Efficacy of an artificial pancreas device for achieving tight perioperative glycemic control in living donor liver transplantation

Intraoperative hyperglycemia during liver transplantation can induce infectious bacterial complications after surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the artificial endocrine pancreas in achieving perioperative blood glucose control and preventing infection in patients undergoing living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We compared 14 patients with an artificial endocrine pancreas device to 14 patients who underwent glycemic control using the sliding scale method with respect to perioperative blood glucose level and postoperative infection. In this study, we aimed to control the perioperative glucose levels consecutively for 24 hours from the induction of anesthesia. The average blood glucose level in the artificial pancreas group was significantly lower than that in the sliding scale group (118 vs. 141 mg/dL, P < 0.05). The postoperative bacterial infection rate of the artificial pancreas group was significantly lower than that of the sliding scale group within one month after LDLT (35.7% vs. 78.6%, P < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed non‐application of artificial endocrine pancreas as a significant risk factor of posttransplant infection. The artificial endocrine pancreas enabled the perioperative glucose level to be stably controlled without hypoglycemia. Artificial pancreas may reduce the incidence of postoperative infection after LDLT.     

Education in people with venous leg ulcers based on a brochure about compression therapy: A quasi‐randomised controlled trial

Brochures are a useful supplement to patient education. There is increasing evidence that they are an effective medium to support patient satisfaction, adherence, and empowerment. This study aims to produce reliable data on how much patients with venous leg ulcer (VLU) may profit from a brochure that focuses on VLU and on measures and aims of the related compression therapy. The evaluation took part from October 2018 until March 2019 and included 136 patients with VLU and related compression therapy. They were randomly sorted into a case group and a control group of 68 patients each. The case group received a brochure about venous disease and compression therapy and filled in a questionnaire after reading. The questions ranged from basic knowledge about VLU and compression therapy to aspects of self‐care. The control group answered the same questions without previous reading of the brochure. The results show that in almost every aspect, the patients in the case group were better informed about their diseases, the compression therapy, and how they may support the measures adequately. This study suggests that patients with VLU may profit from a brochure that explains their disease and the related compression therapy. Better knowledge and understanding may strengthen their empowerment and adherence.     

Impact of negative‐pressure wound therapy on bacterial behaviour and bioburden in a contaminated full‐thickness wound

The use of negative‐pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has displayed significant clinical benefits in the healing of infected wounds. However, the effects of NPWT on bacterial colonisation and infection of traumatic wounds has been controversial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of NPWT treatment in rabbits with a contaminated full‐thickness wound on bacterial behaviour, including colony morphology, spatial distribution, fissional proliferation, and bacterial bioburden. Full‐thickness wounds were created on the back of rabbits, and were inoculated with bioluminescent Staphylococcus aureus. The wounds were treated with sterile gauze dressings and NPWT with continuous negative pressure (−125 mm Hg). Wound samples were harvested on days 0 (6 hours after bacterial inoculation), 2, 4, 6, and 8 at the centre of wound beds before irrigation. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses were performed to determine the characteristic bacteriology. Laser scanning confocal microscopy was performed to obtain bioluminescent images, which were used to observe spatial distribution of the GFP‐labelled S. aureus within the tissue and quantify the bacterial bioburden. NPWT resulted in sparse amounts of scattered bacteria on the wound surface or as sparsely spaced single colonies within the tissue. Wound bioburden on day 8 in the NPWT and gauze groups was 34.6 ± 5.5% and 141.9 ± 15.4% of the baseline values (N = 6), respectively (P < .0001). TEM showed a lack of S. aureus active fission within NPWT‐treated tissue. NPWT can impact S. aureus colony morphology and spatial distribution both on the surface and within wound tissue, and reduce S. aureus as early as 48 hours after therapy initiation. Additionally, NPWT inhibits bacterial fissional proliferation in microcolonies.     

Factors influencing choice of medical vs. surgical treatment of pediatric appendicitis

