Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Preclinical studies have shown that local anesthetics may modify the growth and invasion of cancer cells. However, few clinical studies have evaluated their impact on cancer outcomes after tumor resection. ⋯ A dose-dependent association was found between epidural bupivacaine dose and long-term mortality among patients following surgical resection of nonsmall-cell lung cancer. Our findings do not support the hypothetical anticancer benefits of local anesthetics. More studies are needed to elucidate the role of local anesthetics in cancer treatment.
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The Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and the Voice-Related Quality of Life Measure (V-RQOL) are seldom administered to alaryngeal patients who use pneumatic artificial larynx (PAL) and esophageal speech (ES). As such, the specificity of VHI and 10-item VHI (VHI-10) for assessing voice-related changes in such patients is unclear. Accordingly, this study investigated the correlation between scores on the VHI, its shortened version (VHI-10), and the V-RQOL for Mandarin-speaking laryngectomees using PAL and ES, with the aim of establishing which of these instruments is suited to such patients. ⋯ The Mandarin versions of long-form VHI, short-form VHI, and MA-VHI-10 are interchangeable for a Mandarin-speaking alaryngeal population. However, neither of the former two instruments should be substituted for the V-RQOL.
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Castleman disease and lymphoma each have a distinct treatment plan; however, they share the same features on contrast-enhanced computed tomography. ⋯ The value of HU provides a good diagnostic tool for the differential diagnosis of Castleman disease versus lymphoma in the neck lymph nodes. Considering the linear relationship in Castleman disease, an increasingly accurate differential diagnosis can be made.
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In real-world medical education, there is a lack of reliable predictors of future clinical competencies. Hence, we aim to identify the factors associated with clinical competencies and construct a prediction model to identify "improvement required" trainees. ⋯ Our study suggests that interventions for students with unsatisfactory medical school grades are warranted to improve their clinical competencies.