Tanzania IR Initiative: Training the First Generation of Interventional Radiologists

Despite a population of nearly 60 million, there is currently not a single interventional radiologist in Tanzania. Based on an Interventional Radiology (IR) Readiness Assessment, the key obstacles to establishing IR in Tanzania are the lack of training opportunities and limited availability of disposable equipment. An IR training program was designed and initiated, which relies on US-based volunteer teams of IR physicians, nurses, and technologists to locally train radiology residents, nurses, and technologists. Preliminary results support this strategy for addressing the lack of training opportunities and provide a model for introducing IR to other resource-limited settings.     

Mildly decreased preoperative bilirubin levels are associated with infections after shoulder and knee arthroplasty

Increasing numbers of arthroplasties are also accompanied by postoperative infections. The main purpose was to evaluate preoperative serum bilirubin levels between patients with and without infections after shoulder and knee arthroplasties. For this retrospective case-control single-center study, a total of 108 patients were extracted from a prospectively collected database. Eighteen patients with infections after shoulder (n = 8) and knee (n = 10) arthroplasty were matched by age, gender, and implant type in a 1:5-scenario to 90 patients (40 shoulders and 50 knees) without postoperative infection. Demographic data, preoperative blood parameters, and postoperative infection-related outcomes were evaluated. Total bilirubin was the only preoperative parameter significantly different between the infection (8.21 ± 3.25 μmol/L or 0.48 ± 0.19 mg/dL) and noninfection (10.78 ± 4.62 μmol/L or 0.63 ± 0.27 mg/dL; P = .014) group, while C-reactive protein and other liver parameters were similar between the groups. Significantly more controls (92.1%) had preoperative bilirubin levels above 8.72 μmol/L or 0.51 mg/dL than cases (7.9%; P = .007). The 5-year infection survival-rate was 65.6% for patients with preoperative bilirubin levels < 8.72 μmol/L or < 0.51 mg/dL and 91.2% with ≥ 8.72 μmol/L or ≥ 0.51 mg/dL. Mildly decreased preoperative bilirubin levels with a cutoff at 8.72 μmol/L or 0.51 mg/dL were significantly associated to patients with infections after shoulder and knee arthroplasty. There were no differences in other blood parameters or comorbidities between patients with infections and their matched-controls.     

探析新型冠状病毒肺炎的眼表损害及中西医治疗对策＊

新型冠状病毒肺炎（corona virus disease 2019，COVID-19）自2019年12月爆发以来，由于具有高传染性，迅速在世界各地蔓延，国内外疫情防治形势空前严峻。COVID-19不仅造成肺部、肠道、肾脏等多脏器损害，且部分患者以眼表损害为首发或伴发症状出现，临床上很容易被忽视。COVID-19的眼表损害归属于祖国医学“天行赤眼”范畴，本文结合国内外最新的文献报道，探讨新型冠状病毒（2019 novel corona virus，2019-nCoV）对眼表的损害，阐明其可能机制，并从中西医角度提出可行的治疗措施。     

AKR7A3在肺腺癌中异常表达及临床意义

目的:探讨醛-酮还原酶家族7成员A3（AKR7A3）在肺腺癌中的异常表达及与临床病理特征的关系，并探究其临床意义。方法:采用生物信息学数据库分析、免疫组化、Western Blot、Real-time PCR等方法对肺腺癌组织及不同细胞中AKR7A3的表达进行检测与分析。结果:Oncomine数据库分析结果显示，在肺腺癌中，AKR7A3的表达普遍高于正常肺组织，分别为正常肺组织的1.811倍（P=0.022）、1.356倍（P<0.01）、1.413倍（P=0.002）。Kaplan-Meier Plotter数据库分析结果显示，AKR7A3高表达的患者较低表达的患者生存时间缩短，差异具有统计学意义（P=0.003 7）。免疫组化染色显示肺腺癌组织中AKR7A3的表达较癌旁增高，在与临床病理特征的相关性分析中，发现其与肿瘤分化程度（P<0.01）、淋巴结转移情况（P=0.029）以及TNM分期（P<0.01）相关，且会造成患者生存时间缩短（P=0.031）。Cox多因素分析表明AKR7A3可能是影响肺腺癌患者预后的独立危险因素(P=0.012)。Western Blot及Real-time PCR实验提示不同肺腺癌细胞中AKR7A3蛋白及mRNA表达普遍增高。结论:AKR7A3在肺腺癌中表达增高，对预后有不良影响，有促进肿瘤发生发展的作用。