PurposeTo examine what proportion of caregivers, if given a choice, would choose medical versus surgical treatment of appendicitis and what factors would be important in their decision.MethodsA survey was devised and given to the caregivers of children presenting to the pediatrician for a routine visit in community and academic pediatric clinics. The survey presented a summary of outcomes after medical (non-operative) and surgical treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis. Participants were then asked to choose medical versus surgical treatment if their child were to develop appendicitis. They were also asked to rate the importance of certain factors in their decision ? 1 being “not important” and 5 being “very important”.ResultsFour hundred surveys were distributed with an 86.2% (345/400) response rate. Six percent (21/342) of respondents reported a history of appendicitis and 49.4% (168/340) reported having known someone who had appendicitis. The majority of respondents, 85.3% (284/333), were mothers. A minority of respondents, 41.7% (95% CI: 36.7, 47.0), chose medical treatment over surgery for appendicitis. There was no statistical difference in the proportion of mothers (41.6%) versus fathers who chose medical treatment (41.3%). Caregivers who chose medical treatment were more likely to rate time in hospital (p = .008) and time out of school (p = 05) as important in decision making when compared with those who chose surgery. Those who chose surgical treatment were more likely to rate risk of recurrent appendicitis (p < .001) as important to decision making. In the multivariate analysis, those who rated time in hospital as very important had more than twice the odds of choosing medical therapy (OR 2.20, p = 0.02) when compared with those who rated it as less important. Not knowing someone who has had appendicitis was significantly associated with choosing medical therapy when compared with those who do know someone who has had appendicitis, OR 2.3, p = .002. Rating pain as very important was also significantly associated with choosing medical therapy, when compared to those rating pain 1–3, OR 3.38, p = .03.ConclusionsIn this survey of caregivers of children presenting for routine care, 41.7% would choose medical, or non-operative, therapy for their children with acute appendicitis. The risk of recurrence, time in hospital, and time out of school, pain, and knowing someone who has had appendicitis were all important factors that families may consider when making a decision. These data may be useful for surgeons counseling patients on which treatment to pursue.     

Entrapment of the basilar artery within a clivus fracture: Case report and literature review

A review of the literature revealed that basilar artery (BA) entrapment is a very rare (17 cases published) and severe pathological condition, which often leads to death. We report the case of a 72-year-old man who presented with a longitudinal clivus fracture associated with a basilar artery entrapment. This entrapment was responsible for a basilar artery dissection, which led to an ischemic stroke in the pons. The patient was managed with medical treatment, mainly to avoid a progression towards an ischemic stroke. It consisted of heparin therapy followed by antiplatelet therapy, which finally resulted in a successful outcome. In BA entrapment most of the patients who had a favorable outcome received antithrombotic therapy. This suggests that antithrombotic therapy might be useful in the first line treatment of post-traumatic BA entrapment.     

不同来源的间充质干细胞治疗骨与软骨组织疾病的研究进展

近年来,随着细胞和组织工程技术的发展,间充质干细胞广泛受到关注和研究,具有易分离获取、培养过程相对简单等优点,并且能够自我更新并分化成多种细胞类型,包括成骨细胞、软骨细胞、脂肪细胞等,是较为理想的种子细胞。在骨髓间充质干细胞大量的研究基础上,脂肪、骨骼肌、滑膜等多种不同来源的间充质干细胞也广泛应用在骨及软骨组织的体内研究和体外研究中。虽然间充质干细胞在基础性研究方面取得了飞跃进展,但在临床推广应用干细胞治疗上还面临着诸多问题,如对间充质干细胞的分化机理尚不明确,对其定向分化无法进行精确调控,且存在诸多限制骨和软骨再生的几个因素,很大程度上影响治疗的效果,故仍需进一步深入研究。     

胰腺癌新辅助治疗评价——有的放矢还是无奈之举

针对可能切除的胰腺癌行新辅助治疗后争取手术切除的治疗策略已渐成共识,对于可切除胰腺癌行新辅助治疗的意义仍存在争议,提倡对合并高危因素的可切除胰腺癌病人行新辅助治疗,但在“可切除”与“可能切除”的定义标准、化放疗方案选择、治疗周期等方面仍缺乏共识,目前结论多基于有限的小样本量的回顾性研究结果,循证等级不高,亟待开展大样本量的前瞻性对照研究,客观评价新辅助治疗在改善胰腺癌病人远期预后中的应用价值。     

肝外胆管癌术后辅助放化疗治疗进展

肝外胆管癌（ECC）是一种恶性程度较高的肿瘤,即使在病变早期进行根治性切除手术,患者术后仍有较高的复发率,总体生存率低。近几年来,ECC术后辅助治疗的研究逐渐开展,以吉西他滨、氟尿嘧啶等为基础的辅助化疗或联合放、化疗可使ECC患者术后获益,延长患者的总生存期。然而现有的辅助治疗方案各异,缺少ECC术后辅助治疗的标准方案。本文结合最新发表的研究结果,讨论ECC术后辅助治疗的现状和主要措施。     

