Risk prediction of common bile duct stone recurrence based on new common bile duct morphological subtypes

Stones in the common bile duct (CBD) are reported worldwide, and this condition is majorly managed through endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). CBD stone recurrence is an important issue after endoscopic stone removal. Therefore, it is essential to identify its risk factors to determine the necessity of regular follow-up in patients who underwent endoscopic removal of CBD stones. The authors identified that the S and polyline morphological subtypes of CBD were associated with increased stone recurrence. New morphological subtypes of CBD presented by the authors can be important risk predictors of recurrence after endoscopic stone removal. Furthermore, the new morphological subtypes of CBD may predict the risk of residual CBD stones or technical difficulty in CBD stone removal. Further studies with a large sample size and longer follow-up durations are warranted to examine the usefulness of the newly identified morphological subtypes of CBD in predicting the outcomes of ERCP for CBD stone removal.     

取环致宫腔化脓性感染引发腰椎间盘炎一例报道并文献复习

宫腔化脓性感染是一种严重的盆腔炎性疾病（PID），主要表现为发热、腹痛、阴道分泌物增多等症状。椎间盘炎是发生于椎间盘间隙和邻近椎体或软骨板的感染性病变，其症状及体征缺乏特异性，临床上容易诊断延迟直至出现椎体骨质破坏及下肢肌力减弱。本文报道了1例因取环手术引发宫腔化脓性感染进而引发腰椎间盘炎，出现腰痛伴行走障碍的患者，并进行了文献复习，加深了对PID的病原体、感染传播途径、诊断标准、治疗原则及其严重不良后果的认识。对于非特异性椎间隙感染，临床医生除实验室检查及影像学检查之外，还应仔细询问病史并了解病情的演变过程，及时诊断并进行手术治疗。     

Successful treatment of linezolid-induced severe lactic acidosis with continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration: A case report

Linezolid is an oxazolidinone antibiotic. Linezolid-associated lactic acidosis has been reported in 6.8% of linezolid-treated patients. Lactic acidosis is associated with poor clinical outcomes, with high blood lactate levels resulting in organ dysfunction and mortality. This case report describes the development of lactic acidosis in a 64-year-old Chinese woman who had received 33 days of treatment with antituberculosis drugs and 28 days of treatment with oral linezolid for tuberculous meningitis. Severe lactic acidosis was reversed by withdrawing antituberculosis drugs and using continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVH). When the patient's condition was stable, she was transferred to the infectious disease department, and antituberculosis drugs, with the exception of linezolid, were reintroduced. This did not result in recurrence of lactic acidosis. The causal relationship between lactic acidosis and linezolid was categorized as ‘probable’ on the Adverse Drug Reaction Probability Scale. This case demonstrates that CVVH has potential as an alternative to discontinuation of linezolid alone for rapid reversal of linezolid-associated severe lactic acidosis.     

Comparison of quantitative susceptibility mapping methods on evaluating radiation-induced cerebral microbleeds and basal ganglia at 3T and 7T

Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has the potential for being a biomarker for various diseases because of its ability to measure tissue susceptibility related to iron deposition, myelin, and hemorrhage from the phase signal of a T₂*-weighted MRI. Despite its promise as a quantitative marker, QSM is faced with many challenges, including its dependence on preprocessing of the raw phase data, the relatively weak tissue signal, and the inherently ill posed relationship between the magnetic dipole and measured phase. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of background field removal and dipole inversion algorithms on noise characteristics, image uniformity, and structural contrast for cerebral microbleed (CMB) quantification at both 3T and 7T. We selected four widely used background phase removal and five dipole field inversion algorithms for QSM and applied them to volunteers and patients with CMBs, who were scanned at two different field strengths, with ground truth QSM reference calculated using multiple orientation scans. 7T MRI provided QSM images with lower noise than did 3T MRI. QSIP and VSHARP + iLSQR achieved the highest white matter homogeneity and vein contrast, with QSIP also providing the highest CMB contrast. Compared with ground truth COSMOS QSM images, overall good correlations between susceptibility values of dipole inversion algorithms and the COSMOS reference were observed in basal ganglia regions, with VSHARP + iLSQR achieving the susceptibility values most similar to COSMOS across all regions. This study can provide guidance for selecting the most appropriate QSM processing pipeline based on the application of interest and scanner field strength.     

碳离子和质子治疗胰腺癌安全性和有效性的系统评价及Meta分析

目的 评价碳离子和质子治疗胰腺癌（PaC）的安全性和有效性。方法 检索数据库纳入碳离子和质子治疗PaC的临床研究，检索时间为自建库至2019年6月。两位研究者独立筛选文献、提取资料。采用STATA 12.0和MetaAnalyst Beta 3.13软件进行Meta分析。结果 共纳入8篇文献，包含459例PaC患者。效应模型Meta分析显示，碳离子和质子治疗PaC的2、3、5级胃肠道溃疡发生率分别为7%、2%、0；2、3、4级厌食症发生率分别为6%、3%、0；1、2年总生存率（OS）分别为77%、45%；2年局部控制率为81%；1年无局部进展率为88%；1年局部复发率为15%。碳离子和质子治疗PaC的2、3、2～3级胃肠道溃疡发生率分别为6.8%、1.5%、9.2%和3.5%、8.3%、6.1%（均P>0.05）；1、2年OS分别为77.1%、44.4%和77.6%、49.7%（P均>0.05）。结论 碳离子和质子治疗PaC安全有效，两者的安全性和有效性相似。     

Exercise Intolerance in Patients With Heart Failure: JACC State-of-the-Art Review

Exercise intolerance is the cardinal symptom of heart failure (HF) and is of crucial relevance, because it is associated with a poor quality of life and increased mortality. While impaired cardiac reserve is considered to be central in HF, reduced exercise and functional capacity are the result of key patient characteristics and multisystem dysfunction, including aging, impaired pulmonary reserve, as well as peripheral and respiratory skeletal muscle dysfunction. We herein review the different modalities to quantify exercise intolerance, the pathophysiology of HF, and comorbid conditions as they lead to reductions in exercise and functional capacity, highlighting the fact that distinct causes may coexist and variably contribute to exercise intolerance in patients with HF.     

Nanotechnology for colorectal cancer detection and treatment

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. Across the globe, people in the age group older than 50 are at a higher risk of CRC. Genetic and environmental risk factors play a significant role in the development of CRC. If detected early, CRC is preventable and treatable. Currently, available screening methods and therapies for CRC treatment reduce the incidence rate among the population, but the micrometastasis of cancer may lead to recurrence. Therefore, the challenge is to develop an alternative therapy to overcome this complication. Nanotechnology plays a vital role in cancer treatment and offers targeted chemotherapies directly and selectively to cancer cells, with enhanced therapeutic efficacy. Additionally, nanotechnology elevates the chances of patient survival in comparison to traditional chemotherapies. The potential of nanoparticles includes that they may be used simultaneously for diagnosis and treatment. These exciting properties of nanoparticles have enticed researchers worldwide to unveil their use in early CRC detection and as effective treatment. This review discusses contemporary methods of CRC screening and therapies for CRC treatment, while the primary focus is on the theranostic approach of nanotechnology in CRC treatment and its prospects. In addition, this review aims to provide knowledge on the advancement of nanotechnology in CRC and as a starting point for researchers to think about new therapeutic approaches using nanotechnology.