Modern Medicine: Ideas and Advances

Considering the limitations of medical science and the risks associated with medical treatments, we need to re-examine the connotation of medical science from the perspective of philosophy. Medical science is the natural expression of human kindness and human nature of rescuing the dying and healing the wounded. It is a combination of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. From the perspectives of medical philosophy and humanistic care, this article expounds the concepts and ideas of evidence-based, translational, and precision medicine in modern medicine and emphasizes the importance of avoiding new technical bureaucracy, paying attention to achieving a holistic view and systematic understanding, and avoiding biases in development because of the loss of the humanistic spirit in modern medical practice.     

Psychomotor therapy targeting anger and aggressive behaviour in individuals with mild or borderline intellectual disabilities: A systematic review

Background: Poor anger regulation is considered a risk factor of aggression in individuals with mild or borderline intellectual disabilities. Psychomotor therapy (PMT) targets anger regulation through body- and movement-oriented interventions. This study aims to inform practitioners on efficacy and research-base of PMT in this population.

Method: This systematic review evaluated nine studies which met inclusion criteria in terms of participants, intervention procedures, outcomes and certainty of evidence.

Results: Seven studies revealed a substantial reduction of aggressive behaviour or anger. Certainty of evidence was rated inconclusive in most cases due to absence of experimental control.

Conclusions: We can conclude that body-oriented PMT, involving progressive relaxation and meditation procedure “Soles of the Feet”, is a promising approach. However, the paucity of studies and methodological limitations preclude classifying it as an evidence-based practice. This suggests stronger methodological research and research aimed at PMT’s mechanisms of action (e.g., improved interoceptive awareness) is warranted.     

Variant analysis and genotype/phenotype association study in 42 Chinese patients with Bartter syndrome type 3

Objective To analyze the variants of 42 Chinese patients with Bartter syndrome type 3 (BS3) and explore the characteristics of genotype and phenotype. Methods Forty-two genetically diagnosed patients from 40 Han and one Hui families were collected in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University and the Affiliated Qingdao Municipal Hospital of Qingdao University during the period of June 2012 to October 2018. The second-generation sequencing and multiplex ligase probe-dependent amplification (MLPA) technique were used to analyze the CLCNKB gene variation and its characteristics in children with BS3. The clinical data were collected, and the therapeutic effect and growth improvement were observed and followed up. Thirty eight patients were divided into severe (n=26) and light (n=12) groups according to the severity of genetic variation. The clinical phenotypic characteristics of the two groups were compared. Results Thirty-six variants including 16 novel ones of CLCNKB gene were found. The whole gene deletion of CLCNKB gene was the most frequent mutation (40%), and the rate of large deletions was up to 55%. The most common symptoms included development retardation (38/42), polydipsia and polyuria (35/42), constipation (31/42) and vomiting (27/42). All patients presented with hypokalemia, hypochloremia and metabolic alkalosis. After the medicine treatment that based on indomethacin and potassium chloride, most patients could achieve obvious recovery of growth rate and restoration of hypokalemia. The severe group showed more severe metabolic alkalosis than the light group. Conclusions Thirty-six variants of CLCNKB gene have been found in this study, including 16 novel ones, which enrich the human gene mutation database (HGMD) and provide valuable references to diagnosis, treatment and the genetic counseling of Chinese population.     