810nm弱激光对M1型骨髓源性巨噬细胞的作用及其机制

目的 :体外建立M1型骨髓源性巨噬细胞(bone marrow derived macrophage,BMDM)-弱激光照射模型,探讨弱激光照射对M1型BMDM炎症因子分泌的影响及其可能机制。方法:体外分离BALB/c小鼠BMDM,应用巨噬细胞集落刺激因子(macrophage colony-stimulating factor,M-CSF)条件性培养基培养,流式细胞术检测巨噬细胞标志物F4/80的表达,确定所获得细胞为纯度较高的BMDM。应用脂多糖(lipopolysaccharide,LPS)刺激24h诱导原代BMDM向M1型BMDM方向极化。将细胞随机分为弱激光治疗(low level laser therapy,LLLT)组和对照组,LLLT组采用810nm波长激光照射,光斑面积4.5cm2,照射功率密度2m W/cm2,照射持续440s,最终获得照射能量为4J,对照组置于暗箱,不进行照射。应用CCK8实验测定细胞活性,RT-PCR检测肿瘤坏死因子α(tumor necrosis factor-α,TNF-α)、白细胞介素1β(interlukin-1β,IL-1β)及诱导型一氧化氮合酶(inducible nitric oxide synthases,i NOS)的m RNA表达情况,ELISA检测TNF-α及IL-1β蛋白分泌,Western blot测定i NOS和M1型巨噬细胞极化的重要转录因子核因子-κB p65(nuclear factor-kappa B,NF-κB p65)的表达。组间比较采用独立样本t检验,P0.05为差异有统计学意义。结果:LPS刺激后,使用弱激光照射的M1型BMDM细胞活性显著提高,升高至对照组的2.313±0.630倍(P0.05)。LLLT组IL-1βm RNA表达为0.586±0.145,对照组为1.000±0.022,两组比较有统计学差异(P0.05);LLLT组TNF-α的m RNA表达为0.862±0.152,对照组为1.000±0.082,两组比较无统计学差异(P=0.082);LLLT组i NOS的m RNA表达为0.720±0.039,对照组为1.000±0.024,两组比较有统计学差异(P0.05)。对照组TNF-α为270.478±26.831pg/ml,LLLT组为209.365±5.600pg/ml,两组比较有统计学差异(P0.05);对照组的IL-1β为98.941±12.430pg/ml,LLLT组为77.076±2.023pg/ml,两组比较有统计学差异(P0.05)。对照组的i NOS蛋白表达为1.005±0.075,LLLT组为0.210±0.010,两组比较有统计学差异(P0.05);对照组NF-κB p65蛋白表达为1.006±0.260,LLLT组为0.428±0.169,两组比较有统计学差异(P0.05)。结论:810nm LLLT M1型BMDM可抑制其炎性因子IL-1β及i NOS的m RNA表达,下调炎性因子IL-1β及TNF-α的分泌,降低M1型BMDM表面标志物i NOS的表达,同时显著下调M1型巨噬细胞经典极化转录因子NF-κB p65的表达。810nm LLLT可调控M1型巨噬细胞的极化状态,抑制其炎性因子分泌,该调控作用和其下调M1型巨噬细胞经典极化转录因子NF-κB p65有明显相关性。     

国产聚乙二醇化重组集成干扰素变异体联合利巴韦林治疗慢性丙型病毒性肝炎患者甲状腺功能异常及其对疗效的影响

目的观察国产聚乙二醇化重组集成干扰素变异体注射液（PegIFN-SA）联合利巴韦林（RBV）治疗慢性丙型病毒性肝炎（CHC）患者时甲状腺功能异常（TD）或甲状腺自身抗体（TAs）产生情况及对疗效影响。 方法前瞻性观察2013年9月至2015年12月于本中心接受国产PegIFN-SA联合RBV治疗的CHC病例45例。试验组患者给予PegIFN-SA皮下注射（1.5 μg/kg、1次/周）,对照组患者给予聚乙二醇化干扰素α-2a（PegIFN-α-2a）皮下注射（派罗欣180 μg、1次/周）,两组患者均联合口服利巴韦林（000~1 200 mg/d）,HCV基因2、3型患者治疗24周,非HCV基因2、3型患者治疗48周,停药后均随访6个月。在治疗前、治疗后每3个月及停药后6个月监测两组患者甲状腺功能及HCV RNA水平。 结果试验组慢性丙型肝炎患者30例,其中男性14例,女性16例,平均年龄为（36.5 ± 12.0）岁（19~56岁）,HCV基因2、3型患者6例,HCV非基因2、3型患者24例。治疗结束停药半年后HCV持续应答率为83.3%（25/30）,共13例患者出现TD或TAs,其发生率为43.3%（13/30）;9例发生TD患者中4例（44.4%）丙型肝炎复发,高于未出现TD者（1/21,4.8%）,差异具有统计学意义（P = 0.02）。 结论国产PegIFN-SA联合RBV治疗慢性丙型病毒性肝炎患者甲状腺功能异常及抗体阳性较为常见,发生甲状腺功能异常者CHC更易复发。