Medicine
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Wound infection (WI) is a disease in which pathogenic bacteria invade and multiply in a wound after trauma or surgery, causing a systemic inflammatory response. WI triggers an immune response in the body, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage, as well as slowing down the healing process. The traditional Chinese medicine prescription of Wuwei Xiaodu Drink (WWXDD) has been widely used in clinical practice with good results. However, there is no high-level evidence to support this result. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of WWXDD in the treatment of WI. ⋯ This research provides a trusted clinical foundation for the treatment of WI with WWXDD.
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Since its introduction in 2013, the anterior quadratus lumborum (QL) block (QLB) has been widely used for analgesia in abdominal, pelvic, and hip surgeries, based on the assumption that it has analgesic effects on both incisional and visceral pain. However, the mechanism of the anterior QLB remains unclear, and the results of relevant studies are contradictory. This review aimed to summarize the dispersion patterns of injectates in anterior QLB. ⋯ Variability in the selection of injection sites relative to the anterior layer of the thoracolumbar fascia during anterior QLB implementation may explain the dispersion difference. The correct injection site of an anterior QLB is anterior to the QL muscle and between the QL muscle and the anterior layer of the thoracolumbar fascia. Further studies are needed to verify the injectate dispersion pattern during anterior QLB.
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To introduce wrapping vancomycin-containing cement around a mega-prosthesis (MP) as a novel method to prevent prosthetic joint infection after reconstruction surgery for malignant bone and soft tissue tumors. Five patients with malignant bone and soft tissue tumors treated at our hospital from April 2009 to December 2019 were included. The average age was 71.4 years. ⋯ The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score was 79.26 ± 1.26 (mean ± standard deviation) (range: 76-80.3). Three patients remained disease-free, one survived but with disease, and one died of disease. Wrapping vancomycin-containing cement around the MP may be a useful method of preventing postoperative joint infections.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated mucormycosis (CAM) is a relatively new concept in the literature that emerged during the pandemic. Bibliometric analysis is a type of analysis that uses mathematical and statistical methods to study the formal properties of knowledge areas. This study aimed to reveal the main themes, conceptual structures, and trends of bibliometric studies on mucormycosis in 2 different periods, pre-and during the pandemic. ⋯ Research trends have shifted to the clinical treatment and management of COVID-19. Therefore, pathogenesis, diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment strategies for CAM should be developed in the future.
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Centrally mediated abdominal pain syndrome (CAPS) is characterized by severe abdominal pain. Diagnosis of CAPS is still an exclusionary diagnosis, there remain no effective diagnostic biomarkers so far. Duloxetine is the major pharmacotherapy of CAPS, while some CAPS patients do not respond to duloxetine treatment. However, there is a lack of molecular markers to predict the efficacy of duloxetine. In our pilot study, we have found differential expression profiles of serum miRNAs between CAPS patients and healthy controls. Our study aims to explore the clinical characteristics, specific miRNAs in serum as diagnostic biomarkers of CAPS and predictive biomarkers of the efficacy of duloxetine. ⋯ Findings of study will provide the reliable basis for diagnosis and the predictor of duloxetine efficacy of CAPS. Importantly, findings grant patients a chance to benefit from treatment.