Radiological studies on the best entry point and trajectory of anterior cervical pedicle screw in the lower cervical spine

Objective

To explore the best entry point and trajectory of anterior cervical transpedicular screws in the lower cervical spine by radiological studies, and provide reference for clinical application.

Methods

Fifty patients were scanned by computed tomography and confirmed no obvious defect of the cervical spine. On horizontal axis, camber angle (α) and axial length (AL) were measured from C₃ to C₇. On sagittal view, the cranial or caudal angle (β) and sagittal length (SL) were also measured from C₃ to C₇. On the sagittal and horizontal planes vertebrae were respectively divided into four areas, ordered 1–4, on the anterior side of the pedicle. The areas and angles of pedicle intersect into the vertebral body were recorded. We inserted six anterior pedicle screws into the lower cervical spine of three patients by this technique.

Results

On transverse plane, camber angle (α) of C₃–C₅ increased gradually, while it decreased from C₅ to C₇. On sagittal view, C₃ and C₄ pedicles showed cranial tilting, while C₅ to C₇ were caudally tilted. AL and SL values increased gradually from C₃ to C₇. The number of the intersections of C₃–C₇ in each area was also different. Six pedicle screws of three cases were inserted into the lower cervical spine with proper placement and no complications.

Conclusion

Anterior transpedicular screw (ATPS) is a theoretically feasible option for internal fixation. The technique described in this paper was subsequently used in three patients without complication. Future improvement of ATPS insertion remains necessary for this technically demanding procedure.     

Intelligent detection endoscopic assistant: An artificial intelligence-based system for monitoring blind spots during esophagogastroduodenoscopy in real-time

BackgroundObservation of the entire stomach during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is important; however, there is a lack of effective evaluation tools.AimsTo develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted EGD system able to automatically monitor blind spots in real-time.MethodsAn AI-based system, called the Intelligent Detection Endoscopic Assistant (IDEA), was developed using a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM). The performance of IDEA for recognition of gastric sites in images and videos was evaluated. Primary outcomes included diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity.ResultsA total of 170,297 images and 5779 endoscopic videos were collected to develop the system. As the test group, 3100 EGD images were acquired to evaluate the performance of DCNN in recognition of gastric sites in images. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DCNN were determined as 97.18%,99.91%, and 99.83%, respectively. To assess the performance of IDEA in recognition of gastric sites in EGD videos, 129 videos were used as the test group. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of IDEA were 96.29%,93.32%, and 95.30%, respectively.ConclusionsIDEA achieved high accuracy for recognition of gastric sites in real-time. The system can be applied as a powerful assistant tool for monitoring blind spots during EGD.     

Correction to: Associations between serumIL-8 and knee symptoms,joint structures,and cartilage or bone biomarkers in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Clinical Rheumatology - There were overlaps between the article recently published in this journal [1] and the previous publications from the authors’ group [2-4] that they did not cite.]     

Overexpressed WT1 exhibits a specific immunophenotype in intermediate and poor cytogenetic risk acute myeloid leukemia

Annals of Hematology - Many studies have confirmed that overexpressed WT1 exists in leukemic cells, especially in AML. However, the immunophenotypic features of this sort of leukemic cells remain...     

组织学前列腺炎对经尿道前列腺剜除术的影响及临床意义

目的分析组织学前列腺炎对经尿道前列腺剜除术（PKEP）的影响程度和临床意义。方法通过经尿道前列腺剜除术对231例前列腺增生（BPH）患者行手术治疗。所有患者根据手术标本病理检查结果进行分组：138例BPH伴组织学前列腺炎患者（炎症组）和93例单纯BPH患者（对照组）,分析两组患者的增生腺体剥离时间,出血量,并发症发生情况以及术后排尿情况。结果两组患者的年龄差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）,两组患者前列腺体积差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。PSA、IPSS评分以及尿流率差异均有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。炎症组与对照组剥离时间分别为：（55±20）min和（37±11）min,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。炎症组5例发生前列腺包膜穿孔,对照组无穿孔发生,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。两组术中出血量分别为：（310±90）ml和（105±55）ml,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。炎症组8例需术中输血,对照组无输血,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。炎症组与对照组术后发生暂时性尿失禁分别为63例和19例,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。两组患者术后3个月尿流率差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。结论组织学前列腺炎是导致PKEP手术时间延长,增加术中出血量以及术后并发症发生的重要因素。     

胸腔腹膜后联合入路行肾动脉上型腹主动脉瘤手术的配合

对6例肾动脉上型腹主动脉瘤患者在全身麻醉下经胸腔腹膜后联合入行手术动脉瘤切除加人工血管重建术,手术效果满意,患者均存活至今。提出巡回护士做好充分的物品准备,为患者安置好上半身45°侧卧位,阻断动脉瘤远、近端前进行全身肝素化,术中密切观察生命体征;器械护士备好阻断钳、血管缝合线、人造血管,术中及时传递手术器械是手术配合的要点。