老年脓毒症患者临床特征及预后影响因素

 目的 探讨老年脓毒症患者临床特征及影响预后的危险因素。方法 选取2020年7月-2021年9月某三级甲等医院收治的老年脓毒症患者为研究对象，记录患者的临床及实验室资料，根据患者28天预后情况分为存活组和死亡组，比较各临床指标在两组间的差异，应用二元logistic回归分析法分析影响老年脓毒症患者预后的独立危险因素，进一步绘制受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线，评估不同指标预测患者预后的价值。结果 共纳入121例患者，其中74例为脓毒症，47例为脓毒性休克。存活组92例，死亡组29例。与存活组相比，死亡组患者发生脓毒性休克、合并症个数 ≥ 2的比例均较高（P<0.05）；序贯器官衰竭评估（SOFA）评分和急性生理与慢性健康状况评估（APACHEⅡ）评分也较高，白细胞介素6（IL-6）、胱抑素C（Cys-C）、降钙素原（PCT）、凝血酶原时间（PT）和D -二聚体（D -D）表达水平均增高（均P<0.05），而淋巴细胞绝对计数（ALC）和清蛋白（ALB）表达水平降低（均P<0.01）。二元logistic回归分析显示脓毒性休克、SOFA评分、D -D及Cys-C表达水平是影响老年脓毒症患者28天预后的独立危险因素。ROC曲线分析显示SOFA评分（AUC=0.758）、D -D（AUC=0.774）、Cys-C（AUC=0.650）预测患者的预后均有一定的价值（均P<0.01），与单个指标相比，三个指标的联合检测显示出更高的预测价值（AUC=0.882）。结论 发生脓毒性休克、SOFA评分增高、D -D及Cys-C表达水平增加是导致老年脓毒症患者病死率上升的独立危险因素，SOFA评分、D -D和Cys-C的联合检测可进一步提高脓毒症患者预后的预测价值，为临床治疗和预后评估提供参考依据。     

Applicability of 3D-printed models in hepatobiliary surgey: results from “LIV3DPRINT” multicenter study

BackgroundHepatobiliary resections are challenging due to the complex liver anatomy. Three-dimensional printing (3DP) has gained popularity due to its ability to produce anatomical models based on the characteristics of each patient.MethodsA multicenter study was conducted on complex hepatobiliary tumours. The endpoint was to validate 3DP model accuracy from original image sources for application in the teaching, patient-communication, and planning of hepatobiliary surgery.ResultsThirty-five patients from eight centers were included. Process testing between 3DP and CT/MRI presented a considerable degree of similarity in vascular calibers (0.22 ± 1.8 mm), and distances between the tumour and vessel (0.31 ± 0.24 mm). The Dice Similarity Coefficient was 0.92, with a variation of 2%. Bland–Altman plots also demonstrated an agreement between 3DP and the surgical specimen with the distance of the resection margin (1.15 ± 1.52 mm). Professionals considered 3DP at a positive rate of 0.89 (95%CI; 0.73–0.95). According to student's distribution a higher success rate was reached with 3DP (median:0.9, IQR: 0.8–1) compared with CT/MRI or 3D digital imaging (P = 0.01).Conclusion3DP hepatic models present a good correlation compared with CT/MRI and surgical pathology and they are useful for education, understanding, and surgical planning, but does not necessarily affect the surgical outcome.     

调强放射治疗在不可切除老年胃癌患者姑息治疗中的临床价值

目的:探讨调强放射治疗（intensity-modulated radiotherapy，IMRT）在老年不可切除胃癌患者中姑息减症治疗的临床价值。方法:回顾性分析23例老年病理确诊胃癌患者，手术无法切除，伴有出血(78.3%)、梗阻(52.2%)及疼痛(69.6%)症状；采用调强放射治疗为主的姑息治疗。观察治疗后症状缓解率、症状缓解时间以及中位生存时间（median overall survival，mOS）。结果: 全组患者男性16例，女性7例，年龄60~89岁(平均74岁)；Ⅲ期9例，Ⅳ期14例。全部采用6MV X线IMRT，常规分割，1.8~2.2 Gy/次，5次/周，总剂量35~50 Gy；同步放化5例，序贯化疗9例。出血、梗阻及疼痛症状缓解率分别为77.8%(14例)、58.3%(7例)和56.2%(9例)；中位症状缓解时间分别为101天、87天和99天。全组中位生存时间114天，症状缓解者中位生存时间较症状未缓解者明显延长(129天 vs 73天，P=0.01)。治疗期间出现Ⅲ级毒副反应者2例。结论:IMRT是一个有效的、可耐受的并能够缓解老年不可切除胃癌患者临床症状的治疗手段，可以改善患者生活质量，延长生存期。     

Analysis of Stroke Detection during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Natural Language Processing of Radiology Reports

