspirin system and thromboelastography for monitoring short-term aspirin effects in healthy individuals

Platelet function has been described by many laboratory assays, and PL-11 is a new point-of-care platelet function analyzer based on platelet count drop method, which counts platelet before and after the addition of agonists in the citrated whole blood samples. The present study sought to compare PL-11 with other three major more established assays, light transmission aggregometry (LTA), VerifyNow? aspirin system and thromboelastography (TEG), for monitoring the short-term aspirin responses in healthy individuals. Ten healthy young men took 100?mg/d aspirin for 3-day treatment. Platelet function was measured via PL-11, LTA, VerifyNow and TEG, respectively. The blood samples were collected at baseline, 2 hour, 1 day during the aspirin treatment and 1 day, 5?±?1 days, 8?±?1 days after the aspirin withdrawal. Moreover, 90 additional healthy subjects were recruited to establish a reference range for PL-11. Platelet function of healthy subjects decreased significantly 2 hours after 100?mg/d aspirin intake and began to recover during 4–6 days after the aspirin withdrawal. Correlations between methods were PL-11 vs. LTA (r?=?0.614, p?<?0.01); PL-11 vs. VerifyNow (r?=?0.829, p?<?0.01); PL-11 vs. TEG (r?=?0.697, p?<?0.001). There was no significant bias between PL-11 and LTA at baseline (bias?=?1.94%, p?=?0.804) using Bland-Altman analysis, while the data of PL-11 were significantly higher than LTA (bias?=?24.02%, p?<?0.001) during the aspirin therapy. The reference range for PL-11 in healthy young individuals was from 66.8 to 90.5% (95%CI). When aspirin low-responsiveness was defined as LTA?>?20%, the cut-off values for each method were, respectively: PL-11?>?50%, VerifyNow?>?533 ARU, TEG?>?60.2%. The results of different platelet function assays were uninterchangeable for monitoring aspirin response and correlations among them were also varied. Correlations among PL-11 and other three major assays suggested the ability of PL-11 to assess the treatment effects of aspirin. But a large cohort study is needed to confirm the cut-off value of aspirin response detected by PL-11.     

CD14+单核细胞人类白细胞抗原DR表达率与脓毒症关系的研究

目的了解烧伤延迟复苏时CDl4^＋单核细胞人类白细胞抗原DR（HLA—DR）表达率的变化，分析其与脓毒症的关系。方法选择烧伤面积大于30％TBSA的25例烧伤延迟复苏患者，于伤后1、3、7、14、28d取外周血，其中7例患者住院期间并发脓毒症，于脓毒症发生后连续2d亦取其外周血。另取20例健康体检者外周血作为对照。流式细胞仪检测CD14^＋单核细胞HLA．DR表达率，酶联免疫吸附测定法检测血浆中肿瘤坏死因子α（TNF—α）、白细胞介素10（IL-10）的浓度。结果非脓毒症患者伤后1、3、7、14、28dCD14^＋单核细胞HLA—DR表达率分别为（15±6）％、（74±5）％、（264±17）％、（284-16）％、（474-16）％，明显低于健康体检者[（924±10）％，P〈0．01]；脓毒症患者发生脓毒症后1、2d，该指标亦明显低于健康体检者及非脓毒症患者伤后1、7、14、28d（P〈0．01）。脓毒症患者TNF—d检出率及TNF—α、IL-10浓度，均高于非脓毒症患者和健康体检者（P〈0．05或P〈0．01）。伤后1、7、28d，外周血CD14^＋单核细胞HLA—DR表达率与IL—10浓度呈显著负相关（r分别为-0．9963、-0．7459、-0．8474，P〈0．01）。结论烧伤延迟复苏患者免疫功能低下，促炎性介质释放量增加，并发脓毒症时则更为严重。外周血CD14^＋单核细胞HLA—DR表达率可作为动态检测患者免疫功能状态的有效指标。     

复发性鼻腔及鼻窦恶性肿瘤的挽救性治疗

目的 探讨鼻腔及鼻窦恶性肿瘤复发后的临床表现、与复发有关的因素、再手术的意义及缺损组织的修复。方法 排除原发性鼻腔鼻窦恶性肿瘤，仅收集治疗后复发并且有再手术意义的病例。应用乘积极限法估计生存率，Stata7．0统计软件进行统计运算。结果 1993～2002年共有25例患者符合要求。男19例，女6例，年龄13～66岁，平均46．1岁。所有患者均有至少1次手术或放射治疗史。末次治疗至复发的时间2周～46个月，中位时间18个月，80％的患者肿瘤复发出现于末次治疗后2年内。术后随访1～65个月。再手术中无死亡病例。5例健在无肿瘤复发；局部复发2例，颈部淋巴结转移1例，经过1刀或手术治疗后2例健在、1例带瘤生存；死于局部复发13例，死于肺转移1例，死于无关疾病1例，失访2例。1年生存率62．5%，2年生存率43．7％，3年生存率29．1％，中位生存时间18个月。术后发生脑脊液漏3例次，中枢性尿崩症1例次，皮瓣部分坏死1例次。手术修补脑脊液漏l例。结论 鼻腔及鼻窦恶性肿瘤局部复发多发生于末次治疗后2年之内，主要症状是头痛及局部隆起。肿瘤的类型和分化程度与复发密切相关。合理、及时的综合治疗有助于减少复发。运用有效修复手段的再手术可改善晚期患者的生活质量，延长生命。并发症主要是脑脊液漏，多数可通过保守方法治愈。     

HMME在不同溶液中光漂白反应动力学规律

目的 分析国产光敏剂血卟啉单甲醚（HMME）在不同溶液中光漂白反应动力学规律，加深对光漂白反应复杂反应过程的理解，并为HMME-PDT治疗微血管病变的数学建模研究提供实验依据和参数。 方法 根据光化学反应动力学原理，从理论上推导出在单纯溶液和复杂溶液（含可被光氧化的底物）中，单态氧介导的光漂白反应动力学方程，通过对实验测定的漂白数据（不同时间点的HMME浓度）进行拟合，进一步验证理论推导出光漂白反应动力学方程。 结果 HMME在单一溶液体系（PBS、DMSO）中的光漂白符合1级反应动力学过程，在含底物的复杂体系（白蛋白缓冲液、细胞悬液）中符合2级反应动力学过程。 结论 HMME在不同溶液体系中的光漂白遵循不同的反应动力学规律。根据化学反应动力学原理进行光漂白等复杂光化学反应过程的数学模拟是可行的，并有利于对复杂光化学反应过程的深入理解。