[Diagnosis and treatment of periprosthetic fracture after medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty]

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) is an effective treatment for end-stage anteromedial osteoarthritis of the knee. Medial tibial plateau fracture or femoral condyle fracture may occur after UKA, and its treatment is very challenging. The causes leading to this complication include: surgical technique errors, such as the weakening of posterior cortical strength of the tibial platform during operation, the reduction of bone mass due to too much tibial osteotomy, and the stress concentration in the bone bed due to bad alignment of the prosthesis, etc. Prosthesis design factors, such as press-fit fixation design of cementless UKA prosthesis, and multiple nail holes fixation for tibial osteotomy guide, etc. And the morphology of tibial plateau, such as tibial platform in Asian people with narrow and small shap and medial overhanging condyles. Correct selection of patients, strict surgical principles and standardized surgical techniques are the keys to prevent periprosthetic fractures during and after medial UKA. After the diagnosis is confirmed, the treatment choice mainly depends on the fracture pattern and the stability of the prosthesis.

[Epidemiological characteristic and current status of surgical treatment for esophageal cancer by analysis of national registry database]

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and current status of surgical management for esophageal cancer in China. Methods: A national database was setup through a network platform. The clinical data of esophageal cancer treated by surgery was collected from 70 major hospitals in China between January 2009 and December 2014. Results: Complete data of 8 181 cases of esophageal cancer patients who underwent surgery were recorded in the database and recruited in the analysis. Among them, 6 052 cases were male and 2 129 were female, the average age was 60.5 years.The epidemiological investigation results showed that 148 cases (1.8%) had history of psychological trauma, 7 527 cases (92.0%) were lower social economic status, 5 072 cases (62.0%) were short of fresh vegetables and fruits, 6 544 cases (80.0%) ate rough food frequently, 3 722 cases (45.5%) drank untreated water directly from lake or river or shallow well, 3 436 cases (42.0%) had a unhealthy eating habit, including habits of eating food fast (507 cases, 6.2%), eating hot food or drinking hot tea/soup (998 cases, 12.2%), eating fried food (1 939 cases, 23.7%), 4 410 cases (53.9%) had the habits of smoking cigarettes and 2 822 cases (34.5%) drank white wine frequently.The pathological results showed that 7 813 cases (95.5%) were squamous cell carcinoma, 267 cases were adenocarcinoma (3.3%), 25 cases were adenosquamous cell carcinoma (0.3%) and 50 cases were small cell carcinoma (0.6%). A total of 1 800 cases (22.0%) received preoperative neoadjuvant therapy due to locally advanced disease or difficulty of resection. The esophagectomies were performed through left thoracotomy approach in 5 870 cases (71.8%), through right chest approach in 2 215 cases (27.1%), and the remain 96 cases (1.2%) received surgery though other approaches.A total of 8 001 cases (97.8%) underwent radical resection, the other 180 cases (2.2%) received palliative resection. The 30-day postoperative mortality rate was 0.5%, the overall ≥ grade Ⅱ postoperative complication rate was 11.6% (951 cases). The 1-yr, 3-yr, and 5-yr overall actual survival rates were 82.6%, 61.6%, and 52.9%, respectively. Conclusions: The data analysis of the national database for esophageal cancer shows that bad eating habits or eating rough food without enough nutrients, lower social and economic status, drinking white wine and smoking cigarettes frequently may be correlated with tumorigenesis of esophageal cancer. However, strong evidences produced by prospective observation studies are needed. Overall, the long-term survival of esophageal cancer patients has been improved gradually due to the application of advanced surgical techniques and reasonable multimodality treatment.