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to decreases in neuroimaging volume. Our aim was to quantify the change in acute or subacute ischemic strokes detected on CT or MR imaging during the pandemic using natural language processing of radiology reports.MATERIALS AND METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed 32,555 radiology reports from brain CTs and MRIs from a comprehensive stroke center, performed from March 1 to April 30 each year from 2017 to 2020, involving 20,414 unique patients. To detect acute or subacute ischemic stroke in free-text reports, we trained a random forest natural language processing classifier using 1987 randomly sampled radiology reports with manual annotation. Natural language processing classifier generalizability was evaluated using 1974 imaging reports from an external dataset.RESULTS:The natural language processing classifier achieved a 5-fold cross-validation classification accuracy of 0.97 and an F1 score of 0.74, with a slight underestimation (−5%) of actual numbers of acute or subacute ischemic strokes in cross-validation. Importantly, cross-validation performance stratified by year was similar. Applying the classifier to the complete study cohort, we found an estimated 24% decrease in patients with acute or subacute ischemic strokes reported on CT or MR imaging from March to April 2020 compared with the average from those months in 2017–2019. Among patients with stroke-related order indications, the estimated proportion who underwent neuroimaging with acute or subacute ischemic stroke detection significantly increased from 16% during 2017–2019 to 21% in 2020 (P = .01). The natural language processing classifier performed worse on external data.CONCLUSIONS:Acute or subacute ischemic stroke cases detected by neuroimaging decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, though a higher proportion of studies ordered for stroke were positive for acute or subacute ischemic strokes. Natural language processing approaches can help automatically track acute or subacute ischemic stroke numbers for epidemiologic studies, though local classifier training is important due to radiologist reporting style differences.

There is much concern regarding the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the quality of stroke care, including issues with hospital capacity, clinical resource re-allocation, and the safety of patients and clinicians.^1,2 Previous reports have shown that there have been substantial decreases in stroke neuroimaging volume during the pandemic.^3,4 In addition, acute ischemic infarcts have been found on neuroimaging studies in many hospitalized patients with COVID-19, though the causal relationship is unclear.^5,6 Studies like these and other epidemiologic analyses usually rely on the creation of manually curated databases, in which identification of cases can be time-consuming and difficult to update in real-time. One way to facilitate such research is to use natural language processing (NLP), which has shown utility for automated analysis of radiology report data.⁷ NLP algorithms have been developed previously for the classification of neuroradiology reports for the presence of ischemic stroke findings and acute ischemic stroke subtypes.^8,9 Thus, NLP has the potential to facilitate COVID-19 research.In this study, we developed an NLP machine learning model that classifies radiology reports for the presence or absence of acute or subacute ischemic stroke (ASIS), as opposed to chronic stroke. We used this model to quantify the change in ASIS detected on all CT or MR imaging studies performed at a large comprehensive stroke center during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. We also evaluated NLP model generalizability and different training strategies using a sample of radiology reports from a second stroke center.     

硬膜外麻醉与椎旁神经阻滞非气管插管单孔胸腔镜手术效果比较

目的比较硬膜外麻醉与椎旁神经阻滞非气管插管单孔胸腔镜手术的效果。方法选择2017年11月至2019年6月锦州医科大学附属第一医院收治的45例采用非气管插管麻醉单孔胸腔镜手术的肺部良恶性肿瘤患者,采用随机数字表法分为椎旁神经阻滞组(22例)与硬膜外麻醉组(23例)。麻醉诱导前,椎旁神经阻滞组均于超声引导下阻滞胸3~6棘突旁神经根;硬膜外麻醉组均于胸6~7或7~8间隙行硬膜外穿刺置管麻醉。比较两组手术时间、术中出血量、术后定向力恢复时间、下床活动时间、带管时间、出院时间及相关并发症。结果两组患者手术时间、术中出血量差异均无统计学意义(均P>0.05)。与硬膜外麻醉组相比,椎旁神经阻滞组术后定向力恢复时间[(7.22±2.20)min比(18.80±5.06)min]、下床活动时间[(11.45±3.01)h比(21.90±4.61)h]、带管时间[(2.77±0.81)d比(5.47±1.31)d]、出院时间[(3.68±0.84)d比(6.17±1.03)d]均缩短,两组差异均有统计学意义(t值分别为-9.874、-8.763、-8.282、-7.594,均P<0.05)。椎旁神经阻滞组术后未发生低氧血症、低血压、肺部并发症、恶心、呕吐、尿潴留等相关并发症。结论非气管插管单孔胸腔镜手术中采用椎旁神经阻滞术后恢复快、并发症少,临床上可优先选择,有助于快速康复。