Voluntary ambulation using voluntary upper limb muscle activity and Hybrid Assistive Limb® (HAL®) in a patient with complete paraplegia due to chronic spinal cord injury: A case report

Context: We sought to describe our experience with the Hybrid Assistive Limb® (HAL®) for active knee extension and voluntary ambulation with remaining muscle activity in a patient with complete paraplegia after spinal cord injury.

Findings: A 30-year-old man with complete paraplegia used the HAL® for 1 month (10 sessions) using his remaining muscle activity, including hip flexor and upper limb activity. Electromyography was used to evaluate muscle activity of the gluteus maximus, tensor fascia lata, quadriceps femoris, and hamstring muscles in synchronization with the Vicon motion capture system. A HAL® session included a knee extension session with the hip flexor and voluntary gait with upper limb activity. After using the HAL® for one month, the patient’s manual muscle hip flexor scores improved from 1/5 to 2/5 for the right and from 2/5 to 3/5 for the left knee, and from 0/5 to 1/5 for the extension of both knees.

Conclusion/clinical relevance: Knee extension sessions with HAL®, and hip flexor and upper-limb-triggered HAL® ambulation seem a safe and feasible option in a patient with complete paraplegia due to spinal cord injury.     

探讨绝经过渡期、育龄子宫肌瘤患者异常阴道出血相关因素分析

目的: 探讨育龄、绝经过渡期子宫肌瘤患者异常阴道出血危险因素，为异常阴道出血临床精准诊断、治疗提供理论依据。方法： 选取2017年06月—2020年06月于内蒙古医科大学附属医院住院行手术治疗的子宫肌瘤患者。实验组设为非月经期异常阴道出血的子宫肌瘤患者，对照组为无异常阴道流血子宫肌瘤患者。根据第9版教科书年龄18-43岁定为育龄组；44-54岁定为绝经过渡期组（我国妇女平均绝经年龄为49.5岁，80%在44-54岁之间〔1〕）。 应用Excel双录入，核对无误后进行统计分析。计数资料的比较用R×C列联表卡方检验、四格表卡方检验及两独立样本秩和检验。非条件Logistic回归模型用于子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血危险因素的分析，并分别得到OR值与相应95%的可信区间。在此模型中，OR值＞1认为是危险因素，OR值＜1认为是保护因素。统计学显著性水平设定为双侧p≤0.05，即认为差异有统计学意义。全部统计分析选用SPSS19.0软件进行统计学分析。结果：1.将与子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血相关的33项临床指标纳入单因素分析得出，月经周期异常、肌瘤位置（子宫颈肌瘤）、肌瘤直径≥9cm、血红蛋白异常、子宫内膜癌、核分裂像＞5个差异有统计学意义（P≤0.05），均是子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血的危险因素；2.子宫肌瘤异常阴道出血核分裂像＞5个与子宫内膜病理性改变和异常阴道出血差异有统计学意义（P=0.019）。结论：1. 子宫内膜发生病理改变是子宫肌瘤患者引起异常阴道出血的原因之一。2.月经周期异常、子宫颈肌瘤、肌瘤直径≥9cm、血红蛋白异常、子宫内膜病理改变均是子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血的危险因素；子宫肌瘤核分裂像＞5个是子宫平滑肌瘤出现异常阴道出血的独立高危因素；3.子宫肌瘤核分裂像＞5与阴道出血、子宫内膜病理改变有统计学意义。进行单因素分析后得知，月经周期、肌瘤位置、肌瘤大小、血红蛋白、子宫内膜病理变化均子宫肌瘤阴道异常出血的发生有关。 关键词育龄；绝经过渡期；子宫平滑肌瘤；异常阴道出血；危险因素     

生长抑素及其类似物联合质子泵抑制剂应用于急性非静脉曲张性上消化道出血的循证分析

目的 系统评价生长抑素及其类似物联合质子泵抑制剂（proton pump inhibitor，PPI）治疗急性非静脉曲张性上消化道出血（acute non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding，ANVUGIB）的有效性和安全性，并分析其用药经济性。方法 采用循证医学方法搜集生长抑素及其类似物联合PPI治疗ANVUGIB的RCT、队列研究进行meta分析，得到相应的有效性及安全性分析结果，并进行成本-效果分析。结果 最终纳入6个RCT均未接受内镜治疗，共610例受试者。Meta分析结果显示，生长抑素及其类似物联合高、中、低剂量PPI治疗在以下方面均优于单用高、中、低剂量PPI治疗，差异有统计学意义，总有效率[OR=3.34，95%CI（2.03，5.47），P<0.000 01]、止血时间[MD=-9.04，95%CI（-11.69，-6.38），P<0.000 01]、输血量[MD=-1.10，95%CI（-1.46，-0.74），P<0.000 01]；在不良反应发生率方面，2组差异无统计学意义[OR=0.49，95%CI（0.11，2.12），P=0.34]。ANVUGIB患者予生长抑素联合高、中、低剂量奥美拉唑与单用高、中、低剂量奥美拉唑进行成本-效果分析，增量成本效果比分别为172.28，217.26，330.37，敏感性分析后显示结果稳定。而接受内镜治疗后应用生长抑素及其类似物联合PPI治疗仅1个队列研究，研究结果显示内镜治疗成功后联合治疗并不优于PPI单药治疗。结论 现有证据表明，生长抑素及其类似物联合PPI治疗未经内镜治疗的ANVUGIB患者为较有效的方案，两者安全性相当、耐受性较好，从药品直接成本考虑，高剂量PPI组联合治疗较中、低剂量PPI组联合治疗更具有成本效果性。而对于经内镜下止血治疗的患者两者疗效相当，可考虑单用PPI。     

Outcomes after occupational therapy intervention for traumatic brachial plexus injury: A prospective longitudinal cohort study

Study DesignProspective longitudinal cohort study.IntroductionTraumatic brachial plexus injuries (BPIs) can be devastating and negatively impact daily function and quality of life. Occupational therapists play an important role in rehabilitation; however, studies identifying outcomes are lacking.PurposeThis study aims to describe outcomes including motor recovery, upper limb function, participation, pain, and quality of life for people receiving occupational therapy intervention.MethodsA convenience sample of English-speaking adults (n = 30) with a traumatic BPI, attending the clinic between December 1, 2014, to November 30, 2016, participated. Participants received occupational therapy focusing on sensorimotor retraining and activity-based rehabilitation. Data on active range of motion (goniometry), strength (Medical Research Council (MRC)), upper-limb function (UEFI15, QuickDASH), participation (PSFS), pain (Brief Pain Inventory), and quality of life (EQ-5D-3L) were collected at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.ResultsElbow flexion strength showed significant improvement at all time-points, average increase 2.17 (MRC) (95% confidence interval: 1.29-3.04; P < .001) and mean final MRC grading 3.86 (standard error: 0.44). Significant improvements at 12 months were seen in: shoulder abduction strength and range, flexion strength and range, external rotation range; elbow extension strength and flexion range; thumb flexion and extension strength. Upper limb function (QuickDASH) showed significant improvement (mean change = 18.85; 95% confidence interval: 4.12-33.59; P = .02). Forearm protonation range and finger flexion strength were significantly worse. Remaining outcomes did not show significant improvement.ConclusionsOccupational therapy with surgical intervention can improve strength, range, and upper limb function with people following traumatic BPI. Further investigations into impact on participation, pain, and quality of life are required.