Medicine
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Atherosclerosis has a complex etiology that leads to arterial obstruction and often results in inadequate perfusion of the distal limbs. Patients with atherosclerosis can have severe complications of this condition, with widespread systemic manifestations, and the operations undertaken are often challenging for anesthesiologists. ⋯ Quadratus lumborum block may be a useful anesthetic technique to perform femoral-femoral bypass.
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Given that retroperitoneal liposarcoma (LPS) is extremely difficult to completely resect, and has a relatively high rate of recurrence, radiotherapy (RT) is the treatment of choice after surgical resection. However, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient radiation field because of the close proximity of surrounding organs. We introduce the use of tissue expanders (TEs) after LPS resection in an attempt to secure a sufficient radiation field and to improve recurrence-free survival. ⋯ Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the risk factors associated with recurrence-free survival within 3 years. Younger age, history of LPS treatment, and RT after TE insertion (group 1 vs group 2 or 3) were significantly favorable factors influencing 3-year recurrence-free survival. TE insertion after LPS resection is associated with increased 3-year recurrence-free survival, most likely because it allows effective delivery of postoperative RT.
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This study was intended to determine if there is variation among physiatrists in referral preferences for postacute rehabilitation for stroke patients based on physician demographic characteristics or geography. A cross-sectional survey study was developed with 5 fictional case vignettes that included information about medical, social, and functional domains. Eighty-six physiatrist residents, fellows, and attendings were asked to select the most appropriate postacute rehabilitation setting and also to rank, by importance, 15 factors influencing the referral decision. ⋯ Bivariate analysis (using chi-square) showed no statistically significant relationship between any of the demographic variables and poststroke rehabilitation preference for any of the cases. The prognosis for functional outcome and quality of postacute facility had the highest mean influence ratings (8.63 and 8.31, respectively), whereas location of postacute facility and insurance had the lowest mean influence ratings (5.74 and 5.76, respectively). Physiatrists' referral preferences did not vary with any identified practitioner variables or geographic region; referral preferences only varied significantly by case.
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Clinically, elderly patients with unresectable bulky hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are difficult to manage, especially in those with co-infections of hepatitis B and C virus. Herein, we reported such a case treated with radiotherapy (RT) by using combined simultaneously integrated inner-escalated boost and volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (SIEB-VMAT). After RT, significant symptoms alleviation and durable tumor control were observed. ⋯ SIEB-VMAT physically demonstrated double benefits of intratumor dose escalation and extra-tumor dose attenuation. Significant tumor regression and symptoms alleviation were observed in this elderly patient with unresectable bulky HCC. Further prospective randomized trials are encouraged to demarcate effective size of SIEB-VMAT with or without cyproheptadine.
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Leukoaraiosis (LA) is a frequent neuroimaging finding commonly observed on brain MRIs of elderly people with prevalence ranging from 50% to 100%. Multiple susceptibility genes or genetic risk factors for LA have been identified in subjects of European descent. Here, we report the first replication study on several common and novel genetic variations in the Chinese population. ⋯ It strongly indicated the ethnic differences in the genetics of LA. However, the associations of rs3744028 (TRIM65), rs1055129 (TRIM47), rs1135889 (FBF1), and rs1801133 (MTHFR) with LA before Bonferroni correction and Sidak correction for multiple testing are worth highlighting. Thus, we believe that a genome-wide association study and candidate gene association studies are needed to reassess the previous findings and screen novel risk genes for LA in China.