[Human exposure and thyroid toxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers]

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a kind of important Brominated Flame Retardant (BFR), are widely used in electronic products, construction materials and textiles. PBDEs have been detected in many environmental media (including air, water, dust, sediment and food), many animal and human tissues. For their environmental persistence, high bioaccumulative and multiple biotoxicitiies, PBDEs have been viewed as one of the most concerned environmental Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) at present. Although detailed mechanisms are not clear, studies have found that PBDEs can induce toxicity to liver, endocrine system, nervous system, reproduction and immune system. What's more, lots of experiments indicate that PBDEs exposure can alter the levels of thyroid hormones. Recently, studies on the impact of PBDEs exposure on thyroid hormones have been quite a few and have not reached an agreement, especially on the alternation of thyroid hormones caused by PBDEs exposure, which has also been a hot issue. This paper reviews from the basic properties, usage, exposure and biotoxicity of PBDEs. We mainly introduce the impact PBDEs have on the thyroid and thyroid hormones in terms of biotoxicity, and attach importance to the endocrine disruption and neurodeveloptoxicity. We also give a preliminary introduction to hydroxylated and methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers, structural analogs of PBDEs, which researchers start late to study. This paper can be a reference for the further research on PBDEs exposure and biotoxicity.

Real-time imaging and detection of intracranial haemorrhage by electrical impedance tomography in a piglet model

The aim of this study was to use electrical impedance tomography (EIT) to detect and image acute intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) in an animal model. Blood was infused into the frontal lobe of the brains of anaesthetized piglets and impedance was measured using 16 electrodes placed in a circle on the scalp. The EIT images were constructed using a filtered back-projection algorithm. The mean of all the pixel intensities within a region of interest--the mean resistivity value (MRV)--was used to evaluate the relative impedance changes in the target region. A symmetrical index (SI), reflecting the relative impedance on both sides of the brain, was also calculated. Changes in MRV and SI were associated with the injection of blood, demonstrating that EIT can successfully detect ICH in this animal model. The unique features of EIT may be beneficial for diagnosing ICH early in patients after cranial surgery, thereby reducing the risk of complications and mortality.

A flow injection microdialysis sampling chemiluminescence system for in vivo on-line monitoring of glucose in intravenous and subcutaneous tissue fluid microdialysates

A novel flow injection on-line microdialysis system for in vivo monitoring of glucose in subcutaneous tissue fluid and blood is described. An implantable loop-type microdialysis probe was used for subcutaneous sampling, and a flow-through microdialyzer was used for intravenous sampling by pumping of the blood from the tested rabbit through the microdialyzer located outside the living system at a flow rate of 10 microL/min. The perfusion rate of the dialysate was 20 microL/min. The glucose in the dialysate was detected on-line with a flow injection chemiluminescence system after passing through an immobilized glucose oxidase reactor. The calibration of the detector system (including reactor) and monitoring of baseline drifts were performed simultaneously to improve the reliability of the monitoring process. The dialysate sample volume was 20 microL, and the sample throughout was 28 h-1. The variation of glucose level in subcutaneous tissue fluid and blood of the rabbits was monitored after the administration of glucose or insulin to demonstrate the favorable resolution and reliability of the system for in vivo on-line monitoring.

Intussusception anastomosis of the esophagus: a new method of anastomosis after resection of esophageal or cardiac carcinoma

A new method of anastomosis after resection of esophageal or cardiac carcinoma was carried out in 141 patients in Anyang Cancer Hospital from February 1983 to September 1985. After resection of the tumor, the proximal end of the esophagus was intussuscepted into the stomach lumen and extroversion sutures were applied on the esophageal mucosa to prevent bleeding and stenosis. In this series, the operative mortality was 0.7% (1/141) and no anastomotic leakage was found. We consider that this modified operative procedure is fairly easy, simple, and beneficial in reducing surgical complications.

[Invagination anastomosis of the esophagus--a new method of anastomosing after resection of esophageal or cardial carcinoma]

A new method of anastomosis after resection of esophageal or cardial carcinoma was carried out in 141 patients in our hospital from Feb. 1983 to Sept. 1985. After resection of the tumor, the proximal end of esophagus was invaginated into the stomach lumen and a tight suture was applied between the outer wall of esophagus and stomach. Extroversion suture of the mucosa in the esophageal end, being free in the stomach lumen, was made to prevent bleeding and stenosis. The operative mortality was 0.7% (1/141) and no anastomotic leak was found. Our experiences indicate that this operative procedure is easy, simple and obviously reduces the complication in the anastomotic region.