Esophageal Calibration with Soft Orogasrtric Tube During Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication may Reduce Postoperative Transient Dysphagia

Gastroesophageal reflux is the most common benign disorder of the esophagus and laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication has become the standard surgical treatment for its treatment. In our area, where the use of bougie calibration is debatable, postoperative dysphagia is encountered often after this surgery although it is usually not permanent. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using a soft silicone tube 39 F in diameter for esophageal calibration during laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication on the incidence of postoperative dysphagia. We divided cases scheduled to undergo laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication between January 2009 and November 2010 into two groups, each consisting 25 patients. Esophageal calibration with a 39 F silicone orogastric tube was used for the first group while there was no operative calibration in the second group. The surgical duration was recorded; the presence and severity of the postoperative dysphagia was calculated by using a dysphagia severity scoring system during the 1-year postoperative follow-up. The dysphagia severity scores were significantly lower in group 1 than group 2 on the postoperative second day and at the end of the first week and first month. We did not find a significant difference at the end of the 6-month and first year. There was also no significant difference regarding surgery duration. The use of a soft orogastric tube 39 F in diameter for esophagus calibration during laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication has significantly decreased the incidence of postoperative transient dysphagia without affecting the duration of surgery. Although dysphagia gradually resolves in the majority of patients, a safe and easy calibration method for its prevention is worth developing, and we believe that the use of our method in larger series could be beneficial.     

Quantitative chemical exchange saturation transfer (qCEST) MRI – omega plot analysis of RF‐spillover‐corrected inverse CEST ratio asymmetry for simultaneous determination of labile proton ratio and exchange rate

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI is sensitive to labile proton concentration and exchange rate, thus allowing measurement of dilute CEST agent and microenvironmental properties. However, CEST measurement depends not only on the CEST agent properties but also on the experimental conditions. Quantitative CEST (qCEST) analysis has been proposed to address the limitation of the commonly used simplistic CEST‐weighted calculation. Recent research has shown that the concomitant direct RF saturation (spillover) effect can be corrected using an inverse CEST ratio calculation. We postulated that a simplified qCEST analysis is feasible with omega plot analysis of the inverse CEST asymmetry calculation. Specifically, simulations showed that the numerically derived labile proton ratio and exchange rate were in good agreement with input values. In addition, the qCEST analysis was confirmed experimentally in a phantom with concurrent variation in CEST agent concentration and pH. Also, we demonstrated that the derived labile proton ratio increased linearly with creatine concentration (P < 0.01) while the pH‐dependent exchange rate followed a dominantly base‐catalyzed exchange relationship (P < 0.01). In summary, our study verified that a simplified qCEST analysis can simultaneously determine labile proton ratio and exchange rate in a relatively complex in vitro CEST system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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。