Effectiveness and safety of extracorporeal shock wave treatment for low back pain：a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs

This meta-analysis was designed to assess the effectiveness and safety of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for patients with low back pain (LBP). Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane's library, PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Data were searched until December 2019 to identify studies assessing the effectiveness and safety of EPSW for LBP. The prime outcome is pain intensity measured by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) or numeric rating scale (NRS). Other outcomes included functional status, quality of life, psychological outcomes measured by Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), as well as the adverse events. Mean differences (MD) were calculated for continuous outcomes, while odd ratios (OR) were calculated for binary outcomes. Revman 5.3 software was used for statistical analysis. Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were finally included in this meta-analysis. The pooled mean difference in post-treatment pain scores was −2.37 (P ＜0.0001), indicating that post-treatment pain scores was significantly higher by 2.37 in control group than in ESWT group. At a mean follow-up time of 4–6 weeks, the pooled mean difference in ODI scores was −14.10 (P ＜0.00001), indicating that the pooled mean difference of post-treatment ODI scores was 14.10 higher in control group than in ESWT group. The use of ESWT is effective in alleviating pain and improving the general functional state for patients with LBP. However, more evidence was needed to verify its safety.     

微创治疗方法在输尿管上段结石中应用进展

输尿管上段结石为临床中常见泌尿系结石类型之一,如不能及时诊治,可引起重度积水、泌尿系感染,甚至脓毒血症,对患者肾功能、健康造成严重影响。随着微创治疗技术在泌尿系结石中应用,微创治疗方法能降低对患者造成治疗性创伤,降低相关并发症发生率,促进患者康复,了解临床中微创治疗输尿管上段结石方法,对临床中合理治疗输尿管上段结石有重要价值。     

Relationship between EMG-detected and ultrasound-detected fasciculations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A prospective cohort study

ObjectivesFasciculation potentials (FP) are an important consideration in the electrophysiological diagnosis of ALS. Muscle ultrasonography (MUS) has a higher sensitivity in detecting fasciculations than electromyography (EMG), while in some cases, it is unable to detect EMG-detected fasciculations. We aimed to investigate the differences of FP between the muscles with and without MUS-detected fasciculations (MUS-fas).MethodsThirty-one consecutive patients with sporadic ALS were prospectively recruited and in those, both needle EMG and MUS were performed. Analyses of the amplitude, duration, and number of phases of EMG-detected FPs were performed for seven muscles per patient, and results were compared between the muscles with and without MUS-fas in the total cohort.ResultsThe mean amplitude and phase number of FP were significantly lower in patients with EMG-detected FP alone (0.39 ± 0.25 mV and 3.21 ± 0.88, respectively) than in those with both FP and MUS-fas (1.22 ± 0.92 mV and 3.74 ± 1.39, respectively; p < 0.0001 and p = 0.017, Welch’s t-test).ConclusionSmall FP may be undetectable with MUS. MUS cannot replace EMG in the diagnostic approach for ALS.SignificanceClinicians should use a combination of EMG and MUS for the detection and quantitative analysis of fasciculation in ALS.     

Breast Elastography: How to Perform and Integrate Into a “Best-Practice” Patient Treatment Algorithm

Breast elastography has been available for more than 15 years but is not widely incorporated into clinical practice. Many publications report extremely high accuracy for various breast elastographic techniques. However, results in the literature are extremely variable. This variability is most likely due to variations in technique, a relatively steep learning curve, and variability in methods between vendors. This article describes our protocol for performing breast elastography using both strain elastography and shear wave elastography, which produces high sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, we will describe the most commonly known false-positive and false-negative lesions as well as how to detect them.     

Er:YAG激光桩道预处理的研究进展

本文回顾了Er:YAG激光活化根管冲洗技术的最新研究进展,包括光子诱导光声流(photon initiated photoacoustic streaming,PIPS)技术和冲击波增强发射光声流(shock wave enhanced emission photoacoustic streaming,SWEEPS)技术,探讨Er:YAG激光预处理桩道的原理、优点以及对纤维桩粘接强度的影响,以期为临床选择适宜的桩道处理方法提供新思路。     

Magnetic resonance elastography with guided pressure waves

Magnetic resonance elastography aims to non-invasively and remotely characterize the mechanical properties of living tissues. To quantitatively and regionally map the shear viscoelastic moduli in vivo, the technique must achieve proper mechanical excitation throughout the targeted tissues. Although it is straightforward, ante manibus, in close organs such as the liver or the breast, which practitioners clinically palpate already, it is somewhat fortunately highly challenging to trick the natural protective barriers of remote organs such as the brain. So far, mechanical waves have been induced in the latter by shaking the surrounding cranial bones. Here, the skull was circumvented by guiding pressure waves inside the subject's buccal cavity so mechanical waves could propagate from within through the brainstem up to the brain. Repeatable, reproducible and robust displacement fields were recorded in phantoms and in vivo by magnetic resonance elastography with guided pressure waves such that quantitative mechanical outcomes were extracted in the human brain.     

The impact of neighborhoods and friendships on interracial anxiety among medical students and residents: A report from the medical student CHANGES study

Objective

To examine the experience of interracial anxiety among health professionals and how it may affect the quality of their interactions with patients from racially marginalized populations. We explored the influence of prior interracial exposure—specifically through childhood neighborhoods, college student bodies, and friend groups—on interracial anxiety among medical students and residents. We also examined whether levels of interracial anxiety change from medical school through residency.

Data Source

Web-based longitudinal survey data from the Medical Student Cognitive Habits and Growth Evaluation Study.

Study Design

We used a retrospective longitudinal design with four observations for each trainee. The study population consisted of non-Black US medical trainees surveyed in their 1st and 4th years of medical school and 2nd and 3rd years of residency. Mixed effects longitudinal models were used to assess predictors of interracial anxiety and assess changes in interracial anxiety scores over time.

Principal Findings

In total, 3155 non-Black medical trainees were followed for 7 years. Seventy-eight percent grew up in predominantly White neighborhoods. Living in predominantly White neighborhoods and having less racially diverse friends were associated with higher levels of interracial anxiety among medical trainees. Trainees' interracial anxiety scores did not substantially change over time; interracial anxiety was highest in the 1st year of medical school, lowest in the 4th year, and increased slightly during residency.

Conclusions

Neighborhood and friend group composition had independent effects on interracial anxiety, indicating that premedical racial socialization may affect medical trainees' preparedness to interact effectively with diverse patient populations. Additionally, the lack of substantial change in interracial anxiety throughout medical training suggests the importance of providing curricular tools and structure (e.g., instituting interracial cooperative learning activities) to foster the development of healthy interracial relationships.     

The challenges in scoring hypopneas in children: is pulse wave amplitude drop the answer?

BackgroundIdentifying electroencephalogram (EEG) cortical arousals are crucial in scoring hypopneas and respiratory efforts related arousals (RERAs) during a polysomnogram. As children have high arousal threshold, many of the flow limited breaths or hypopneas may not be associated with visual EEG arousals, hence this may lead to potential underestimation of the degree of sleep disordered breathing. Pulse wave amplitude (PWA) is a signal obtained from finger photoplethysmography which correlates directly to finger blood flow. The drop in PWA has been shown to be a sensitive marker for subcortical/autonomic and cortical arousals. Our aim was to use the drop in PWA as a surrogate for arousals to guide scoring of respiratory events in pediatric patients.MethodsTen polysomnograms for patients between the ages of 5–15 years who had obstructive apnea-hypopnea indices between 1 and 5 events/hour were identified. Patients with syndromes were excluded. A drop in PWA signal of at least 30% that lasted for 3 s was needed to identify subcortical/autonomic arousals. Arousals were rescored based on this criteria and subsequently respiratory events were rescored. Paired t-tests were employed to compare PSG indices scored with or without PWA incorporation.ResultsThe sample of 10 children included 2 females, and the average age was 9.8 ± 3.1 years. Overall, polysomnography revealed an average total sleep time of 464.1 ± 25 min, sleep efficiency of 92% +/−4.2, sleep latency of 19.6 ± 17.0 min, rapid eye movement (REM) latency 143 ± 66 min, N1 3.9% +/−2.0, N2 50.3% +/−12.0, N3 28.2% +/−9.1, REM 16.7% +/−4.0, and wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO) 18.1 ± 7.5 min. Including arousals from PWA changes, respiratory indices significantly increased including total AHI (2.3 ± 0.7 vs 5.7 ± 2.1, p < 0.001), obstructive AHI (1.45 ± 0.7 vs 4.8 ± 1.8, p < 0.001), and RDI (2.36 ± 0.7 vs 7.6 ± 2.0, p < 0.001). Likewise, total arousal index was significantly higher (8.7 ± 2.3 vs 29.4 ± 6.5, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe drop in pulse wave amplitude signal is a useful marker to guide scoring arousals that are not otherwise easily identified in pediatric polysomnography and subsequently helped in scoring respiratory events that otherwise would not be scored. Further studies are needed to delineate if such methodology would affect clinical outcome.